- 16 Jan 2024
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Splitting a long SPF TXT record
- Updated on 16 Jan 2024
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When to split your DNS record vs flatten it.
When a DNS TXT exceeds 255 characters, then it must be split into multiple strings.
What is SPF record flattening?
This article does not go into all the details of flattening. The purpose of flattening a record is to avoid the dreaded 10 DNS lookup limit perm fail error. Every time you include a 3rd party's SPF record, it counts against your 10-lookup limit. Some 3rd party providers even include other records in their own, so these also count against the limit.
Flattening is the process of converting the included SPF entries into a list of IP addresses and then including them in your record. The downside of doing this is that you must monitor the 3rd party records if they change and then update yours accordingly.