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dnsmigrator

Cloudflare DNS AdGuard Home

Migrate DNS from Cloudflare to AdGuard Home.

3 record types move as they are. 6 things work differently at AdGuard Home, and the preview shows exactly which of your records they affect.

Free preview. Read-only. Nothing changes until you apply.

What works differently

Generated from the same provider capability data the migration engine uses.

Moves as-is

  • A
  • AAAA
  • CNAME

Proxied records lose the CDN

AdGuard Home has no equivalent of Cloudflare's proxy. Proxied records move as plain records pointing at your origin, which exposes the origin IP. Put a CDN in front before cutting over if that matters.

Apex CNAMEs need a different shape

AdGuard Home doesn't allow a CNAME at the zone apex, but its ALIAS record does the same job. We convert them automatically.

TTLs below 300s are raised

AdGuard Home's minimum TTL is 300 seconds. Shorter TTLs are raised to 300s and shown as translated.

"Auto" TTLs get a real value

Cloudflare's automatic TTL has no equivalent, so those records get AdGuard Home's default of 300s.

Domains registered at Cloudflare must transfer out

Cloudflare Registrar only allows Cloudflare's nameservers. If the domain is registered there, transfer it to another registrar before switching.

A typical Cloudflare zone at AdGuard Home

Example records for example.com. Open any flagged row to read why it changed.

Cloudflare AdGuard Home

  • TranslatedALIAS@

    app.example-host.net.

    Apex CNAME stored as a AdGuard Home ALIAS record.

  • UnsupportedMX@

    Not migrated

    AdGuard Home doesn't support MX records through its API.

  • UnsupportedTXT@

    Not migrated

    AdGuard Home doesn't support TXT records through its API.

  • UnsupportedCAA@

    Not migrated

    AdGuard Home doesn't support CAA records through its API.

  • UnsupportedTXT_dmarc

    Not migrated

    AdGuard Home doesn't support TXT records through its API.

  • UnsupportedSRV_sip._tls

    Not migrated

    AdGuard Home doesn't support SRV records through its API.

  • ExactAmail

    203.0.113.25

  • ReviewAshop

    203.0.113.10

    TTL was "auto". Set to 300s.

  • TranslatedCNAMEwww

    example.com.

    TTL 3600s is outside the allowed range. Set to 300s.

How the move works

  1. 1

    Connect Cloudflare

    Connect Cloudflare with read-only access (Scoped API token).

  2. 2

    Connect AdGuard Home

    Connect AdGuard Home (Server URL + web interface username + password (HTTP Basic)). Write access is only used when you apply.

  3. 3

    Review the preview

    Check every record marked Review or Unsupported. Each one explains what changes and why.

  4. 4

    Apply to AdGuard Home

    We snapshot the AdGuard Home zone, write in batches, and leave Cloudflare untouched.

  5. 5

    Verify

    We query AdGuard Home's own nameservers for every record and compare the answers before you switch.

  6. 6

    Switch nameservers

    Lower TTLs a day or two ahead, remove any DS record if DNSSEC is on, then point the domain at the new nameservers at your registrar.

Good to know about Cloudflare

  • Proxied (orange-cloud) records hide the origin IP. Moving them to another provider sends traffic straight to the origin.
  • Apex CNAMEs are flattened by Cloudflare. Other providers need an ALIAS record or static A/AAAA records instead.
  • Cloudflare Registrar only allows Cloudflare nameservers, so domains registered there must be transferred out first.

Access we need: Zone → DNS → Read for the preview, Zone → DNS → Edit to apply.

Good to know about AdGuard Home

  • AdGuard Home usually runs on a private network; we refuse private addresses by design, so it is only reachable if you expose its web interface publicly over HTTPS.
  • Only DNS rewrites are managed: A, AAAA, CNAME (ALIAS at the apex) and the A/AAAA passthrough rules. Rewrites have no per-record TTL (the server uses one global TTL), so we report 300 seconds as DNSControl does.
  • AdGuard Home has no zones. We group rewrites by the domains you list, or by the last two labels of each name.

Access we need: AdGuard Home has a single admin role, so the account can read and change all settings; there is no read-only login.

Questions

Will there be downtime moving from Cloudflare to AdGuard Home?

Not if both providers serve the same answers during the switch. The records are copied to AdGuard Home and verified before you change nameservers, so resolvers get the same answer from either side while caches expire.

Do I have to delete anything at Cloudflare?

No. We never write to Cloudflare. Keep the old zone for a week after cutover so you can switch back instantly if anything looks wrong.

What about DNSSEC?

If DNSSEC is on, remove the DS record at your registrar and wait for it to expire before switching nameservers. Then enable DNSSEC at AdGuard Home and publish its new DS record. The cutover plan walks you through each step.

What happens to Cloudflare proxied records?

They move as ordinary records pointing at your origin server, because AdGuard Home can't proxy traffic. The preview lists every proxied record and the IP it would expose.

Related migrations

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