DNS Lookup
Query DNS records for any domain. View A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, and more.
Input
Quick Examples
Results
Enter a domain and click Lookup to query DNS records.
What is a DNS record?
DNS records are the "instructions" stored in a domain's authoritative nameservers. When your browser asks "where is example.com?", a recursive resolver walks from the root DNS servers down through each level (.com → example.com's nameserver) and fetches the relevant records.
Each record has:
- Name — the hostname it applies to (
www.example.com,@for root,mailformail.example.com). - Type — A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, etc.
- TTL (Time To Live) — seconds resolvers should cache the answer. Low TTL (60-300s) for pre-migration; high TTL (3600-86400s) for stable records to reduce lookup load.
- Data — the actual value (IP address, hostname, text, priority, etc.).
Tell the authoritative nameserver once, and the global DNS system propagates the answer to resolvers worldwide within minutes to days (depending on TTLs along the path).
DNS record types — what each one does
| Type | Purpose | Example value |
|---|---|---|
| A | Maps hostname to IPv4 address | 93.184.216.34 |
| AAAA | Maps hostname to IPv6 address | 2606:2800:220:1:... |
| CNAME | Alias — "look up the A record of this other name" | www.example.com → example.com |
| MX | Mail server for this domain | 10 mx1.example.com (priority + host) |
| TXT | Arbitrary text — SPF, DKIM, domain verification, DMARC | v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all |
| NS | Nameservers authoritative for this domain | ns1.cloudflare.com |
| SOA | Start of Authority — DNS zone metadata | serial, refresh, retry, expire times |
| PTR | Reverse DNS — IP to hostname | Used for email spam reputation |
| SRV | Service discovery — hostname+port for a protocol | _sip._tcp.example.com → 10 60 5060 sip.example.com |
| CAA | Which CAs may issue certificates for this domain | 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" |
| DNSKEY / DS / RRSIG | DNSSEC cryptographic signing | (for integrity, not name resolution) |
Our DNS Lookup queries all common types in one request and displays them grouped — equivalent to running dig multiple times against a public resolver.
Common DNS troubleshooting scenarios
- "Site didn't load after I updated DNS" — TTL (time to live) controls how long resolvers cache the old value. Pre-migration, lower TTL to 60-300s so the new value propagates fast. Our lookup shows current TTL.
- "Email isn't being delivered" — check MX record (who receives), then TXT for SPF (who can send on your behalf), DKIM (message signature), DMARC (policy).
- "HTTPS works but wrong cert" — check CAA records; if set, only the listed CAs can issue. Remove or update.
- "Different results from different DNS servers" — propagation lag. Use
dig @8.8.8.8,@1.1.1.1,@208.67.222.222to check from major public resolvers. Our lookup uses Google Public DNS. - "Subdomain not resolving but root domain does" — missing A/CNAME record at the subdomain name. Wildcards (
*.example.com) are per-label —*matches one label, not multiple.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is DNS?
The Domain Name System (DNS) translates human-readable domain names (like google.com) into IP addresses that computers use to communicate.
What are the different DNS record types?
A records map to IPv4 addresses, AAAA to IPv6, CNAME for aliases, MX for mail servers, TXT for verification, NS for nameservers, SOA for zone authority.
How long does DNS propagation take?
DNS changes typically propagate within 24-48 hours, though most updates are visible within 1-4 hours depending on TTL values.
Smarter quality checks. Faster deployments.
Better apps.
