# AAAA record

An AAAA record (say "quad A") connects a name to an IPv6 address. It does the same job as an A record for the newer, longer addresses. Most phones and many home connections now prefer IPv6 when a site offers it.

- Record type: AAAA
- Type number: 28
- Used for: Websites
- How common: Everyday
- Defined in: RFC 3596

## Format

```
<name> <ttl> IN AAAA <IPv6 address>
```

| Field | What it means | Accepted values |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Name | The name being pointed. | A host name, `@` for the domain itself. |
| TTL | How long resolvers may cache the answer. | Seconds; usually the same as the A record. |
| Address | The server's IPv6 address. | Eight groups of up to four hex digits separated by colons. A run of zero groups can be shortened to `::` once, as in `2001:db8::10`. |

## Examples

### Alongside an A record

```
@ 3600 IN A 192.0.2.10
@ 3600 IN AAAA 2001:db8::10
```

The usual setup: both addresses for the same server. Clients with IPv6 use the AAAA, the rest use the A.

### Shortened form

```
www 3600 IN AAAA 2001:db8:0:0:0:0:0:1
```

The same as 2001:db8::1. Both forms are valid; DNS stores the bytes, not the text.

## Do I need an AAAA record?

Only if your server really has an IPv6 address. A site with just an A record works for everyone, because IPv6-only networks reach IPv4 sites through translation. A wrong AAAA record is worse than none: visitors on IPv6 try it first and wait for it to fail.

If you use a host such as Cloudflare, Vercel or Netlify, they publish AAAA records for you when you point the domain at them.

## TTL

Keep it the same as the matching A record, so both addresses change together.

## Common mistakes

- Publishing an IPv6 address the server doesn't actually listen on. IPv6 visitors try it first and the site seems slow or broken for them.
- Putting an IPv4 address in an AAAA record.
- Forgetting the AAAA record when moving servers, so IPv6 visitors still reach the old one.
- Copying a link-local address (starting fe80:) from a server's settings. Those only work on the local network.

## At your DNS host

- Cloudflare: proxied AAAA records answer with Cloudflare's IPv6 addresses, and Cloudflare reaches your server over IPv4 if it has no IPv6.
- Most dashboards list AAAA next to A in the record type menu; enter the address with or without the :: shortening.

## Questions

### Why is it called AAAA?

An IPv6 address is 128 bits, four times the 32 bits of an IPv4 address, so the record type is four As.

### Can I have an AAAA record without an A record?

Yes, but visitors on IPv4-only networks then can't reach the name. Most sites publish both.

### How do I find my server's IPv6 address?

Your host's control panel shows it, or run ip -6 addr on Linux and use the global address (not one starting fe80).

## Related

- [A record](https://lemon.domains/dns-records/a.md)
- [CNAME record](https://lemon.domains/dns-records/cname.md)
- [ALIAS and ANAME records](https://lemon.domains/dns-records/alias.md)
- [HTTPS record](https://lemon.domains/dns-records/https.md)
- [PTR record](https://lemon.domains/dns-records/ptr.md)

Interactive version with a record checker and live lookup: https://lemon.domains/dns-records/aaaa