Use your own domain for your Minecraft server

Point a name you own at your relay with one DNS record, so your players type mc.yourdomain.com instead of an address we picked.

6 min read · Beginner · Last updated September 2026 ← All guides

What you'll learn

  • What a CNAME record is and why it's the only record you need
  • Exactly where to add it at Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap and IONOS
  • How to add the name to your relay and check it's working
  • Why an apex domain like yourdomain.com is a special case
  • What to do when it says it's still waiting for DNS

This is in beta. Custom domains went live in September 2026 and we're watching how they behave on real domains before we call them finished. Nothing here can break your relay: your yourname.play.mcservermanager.com address carries on exactly as it does now, and a custom domain is an extra name pointing at it rather than a replacement. If yours doesn't come up, tell us and we'll look at it.

You'll need Relay Pro. Custom domains come with it at no extra charge, up to three names on one relay. Relay Starter keeps its address on our domain, so if you're on Starter you'd need to move up to Pro at £2 a month first. No relay at all yet? Start here and come back once it's running.

What you're actually doing

Your relay already has an address like yourname.play.mcservermanager.com, and that's what players type today. A custom domain is a signpost: you add one record at whoever you bought your domain from saying "when someone looks up mc.yourdomain.com, send them to yourname.play.mcservermanager.com". That record is called a CNAME.

Nothing else changes. Same relay, same server, same speed, same everything. Minecraft tells our relay which address the player typed, so when your name arrives we recognise it and send them to your server exactly as we would have anyway.

Your website and your email are untouched, as long as you use a name that isn't already doing a job. mc.yourdomain.com or play.yourdomain.com are the safe picks, and they're what everyone uses.

No port on the end. Java players type mc.yourdomain.com and nothing else. Minecraft tries port 25565 by default, which is the port our relay listens on, so you don't need an SRV record or any second bit of setup.

The two values you need

Open your account page, find your relay, and press Use my own domain. The panel shows the address to point at. You'll need these two things at your registrar:

FieldWhat to put
TypeCNAME
Name / Host / Hostnamemc (just the bit in front, not the whole domain)
Value / Target / Points to / Contentyourname.play.mcservermanager.com (copy it from the panel)
TTLLeave it alone, whatever the default is

Registrars disagree about what to call these boxes, which is most of the confusion. "Name", "Host" and "Hostname" are the same box. "Value", "Target", "Points to" and "Content" are the same box.

Put mc in the name box, not mc.yourdomain.com. Nearly every registrar adds your domain on the end for you, so typing the full thing gives you mc.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com, which won't work. Cloudflare is the exception, it accepts either and shows you what it made.

Cloudflare

  1. Sign in and pick your domain
  2. Go to DNS > Records
  3. Press Add record
  4. Type: CNAME
  5. Name: mc
  6. Target: your relay address
  7. Proxy status: click the orange cloud so it turns grey and says DNS only
  8. Press Save

The orange cloud has to be off. This is the single most common way a Cloudflare setup fails. Cloudflare's proxy only carries web traffic, on web ports, so a proxied record sends your Minecraft players into something that can't speak Minecraft and they get a connection error. Grey cloud, "DNS only", and it works.

GoDaddy

  1. Sign in and open your Domain Control Center
  2. Select your domain to open Domain Settings
  3. Under Additional Settings, choose Manage DNS
  4. Press Add and choose CNAME from the Type list
  5. Name: mc
  6. Value: your relay address
  7. Press Save

GoDaddy says most changes are live within an hour. If yours is one of the slow ones it can take longer, so check again later rather than adding the record twice.

Namecheap

  1. Sign in and open Domain List from the left menu
  2. Press Manage next to your domain
  3. Open the Advanced DNS tab
  4. Under Host Records, press Add New Record and pick CNAME Record
  5. Host: mc
  6. Value: your relay address
  7. Press Save All Changes (the tick, it's easy to miss)

Namecheap reckons about 30 minutes for the change to spread.

