Use Your Own Domain: Minecraft SRV Records

Your server comes with an address like node1.emeraldsmc.com:26001. It works perfectly, but nobody remembers a port number. With one DNS record you can let players type play.yourdomain.com instead — no port, no add-on, no extra cost. Here's how, for the registrars people actually use.

What you're setting up

An SRV record tells Minecraft "the server for this hostname is actually at that host and port". The player types play.yourdomain.com, their client quietly looks up the record, and connects to your real address behind the scenes.

You need two things from your panel's Network tab (or the address panel on your console page):

• Target — node1.emeraldsmc.com
• Port — your server's port, e.g. 26001

Build your record

Put your details in and the exact values appear below — copy them straight into your registrar.

The record always follows this shape:

Every registrar asks for the same values; they just lay the form out differently.

Cloudflare

1. Select your domain, open DNS → Records → Add record.
2. Set Type to SRV.
3. Fill in: Service _minecraft, Protocol _tcp, Name play.
4. Priority 0, Weight 5, Port your port, Target node1.emeraldsmc.com.
5. Save.

⚠️ Don't proxy it. Cloudflare's orange cloud only handles web traffic — it cannot carry Minecraft. SRV records aren't proxied at all, but if you also create an A record for your subdomain, set it to DNS only (grey cloud). An orange-clouded A record is the single most common reason a custom domain "just times out".

Namecheap

1. Domain List → Manage → Advanced DNS.
2. Add New Record → SRV Record.
3. Service _minecraft, Protocol _tcp, Name play.
4. Priority 0, Weight 5, Port your port, Target node1.emeraldsmc.com.
5. Save with the green tick.

Namecheap sometimes wants the target without a trailing dot — if it rejects your entry, remove any dot at the end.

GoDaddy

1. My Products → DNS next to your domain.
2. Add New Record, type SRV.
3. Service _minecraft, Protocol _tcp, Name play, Target node1.emeraldsmc.com.
4. Priority 0, Weight 5, Port your port, TTL 1 hour.
5. Save.

Any other registrar

The fields are standardised, so the same seven values work anywhere. Some hosts (Porkbun, Hover, older cPanel panels) ask for one combined string instead of separate boxes. In that case the record is:

Name:  _minecraft._tcp.play
Value: 0 5 26001 node1.emeraldsmc.com

That's priority, weight, port, target — in that order.

Checking it worked

Give DNS a few minutes, then look the record up.

Windows — open Command Prompt:

nslookup -type=srv _minecraft._tcp.play.yourdomain.com

macOS or Linux:

dig +short SRV _minecraft._tcp.play.yourdomain.com

A working record answers with something like:

0 5 26001 node1.emeraldsmc.com.

If you get nothing back, wait a little longer — most registrars publish within a few minutes, though the TTL you set can stretch it to an hour. If it's still empty after that, the record's name is usually the culprit: check you entered play and not play.yourdomain.com in the Name box, since most panels append the domain for you.

The simpler alternative

Don't want to bother with SRV? Create a plain CNAME pointing at your node:

Players then connect with play.yourdomain.com:26001 — your domain, but they still type the port. It's one field instead of seven, and it's a perfectly reasonable trade. Use the hostname rather than a raw IP address: if we ever move your server between machines, the hostname follows it and your record keeps working.

Things worth knowing

• Your port doesn't change. Restarts, upgrades between plans, world resets — none of them move your allocation, so the record keeps working. If we ever do need to move you, we'll tell you first.
• Java only. Minecraft: Bedrock Edition ignores SRV records. Bedrock players always enter a host and a port separately.
• The root domain works too. Set Name to @ and players type yourdomain.com with nothing in front.
• Don't put it behind a web proxy. Cloudflare's proxy, and similar services elsewhere, are for HTTP. Minecraft traffic must reach the server directly.
• One record per server. Running two servers? Give each its own subdomain — play and creative, say — each with its own port.

Stuck? Open a ticket from your billing account with your domain and the subdomain you want, and we'll tell you exactly what to put in the box. Not a paid extra — just tell us and we'll help.