Connect a domain managed in Cloudflare (DNS only, not proxied)

Did you buy your domain at Cloudflare, or does Cloudflare manage its DNS? This guide shows, step by step, where to create in Cloudflare the records Acatudy asks for.

Before you start

• In Acatudy, go to My academy → General → Details & domain, type your address in Your own domain (for example www.brightpathtutoring.com) and click Add domain. A custom domain is included in Basic and Professional (1 domain) and Institutional (3 domains).
• Open How do I link my domain? on that card and keep it at hand: it shows your CNAME target (like brightpath.acatudy.com) and the IP address for a root domain.
• This guide applies whenever your domain uses Cloudflare's nameservers (*.ns.cloudflare.com), even if you bought it at GoDaddy, Namecheap or elsewhere: the records are edited in Cloudflare, not at the registrar. Domains registered with Cloudflare Registrar already use them. The zone must show as Active in Cloudflare.

Step 1. Open your DNS records at Cloudflare

1. Open the zone

   Sign in to the Cloudflare dashboard and select your domain.

2. Go to DNS Records

   Go to the DNS Records page (under DNS).

3. Add a record

   Select Add record, choose the Type and fill in the fields. Finish with Save.

Step 2. Point www to your academy (CNAME)

Add this record (or edit the existing www record if there is one):

Choose CNAME, type www in Name, paste your academy address in Target and switch Proxy status to DNS only before saving. If a www record already exists (for example an A record imported when you added the zone), edit or delete it first.

Using another subdomain, such as learn? Use it as the name instead of www, and add that same address in Acatudy. With this CNAME no TXT record is needed.

Step 3. Remove records that get in the way

• Cloudflare doesn't add parking records, but when you added the zone its quick scan imported your old records. Review them: delete old A, AAAA or CNAME records on www (and on @ if you serve the root).
• Cloudflare's docs: if several A or AAAA records share a name and one of them is proxied, all of them are treated as proxied. Remove the extras.

Don't touch MX, SPF or DKIM records: they run your email.

Step 4 (optional). The root domain

brightpathtutoring.com (without www) and www.brightpathtutoring.com are one domain: if the root also points to Acatudy, it works on its own, redirects (301) to the address you added keeping the path, shares its HTTPS certificate and doesn't count as an extra domain. So you no longer need to forward the root to www from Cloudflare.

Create the A record on the root

If you had set up a redirect for the root (a proxied placeholder A record plus a Single Redirect rule), delete both first. Since www already has the CNAME, the root doesn't need the TXT. Create this record, replacing any existing A record on the root:

Cloudflare does allow a CNAME on @: it applies CNAME flattening automatically at the root. A flattened CNAME also works with Acatudy, but like the A record it needs the TXT, and the A record is simpler. Either way, keep it DNS only.

Prefer the root as your main address? Add brightpathtutoring.com in Acatudy instead of www, create the same A record and the TXT record (see below). If you also create the CNAME on www, www redirects to the root and the TXT isn't needed.

Step 5. Verify in Acatudy and get HTTPS

1. Wait for propagation

   In Cloudflare, a TTL of Auto means 300 seconds, so changes usually reach the rest of the internet within minutes. If you just moved the domain to Cloudflare's nameservers, Cloudflare says to allow up to 24 hours for the registrar to update them.

2. Verification is automatic

   Acatudy checks pending domains every 10 minutes for 14 days. To check right away, click Verify on the Your own domain card: the badge changes from pending to verified.

3. HTTPS is automatic too

   Once verified, we issue a free Let's Encrypt certificate and renew it for you, usually within minutes (we retry every hour if the DNS isn't ready). There's nothing to install at Cloudflare.

4. Check it yourself (optional)

   Run nslookup -type=CNAME www.brightpathtutoring.com in a terminal, or use Google's Admin Toolbox Dig: the answer should be your academy address.

The TXT record (required with an A record on the root)

If you use an A record on the root, Acatudy requires a TXT record to prove the domain is yours (the IP address is shared by all academies). With the CNAME on www you don't need it, not even for the root. The card shows its Host (e.g. _acatudy-verify.brightpathtutoring.com) and Value (acatudy-verify=…).

Choose TXT and paste the value. TXT records are always DNS only in Cloudflare. In Name, the short form shown above is enough; Cloudflare displays the record with your domain added.

Common problems at Cloudflare

Still not verified after 24 hours, or verified without HTTPS? Open a ticket in Support from your panel with the domain and a screenshot of your DNS records at Cloudflare (see Support and response times).

Official documentation and related guides

Cloudflare official documentation consulted for this guide:

• Create DNS records
• Proxy status
• Proxy status use cases (domain verification, SaaS-hosted websites)
• Create zone apex record
• CNAME flattening
• Time to Live (TTL)
• Redirect the apex domain to a subdomain
• Update nameservers

In Acatudy: Connect your domain: guides by provider (www vs root, nameservers, TTL and troubleshooting) and Connect your own domain.