How to add a CNAME record for a subdomain

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Find out how to add a CNAME DNS record to an OVHcloud DNS zone for a domain name subdomain

Knowledge Base

KB0071114

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10.02.2026

DNS (Domain Name System)

Objective

A CNAME record is used to associate a subdomain with a domain name or subdomain, without having to specify an IP address. This means that the subdomain will be redirected to the target domain name or subdomain’s IP address, without requiring any additional configuration.

For example, if you create a CNAME record for www.domain.tld that points to domain.tld, then www.domain.tld will use the same IP address as domain.tld.

CNAME records are useful for avoiding changing IP addresses for your subdomains. They can also be used to configure services such as email servers.

Find out how to add a CNAME record to your OVHcloud DNS zone.

Do you already have a CNAME record in your DNS zone? Follow our guide on Editing an OVHcloud DNS zone.

Requirements

A domain name
A DNS zone associated with this domain name at OVHcloud
Access to the OVHcloud Control Panel, in the Web Cloud section

Adding, modifying or deleting DNS records in an active DNS zone is a tricky task. If in doubt, contact a specialist provider.

Instructions

Add a DNS record of type CNAME for a domain name subdomain

Click the DNS zones menu, then choose the domain name concerned.
On the page that appears, click Add an entry.
In the window that opens, select the field of type CNAME.
Then enter in the Sub-domain field the subdomain concerned (for example: www for the subdomain www.domain.tld), and in the Target * field, the domain name or subdomain (for example: domain.tld) that you want to target using the CNAME record type. Finally, click Next.
Check the summary, then click Confirm. It takes up to 24 hours for the change to propagate fully over the DNS network.

See our detailed guides:

Special cases

Click on the links below for more information:

CNAME and TXT records for the same subdomain

Do not configure both a CNAME record and a TXT record for the same subdomain. This can cause random results during DNS resolution, as only one response can be returned per DNS query.

For example, if you have the following records for www.domain.tld:

A CNAME record pointing to domain.tld
A TXT record with a specific value

A DNS query for www.domain.tld will return either the target of the CNAME record or the value of the TXT record, at random.

CNAME on a domain name in its own DNS zone

By convention, CNAME records cannot be used on a domain name in its own DNS zone. The domain name must point directly to an IP address with a record of type A for an IPv4, or AAAA for an IPv6.

As an example, you will not be able to create a CNAME record for the domain name domain.tld in the DNS zone you have created for it.
However, you can create CNAME records for all subdomains (e.g. subdomain.domain.tld or www.domain.tld) of the domain.tld domain name in the DNS zone created for domain.tld.