Connect a Porkbun domain (DNS records, ALIAS and TXT)

Did you buy your domain at Porkbun, or does Porkbun manage its DNS? This guide shows, step by step, where to create in Porkbun 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.
• The records you edit at Porkbun only apply if the domain uses Porkbun's nameservers (the default for domains registered there). If you moved it to another DNS provider, such as Cloudflare, edit the records there.

Step 1. Open your DNS records at Porkbun

1. Open Domain Management

   Sign in to Porkbun, click ACCOUNT and open Domain Management.

2. Open the DNS records

   Next to your domain, click the DNS button (or open Details and click the edit icon next to DNS RECORDS). The Manage DNS Records window opens.

3. Add a record

   Pick the Type, fill in Host and Answer, leave the TTL as is and add the record. Existing records are listed below.

Step 2. Point www to your academy (CNAME)

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

Choose CNAME and type only www in Host: Porkbun adds your domain. If you get "A CNAME or ALIAS record with that host already exists", delete the default record first (step 3).

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

• New Porkbun domains include default DNS records whose value is pixie.porkbun.com (Porkbun's parking page). Porkbun's help: delete any DNS records pointing to pixie.porkbun.com by clicking the trash can icon and then OK.
• Delete any other A, AAAA, ALIAS or CNAME record on the same Host.

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 Porkbun.

Create the A record on the root

If you set up URL Forwarding on the domain, delete it first, along with the default pixie records: they conflict with the A record. Since www already has the CNAME, the root doesn't need the TXT. Create this record, replacing any existing A record on the root:

At Porkbun the root is written by leaving Host empty (not @). Porkbun also offers an ALIAS record ("CNAME flattening") on the root, which works too, but like the A record it needs the TXT, and the A record is simpler.

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

   Porkbun recommends leaving the default TTL. Its help says new A records usually work in about 5 minutes, and that after deleting the parking records it can take up to 24 to 48 hours everywhere.

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 Porkbun.

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 in Answer. Type the Host without your domain: remove .yourdomain.com from the Host that Acatudy shows.

Common problems at Porkbun

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 Porkbun (see Support and response times).

Official documentation and related guides

Porkbun official documentation consulted for this guide:

• How to add DNS records on Porkbun
• How to edit DNS records
• Pointing your domain to hosting with A records
• Connecting your root domain with an ALIAS record
• "CNAME/ALIAS record with that host already exists" error
• How to set up URL forwarding

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