Cloudflare DNS setup
If your domain uses Cloudflare for DNS, whether it’s registered there or just managed there, connecting it to Redirect Supply means adding a few records and making sure they’re set to DNS only. Your domain stays on Cloudflare, and your other records and email don’t change. Cloudflare applies changes fast, so most domains are ready within minutes.
Before you start
You need two things ready before you open Cloudflare.
Add the domain in Redirect Supply
Add your domain in Redirect Supply first. Its settings page shows the records you’ll need, including a TXT value that’s unique to your domain. Keep that page open in another tab. This guide covers a root domain like brand.com. If you’re connecting a subdomain like go.brand.com, the DNS setup guide explains the differences.
Check that Cloudflare runs your DNS
Records you add in Cloudflare only count when your domain’s nameservers point to Cloudflare. In the Cloudflare dashboard, your domain should show as Active. If it says Pending, the nameservers at your registrar haven’t been switched to Cloudflare yet, and the records you add won’t be used until they are.
Open DNS records
All the changes in this guide happen on one page.
Find the Records page
Sign in to the Cloudflare dashboard and select your domain. Open DNS from the sidebar, then Records. This page lists every record on your domain, along with a Proxy status column showing an orange or grey cloud.
Records you’ll see there
When you add a domain to Cloudflare, it imports the records that existed before. You’ll often find an old A record on @ and a www record pointing to your previous host. Those use the names Redirect Supply needs, so delete them or edit them rather than adding new records next to them. Leave MX and email TXT records alone. Not sure what’s in the way? The conflict table on your domain’s page in Redirect Supply lists every record that blocks the setup.
Set the records to DNS only
This is the one step that’s specific to Cloudflare, and it matters.
Why the orange cloud has to be off
Cloudflare’s orange cloud sends traffic through Cloudflare’s proxy before it reaches anyone else. Redirect Supply already runs on Cloudflare’s network, so a proxied record ends up in front of it, and the request never reaches your redirects. With the cloud set to grey, DNS only, Cloudflare simply points your domain to Redirect Supply.
Switch a record to DNS only
When you add or edit a record, select the Proxy status toggle until it shows a grey cloud and reads DNS only. Do this for every record in this guide. The Records page shows it at a glance: all of Redirect Supply’s records should have a grey cloud.
Add the Redirect Supply records
You’ll add four records. In the Name field, enter @ for the root domain or just the prefix, and Cloudflare fills in the rest. Leave TTL on Auto.
Name | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|
www | CNAME | proxy.redirect.supply |
@ | A | 188.114.96.9 |
@ | A | 188.114.97.9 |
_cf-custom-hostname | TXT | Value from your domain’s settings page |
Note: Set every record to DNS only (grey cloud).
Add two A records for the root domain
Select Add record and choose type A. Enter @ as the name and 188.114.96.9 as the IPv4 address, and set the proxy status to DNS only. Add a second A record with name @, the address 188.114.97.9, also DNS only.
Add the www CNAME
Add a CNAME record with the name www and target proxy.redirect.supply. Set it to DNS only.
Add the www CNAME
Add a TXT record with the name _cf-custom-hostname and paste the value from your domain’s settings page in Redirect Supply. TXT records have no proxy toggle, so there’s nothing else to set. On some less common domain endings, Redirect Supply also asks for an _acme-challenge TXT record. Add it the same way if you see it.
Save each record
Cloudflare saves each record when you select Save in its form. Once all four are in, check the Records page to make sure there are no orange clouds on @ or www.
Check the status in Redirect Supply
Once the records are saved, you’re done in Cloudflare.
Check the conflict table
You don’t have to wait to find out if something’s wrong. Your domain’s page in Redirect Supply shows a conflict table with the records currently on your domain. Anything that blocks the setup, like an old A record or a leftover www record, is flagged there along with what to do about it. Fix those first, and the rest is just waiting.
How long it takes
When Cloudflare already runs your DNS, new records usually go live within a few minutes. If you just moved your nameservers to Cloudflare, that part can take longer, sometimes up to a day.
When the domain goes Active
Redirect Supply checks your records automatically. When it finds them, the domain switches to Active and HTTPS is issued on its own, with no extra steps from you. See Domain statuses for what each status means along the way.
Cloudflare-specific issues
Most problems on Cloudflare come down to a record that’s still proxied.
Error 1000 or 1014 when opening the domain
These errors appear when a record pointing to Redirect Supply is proxied. Find the @ and www records on the Records page, switch them to DNS only, and try again after a minute.
Too many redirects
This usually means something on Cloudflare’s side is still redirecting the same domain, such as an old Redirect Rule or Page Rule, while a record is proxied. Set the records to DNS only and remove any old Cloudflare redirect rules for that hostname.
Records you add have no effect
Check that your domain shows as Active in Cloudflare. If it’s Pending, your registrar still points to other nameservers, and the records need to go there instead, or you need to finish moving the nameservers to Cloudflare.
The domain is stuck on Pending
Open the conflict table on your domain’s page in Redirect Supply. It shows which record is blocking the setup, usually an imported A record on @ or an old www record. Remove what it flags and wait a few minutes. Record conflicts covers the common cases.