DNS Lookup
Look up any DNS record type for a domain — or fetch them all at once.
What is a DNS lookup?
The Domain Name System is the internet's directory. A DNS lookup asks the authoritative nameservers for a domain what records it publishes — addresses, mail servers, text records, and more. This tool lets you query any single record type or pull them all at once.
The record types this tool checks
- A — maps the domain to an IPv4 address.
- AAAA — maps the domain to an IPv6 address.
- MX — names the mail servers that accept email for the domain.
- NS — names the authoritative nameservers for the domain.
- TXT — free-form text records; used for SPF, DKIM, DMARC, domain verification, and more.
- CNAME — an alias pointing one name at another.
- SOA — the Start of Authority record holding zone metadata.
- CAA — declares which certificate authorities may issue SSL/TLS certificates for the domain.
A and AAAA records
An A record points a hostname at an IPv4 address (e.g. 203.0.113.10). An AAAA record does the same for IPv6. A domain can have both; modern hosts increasingly publish AAAA records so IPv6-only clients can reach them.
TXT records
TXT records hold arbitrary text and are the workhorse of email authentication. Your SPF policy, DMARC policy, DKIM keys, and various domain-ownership verification tokens (Google, Microsoft, etc.) all live in TXT records. A domain often has several.
CAA records
A CAA record restricts which certificate authorities are allowed to issue certificates for your domain. It's a defense against mis-issuance — if you only use Let's Encrypt, a CAA record saying so stops any other CA from issuing a cert for your domain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "no records of this type" mean?
It means the domain exists and resolves, but has no records of the specific type you queried. That's normal — most domains don't publish CAA or AAAA records, for example. It's only a problem if you expected a record to be there.
Why do TXT records look broken up or quoted?
A single TXT record is limited to 255-character chunks, so long values (like DKIM keys) are stored as multiple quoted strings that get concatenated. This tool joins the chunks for you so you see the full value.
What's the difference between A and CNAME?
An A record points a name directly at an IP address. A CNAME points a name at another name, which is then resolved further. You can't have a CNAME at the apex (root) of a domain, and a name with a CNAME can't have other record types alongside it.
Which resolver does this tool query?
Lookups go through public recursive resolvers (Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 and Google 8.8.8.8), which fetch fresh answers from the domain's authoritative nameservers. Results reflect what those resolvers see, subject to normal DNS caching/TTL.
Why might results differ from what I just published?
DNS changes propagate based on the TTL of the old record. Until that TTL expires, resolvers may still serve the cached previous value. After a change, wait for the TTL window before expecting the new record everywhere.