TXT record
A DNS record holding free-form text, used to publish SPF, DKIM keys, DMARC, MTA-STS, TLS-RPT, BIMI and domain verification tokens.
What it means
A TXT record contains one or more character strings of up to 255 bytes each; software joins them back together. That limit is why long DKIM keys appear as several quoted strings in one record. A name can carry many TXT records, which is how a domain's apex holds an SPF record next to verification tokens.
The name matters as much as the content. SPF sits at the domain itself, DMARC at _dmarc, DKIM keys at selector._domainkey, MTA-STS at _mta-sts, TLS-RPT at _smtp._tls and BIMI at default._bimi. Two SPF records, or two DMARC records, at one name break the check.
DNS hosts handle quoting and splitting differently, so verify a new TXT record with a lookup after publishing.
Example
example.com. 3600 IN TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.example.net -all"Related terms
On this site
Sources
What this definition rests on. The wording is ours; the facts are theirs.
All 432 terms in the glossaryThe wiki: blocklists and bounce codes