IONOS

  1. Sign in and open the Domains & SSL area
  2. Next to your subdomain, click the gear under Actions and choose DNS
  3. Press Add record and choose CNAME
  4. Hostname: mc
  5. Points to: your relay address, with no http:// on the front
  6. Press Save

IONOS only lets you put a CNAME on a subdomain, and your domain has to be using IONOS name servers. Both are the normal setup if you bought the domain there and haven't moved it.

Any other registrar

The wording changes, the job doesn't. Find the DNS or "manage records" screen for your domain and add a record with these four values:

  • Type CNAME
  • Name or host mc
  • Value or target: your relay address from the account page
  • TTL: leave the default

If you can't find it, search for "add a CNAME record" plus the name of whoever you bought the domain from. Their own help page will have the exact screen. If you're still stuck, message us with the name of your registrar and we'll walk you through it.

Add it to your relay

  1. Go to your account page
  2. Find your relay and press Use my own domain
  3. Type the full name you just set up, so mc.yourdomain.com
  4. Press Add domain

We look the record up straight away. If it's there, the domain goes Live and your players can use it immediately. If it isn't there yet, it sits at Waiting for DNS and you press Check again in a few minutes. Nothing is broken while it waits, and your relay address keeps working the whole time.

You can add up to three names to one relay, so mc.yourdomain.com and play.yourdomain.com can both point at the same server if you want. Each one needs its own CNAME record, pointing at the same place.

Apex domains

An apex domain is your domain with nothing in front, so yourdomain.com rather than mc.yourdomain.com. Most registrars won't let you put a CNAME there, and the ones that do can break your email if you try, because the CNAME takes priority over the mail records sitting on the same name.

Use a subdomain. mc. or play. in front costs you nothing, it's what players expect, and it leaves your website and email alone.

If you really want the bare domain, some registrars offer an A record pointing at an IP address, and we do accept that. It works, but it's the fragile option: our node addresses can change when a node is rebuilt, and an A record won't follow. A CNAME follows on its own. We'll tell you on the account page if you've used one so it's not a surprise later.

Bedrock and console players

Your custom domain works for Bedrock too, with one difference: Bedrock players have to type the address and the port in separate boxes, exactly as they do with your relay address today. The port is on your relay card in the app and on your account page. Java players never need a port.

That's a limitation of Bedrock itself rather than anything to do with your domain. Bedrock doesn't tell the server what address the player typed, so there's no way for us to pick the port for them.

When it doesn't work

It still says "Waiting for DNS"

Nine times out of ten it's one of these:

  • It hasn't spread yet. New records normally show up within an hour. Wait and press Check again.
  • The name box has the whole domain in it. Look at the record you saved. If it reads mc.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com, change the name box to just mc.
  • You saved the record but not the page. Namecheap in particular needs a second save at the top of the list.
  • It's an A record pointing at your own PC. That's your home IP, not your relay. Delete it and add a CNAME instead.

It says it points somewhere else

The message names what your domain currently points at. Usually that's an old record from a website or a previous host, sitting on the same name. Edit that record rather than adding a second one, two records on the same name fight each other.

Players get "connection refused" or a timeout

If your domain shows as Live but nobody can join, check whether your relay address itself works first. If that's down too, it's the relay or the server, not the domain. If your relay address works and only your own name doesn't, and you're on Cloudflare, check the record is set to DNS only with the grey cloud.

I changed my relay address and my domain stopped working

That's expected. Your CNAME points at the old relay address, and the old one goes away when you rename. Update the CNAME at your registrar to the new address, then press Check again. The account page shows you exactly what to point it at.

Does this cost anything?

Nothing on top of Relay Pro. You pay whoever you bought the domain from for the domain itself, and that's it. It isn't part of Relay Starter, so on Starter you'd move up to Pro for 50p more a month.