A comprehensive knowledge base about the Domain Connect protocol, maintained by Pawel Kowalik, co-author of draft-ietf-dconn-domainconnect-01.
Domain Connect is an open standard that automates DNS configuration when a user connects a domain to a third-party service (website builder, email platform, online store, etc.). Instead of manually creating DNS records — a process that fails for ~50% of users — the service provider and DNS provider communicate directly, and the user simply gives informed consent.
- Status: Production-deployed since 2016; IETF Standards Track (DCONN WG, approved Oct 2025)
- Scale: ~20 DNS providers, 720 templates from 408 service providers, ~35% of the .com zone covered
Source material for LinkedIn posts, blog articles, conference presentations, partner outreach, and analyst briefings — written from the perspective of a registry operator and protocol author.
| # | Document | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Problem & Context | Why DNS configuration is broken; domain growth & renewal data |
| 02 | What Is Domain Connect | Definition, scope, what it is not, key concepts |
| 03 | How It Works | Technical flows, templates, discovery, consent |
| 04 | Protocol Features | All protocol features with technical detail |
| 05 | Use Cases | Primary, extended, and out-of-scope use cases |
| 06 | Value by Audience | What Domain Connect means for each stakeholder group |
| 07 | Adoption & Ecosystem | Current implementations, providers, standardization status |
| 08 | Security Model | Trust model, URL signing, OAuth scoping |
| 09 | Getting Involved | How to implement, IETF participation, community resources |
| 10 | Key Messages | Ready-to-use soundbites, LinkedIn posts, blog openings, pitches |
| 11 | Template Reference | Field-by-field reference for template metadata and record flags |
| 12 | Getting Started: DNS Provider | Step-by-step implementation guide for DNS Providers |
| 13 | Getting Started: Service Provider | Step-by-step integration guide for Service Providers |
| 14 | Storytelling | First-person stories and plain-language explainers by audience |
| 15 | Template Use Cases | 8 use-case patterns with examples and implementation guidance |
Knowledge Base/ — Markdown source (MkDocs docs_dir)
Stories/ — story files per role/audience
Explainers/ — plain-language explainers + index
Use Cases/ — one file per template use-case pattern
Sources/ — raw source documents (do not modify)
assets/ — logo files (PNG, EPS)
Website/ — archived domainconnect.org pages
.github/workflows/
pages.yml — CI: build MkDocs and publish to GitHub Pages
mkdocs.yml — MkDocs configuration
requirements.txt — Python dependencies
The knowledge base is published as a static site using MkDocs Material, styled to match the Domain Connect brand.
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt
.venv/bin/mkdocs serveOpen http://127.0.0.1:8000.
Every push to main automatically builds and deploys the site to GitHub Pages via GitHub Actions. No manual steps required.
Repository setting: Pages → Source must be set to GitHub Actions.
Live stats: stats.domainconnect.org