What is a TXT record? Reading and checking multiple records

A TXT record associates text with a DNS name. Uses include SPF email-sender policies and domain ownership verification. Several TXT records at the same name are not automatically a configuration error.

Read each TXT record separately

The following data is fictional and illustrative, not an observed result or a configuration to publish unchanged.

Record 1

• Name: example.com
• Value: google-site-verification=EXAMPLE_TOKEN
• TTL: 300

Record 2

• Name: example.com
• Value: example-service-verification=SAMPLE_TOKEN
• TTL: 300

Name identifies where the record belongs; Value is the text for that record. Do not merge the two records into one string. For multiple results, NetKarte displays a count and record numbers, grouping each Name, Value, and TTL together.

TTL is the time in seconds for which a DNS response may be cached. A value of 300 means five minutes, not a guarantee that a change reaches everyone worldwide within five minutes. NetKarte's short application cache is separate from DNS TTL, and the displayed value is not a live countdown.

Multiple records are not multiple strings within one record

A single TXT record can contain multiple strings. NetKarte joins strings within that record without adding spaces to display Value. Control characters and some other bytes are converted to a safe representation; this is not a raw wire-data view.

For example, "example-service-verification=" and "SAMPLE_TOKEN" in one record appear as example-service-verification=SAMPLE_TOKEN. They are not two TXT records.

The consuming service defines how to interpret TXT content. SPF concatenates strings within one record, but multiple SPF policies at the same name are not allowed. Distinguish “multiple TXT records” from “multiple SPF policies”.

Checking with NetKarte

1. In DNS Lookup, enter the name specified by the service. example.com and www.example.com are different targets.
2. Select TXT, complete verification, and search.
3. Compare each record's Name and Value with the service's instructions.
4. With multiple results, Copy all copies the section's values separated by newlines. It does not produce a configuration file containing Name and TTL.

Queries run from the NetKarte server to Cloudflare's DNS service, not through your device's or organization's DNS resolver. ALL queries supported record types; it does not discover all subdomains.

DNS names containing underscores are accepted. Enter the full name specified by the service and select TXT: for example, _dmarc.example.com for DMARC or selector._domainkey.example.com for DKIM. These illustrate the name format; replace the domain and DKIM selector with the actual values. Retrieving TXT does not validate a message's authentication result.

When no record appears

• No records of the requested type: this query returned no TXT records, not necessarily no records of any type.
• Domain not found: the resolver reported that the name does not exist. Check the input name.
• Retrieval error: the query could not be completed, for example because of a timeout. This does not establish that TXT is unconfigured.

Check the configured name, any domain suffix automatically added by the management interface, and the service's required value. Older answers and negative answers can both be cached.

NetKarte does not score TXT content or guarantee mail delivery or completed ownership verification. Follow each service's instructions before deleting verification records. Google Search Console requires keeping its verification record after verification.