Free Tool

Free Domain Connect Checker

Check whether a domain's DNS provider supports the Domain Connect protocol, which flow it offers, and whether one-click DNS setup is actually possible. Reads the _domainconnect record live. No signup.

Need this as an API?

Domain Connect Checker API · no key, CORS-enabled

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How it works

Enter a domain

We look up the _domainconnect TXT record on its zone.

We fetch the provider's settings

If the record exists, its settings endpoint tells us the provider and the flows it offers.

See what's actually possible

Synchronous, asynchronous or neither, plus the DNS provider behind the domain either way.

What Domain Connect actually is

Domain Connect is an open standard, now an IETF draft, for letting a service write DNS records into a customer's zone without the customer editing DNS by hand. The customer clicks one button in your app, lands on an approval screen at their own DNS provider, approves, and the provider writes the records itself.

No credentials reach the service. Nothing is stored, and there is nothing for the customer to revoke afterwards. That is what makes it a materially different trust ask from asking someone for an API token.

How this check works

Discovery is a DNS lookup, not an API call. A provider that implements the protocol publishes a TXT record at _domainconnect.<zone> pointing at its settings endpoint:

_domainconnect.example.com. TXT "domainconnect.example-dns.com"

This tool reads that record, then fetches the settings endpoint it names to find out which flows the provider offers and what it calls itself. No record means the provider does not implement the protocol.

Synchronous and asynchronous are not equally useful

Flow	How it works	Practical reality
Synchronous	Signed redirect to the provider's approval screen. The provider applies a published template.	The flow providers actually support. No token exchanged, but each provider still has to sync and enable the service's template. This is the one that matters.
Asynchronous	Full OAuth against the provider. The service gets a token and calls their API.	Supported by a fraction of providers, needs explicit OAuth setup with each one, and you now hold a credential.

If a provider supports only the asynchronous flow, treat one-click as unavailable in practice unless you are prepared to onboard with that provider individually.

Supported does not mean it will work for you

This is the part that surprises people. A provider will only apply a template it has already synced from the shared Domain-Connect/Templates repository. The protocol is not a generic write API: a service cannot hand a provider an arbitrary set of records.

So there are two independent conditions:

The customer's DNS provider implements Domain Connect. That is what this tool checks.
The service they are connecting to has published a template, it has been merged upstream, and that provider has synced it.

Until both hold, the customer falls back to adding records by hand.

Onboarding happens one provider at a time

Merging a template upstream does not switch it on anywhere. Each provider decides whether to sync it, and several want a separate onboarding email first. We went through this ourselves: our templates were merged on 2026-09-10, answered 404 at every provider for days, and went live at Cloudflare only after we emailed their team and fixed the format of our signing key record. They are also served by Glauca Digital. IONOS, Vercel and WordPress.com still answer 404.

Domainee's Domain Connect API uses this for one-click setup where a provider has enabled our templates, and falls back to provider-specific steps everywhere else.

GoDaddy implements the protocol but has stopped onboarding most new templates directly and points services to Entri instead. Our probe of all public templates found GoDaddy had enabled 3.6 percent of templates merged since mid-2025, against 46 percent at Cloudflare. Namecheap does not implement Domain Connect at all. So the manual path is not optional and never becomes optional.

Anyone building custom domain onboarding should treat Domain Connect as an upgrade for the customers who can use it, and provider-aware manual instructions as the actual baseline. The DNS provider lookup covers the other half.

If you are the platform

Domainee is a custom domains API for SaaS with a native MCP server, 20 domains and 100 GB free. GET /v1/domains/{id}/instructions runs this same check per customer and returns a one-click apply URL where it is available, alongside manual steps written for whichever provider that customer is on where it is not.

From the command line

Keyless, no signup:

curl -s "https://api.domainee.dev/v1/tools/domain-connect-checker?domain=example.com" | jq

Rate limits are per IP and there is no uptime commitment, so it fits scripts and audits rather than a production dependency.

Frequently asked questions

What is Domain Connect?+

An open standard, now an IETF draft, that lets a service write DNS records into a customer's zone without the customer editing DNS by hand. The customer approves one screen at their own DNS provider and the provider writes the records. No credentials reach the service and there is nothing to revoke afterwards.

My provider supports it. Why can't I use one-click setup with a particular service?+

Because the provider only applies templates it has already synced from the shared Domain-Connect/Templates repository. The service you are connecting to has to have published a template, had it merged upstream, and had that provider sync it. Provider support is necessary but not sufficient.

What's the difference between the synchronous and asynchronous flows?+

Synchronous is a signed redirect to the provider's approval screen with no token exchanged, so it is the one that matters in practice, though each provider still has to sync and enable your template. Asynchronous is full OAuth: it is supported by far fewer providers, needs an OAuth client set up with each one, and leaves you holding a credential.

Which providers support Domain Connect?+

Cloudflare, GoDaddy, IONOS, Vercel, WordPress.com, Glauca Digital, NameSilo and Plesk are listed implementers. Implementing the protocol is not the same as enabling your template: Cloudflare enables many new templates, while GoDaddy now routes most new services to Entri. Namecheap does not support it at all.

How is support detected?+

Purely from public DNS and a public endpoint. We read the _domainconnect TXT record on the zone, then fetch the settings endpoint it names. Nothing is written and no authentication is involved.

Should I build custom domain onboarding around Domain Connect?+

As an upgrade, not as the path. Only the providers that have enabled your template can use it, that list grows one provider at a time, and support is invisible until you check, so provider-aware manual instructions have to be the baseline. Offer the one-click route to the customers who can use it.

One-click where it exists, clear instructions where it doesn't

Domainee checks Domain Connect per customer and falls back to setup steps written for whichever DNS provider they are actually on.

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