Lookup

DNS Lookup

View a domain's DNS records: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA and CAA. For an IP address you get the reverse PTR record.

About this tool

DNS Lookup shows how a domain is configured in the DNS. It lists the server IP addresses (A, AAAA), aliases (CNAME), mail servers (MX), authoritative name servers (NS), text records including SPF and service verifications (TXT), zone details (SOA) and allowed certificate authorities (CAA). For an IP address it finds the reverse PTR record. Results include warnings about common configuration mistakes.

Glossary

A record
Translates a domain name to the server's IPv4 address, e.g. 93.184.215.14. Without an A or AAAA record the website cannot be reached.
AAAA record
The same as an A record, but for an IPv6 address (e.g. 2606:2800:21f:cb07::1). It makes the website reachable from IPv6-only networks.
CNAME record
An alias - the name is just a nickname for another name (e.g. www.example.com to example.netlify.app). It must not be at the domain root or next to other records.
MX record
Defines the mail servers that receive e-mail for the domain. The number before the name is the priority, a lower number wins.
NS record
The authoritative name servers that hold the domain's DNS records. A domain should have at least two, ideally in different networks.
TXT record
Free text in DNS. Used for SPF, DKIM, DMARC and for domain ownership verification by services like Google or Microsoft 365.
SOA record
The first record of a DNS zone: primary name server, administrator e-mail, zone serial number and timers for synchronizing secondary servers.
CAA record
Defines which certificate authorities may issue an SSL certificate for the domain. Without it any authority may issue one.
PTR record
Reverse DNS - assigns a host name to an IP address. It is set by the owner of the IP address (the hosting provider), mail servers require it from senders.
TTL
Time To Live - how many seconds resolvers may cache the record. A low TTL makes changes take effect faster, a high TTL reduces the number of queries.

How to use

  1. 1Enter a domain (example.com), a full URL or an IP address.
  2. 2Click Look up records or press Enter.
  3. 3Use the type buttons to narrow the table to one kind of record.
  4. 4Review the findings - they flag missing SPF, IPv6 or CAA.
  5. 5The page link contains your query, so you can share it with a colleague.

Specifications and limits

Our server sends the queries to the public resolvers of Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) and Google (8.8.8.8), so the result does not depend on your ISP or local cache. TTL is shown for A and AAAA records and is the time remaining in the resolver cache. Internationalized domain names (IDN) are supported. The limit is 20 queries per minute.