What is an AAAA record?
An AAAA record maps a domain name to an IPv6 address, the IPv6 equivalent of an A record. Publishing AAAA records lets IPv6-only clients reach your services directly, without relying on translation gateways. As IPv6 adoption grows, AAAA records ensure your domain is reachable on the modern internet.
How an AAAA record differs from an A record
An AAAA record performs the same job as an A record, mapping a hostname to an IP, but it holds a 128-bit IPv6 address instead of a 32-bit IPv4 one. IPv6 addresses are written in eight groups of hexadecimal, for example 2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946, often shortened with :: for runs of zeros. The name AAAA reflects that an IPv6 address is four times the size of an IPv4 address. A hostname commonly has both an A and an AAAA record so clients use whichever protocol they support.
How to read your AAAA record results
Each AAAA row shows a hostname, an IPv6 address, and a TTL. A result like example.com AAAA 2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946 TTL 3600 means the domain is reachable over IPv6 at that address. The double colon (::) you may see compresses one or more groups of zeros. If a domain returns A records but no AAAA records, it is IPv4-only and IPv6-only clients must reach it through a translation layer such as NAT64, which adds latency and a dependency.
When you should publish AAAA records
Publish AAAA records once your server and network have working, stable IPv6 connectivity, so IPv6 clients connect natively instead of through translation. This improves reachability for mobile and residential networks that increasingly default to IPv6. The key rule is to keep A and AAAA in sync: if your IPv6 service breaks but the AAAA record stays published, dual-stack clients may try IPv6 first, fail, and fall back slowly, which users perceive as a slow site. Only publish an AAAA record for an address you can reliably serve.