If your domain lives at IONOS, you no longer have to copy records by hand. You store an API key under Connections; once a project has domains, the platform writes the records into the matching zone.
Manual DNS is still possible – see Configure a DNS record.
API key in IONOS
This uses the Hosting DNS API (api.hosting.ionos.com), not IONOS Cloud and not the Data Center Designer. A Cloud token from the DCD will not work here.
- Sign in to your IONOS account (customer number, email, or domain).
- Open the Developer Hub and enable API access once (accept the terms).
- Under API Keys create a new key.
- Copy the public prefix and secret. In the platform you enter them as a single line
prefix.secret(joined with a dot). IONOS often shows the two parts separately; do not paste them with a space or a line break.
Without API access enabled on the account, IONOS rejects the key even when prefix and secret look correct.
Connection in the platform
- Open Connections and Add connection.
- Under DNS, choose the IONOS tile.
- Paste the API key and save. The platform checks whether the key is valid and which zones it can see.
Several IONOS connections in one organization are allowed. If a hostname matches more than one zone, the platform uses the most specific one (shop.example.com before example.com).
What is written
The platform uses the same hosts you see under Domains.
- Records are only written when a real server address already exists.
- Existing records of the same type are updated; the whole zone is never replaced.
- Changes usually show up quickly.
flowchart LR org["IONOS connection"] domains["Domains in the platform"] zone["IONOS zone"] server["Your server"] org --> zone domains -->|"A / CNAME"| zone zone --> server
After you save a project, the platform tries to align missing or mismatched records. You can see the check status in the domain overview.
Troubleshooting
- Invalid key: Check the
prefix.secretformat (one dot, no spaces), enable API access in the IONOS account, and update the connection. A token from IONOS Cloud / DCD is the wrong type. - No record in IONOS: The domain is not in a zone this key can see – check the account or zone name.
- Status in the platform still red: DNS often takes a few minutes, or the server does not have a known address yet.