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Five steps from zero to a working DNS record: create an account, add your domain, create an API key, create a record, and verify it resolves.

1. Create your account

Go to primedns.net/register and sign up. Check your inbox for the activation email and confirm your address before continuing.

2. Add your domain

In the panel, go to Domains → Add external domain and enter the domain you already own. This adds the zone to PrimeDNS — it does not transfer registration.

Add external domain form in the PrimeDNS panel

Then update your domain's nameservers at your registrar to:

ns1.primedns.net
ns2.primedns.net
Tip: nameserver propagation can take a few hours depending on your registrar and the domain's current TTL. Records you create in the next steps are live on PrimeDNS immediately, even before propagation finishes — you can verify them by querying PrimeDNS's nameservers directly (see step 5).

3. Create an API key

Go to Account → API Keys. In Create new API key, the dns:write scope is checked by default — click + Create key. Copy the key now; it is shown only once.

Create new API key form with dns:write scope checked

4. Create your first DNS record

Use the key as the X-API-Key header against the PrimeDNS API:

curl -X POST https://api.primedns.net/v1/dns/records \
  -H "X-API-Key: pdns_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "domain_name": "example.com",
    "name": "www",
    "type": "A",
    "content": "203.0.113.10",
    "ttl": 900
  }'

name is the label only ("www"), not the full hostname — PrimeDNS appends the zone automatically. Use "@" for the zone apex.

5. Verify it resolves

Query PrimeDNS's nameservers directly, so you don't have to wait for propagation:

dig @ns1.primedns.net www.example.com A +short

Or confirm the record exists via the API:

curl https://api.primedns.net/v1/dns/records?domain=example.com \
  -H "X-API-Key: pdns_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

Next steps