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DNS Lookup Tool

Check DNS records for any domain — A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, CNAME, SOA

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Looking up DNS records...

How DNS Lookup Works

DNS (Domain Name System) is often called the phonebook of the internet. When you type a domain name like google.com, your computer queries DNS servers to find the corresponding IP address. This tool performs those queries and displays all available DNS records for a domain.

Understanding DNS Record Types

Common Uses

DNS lookups are essential for verifying domain configuration, troubleshooting email delivery issues, checking DNS propagation after making changes, and auditing a domain's DNS setup for security purposes.

DNS records: what each type does, and what a normal answer looks like

A DNS lookup answers one question — what does this domain say about itself right now — and the answer is cached everywhere for the length of its TTL. Most real problems are not “the record is wrong” but “the record is right and the old one has not expired yet”, which is why the TTL column matters as much as the value.

Record types you will actually meet

TypeWhat it holdsTypical valueCommon TTL
AIPv4 address for the name203.0.113.103600
AAAAIPv6 address2001:db8::13600
CNAMEAn alias pointing at another nameshop.example.com → myshop.myshopify.com3600
MXMail servers, with a preference number — lower wins1 aspmx.l.google.com3600
TXTFree text: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and platform verificationv=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all3600
NSThe authoritative name servers for the zonens1.example-dns.com86400
SOAZone metadata: primary server, serial, refresh timersone per zone86400
CAAWhich certificate authorities may issue for this name0 issue "letsencrypt.org"3600
SRVService location: port and host for a named service_sip._tcp3600
PTRReverse lookup, IP back to a namelives in the provider’s zone, not yours86400

How long a change really takes

You changedGoverned byRealistic wait
An A, AAAA or CNAME recordThe old record’s TTL5 minutes to 1 hour
An MX recordThe old TTL. Mail retries, so little is lost.Minutes to hours
A TXT recordThe old TTLMinutes
The name servers themselvesThe TLD zone TTL, often 24 to 48 hours1 to 24 hours
A brand new domain’s first delegationRegistry zone publicationMinutes to a few hours

Worked example: planning a zero-downtime cutover

You are moving example.com from an old server to a new one on Wednesday at 10:00.

Monday 10:00 — drop the A record TTL from 3600 to 300. Resolvers holding the old 3600-second copy need up to an hour to see the shorter one, so do this early.

Wednesday 10:00 — change the A record to the new IP.

Wednesday 10:05 — verify from a resolver you have not queried before.

Wednesday 11:00 — raise the TTL back to 3600.

Worst-case visitor delay is 5 minutes instead of an hour, and only the new TTL is left in place afterwards.

Reading TXT records for mail health

Answers built on this tool

More questions people ask

Why do I see a different answer from my colleague?

Because every recursive resolver caches independently with its own expiry clock. Someone whose resolver fetched the record a minute before your change waits the full TTL; someone with nothing cached sees the new value immediately. It is not a gradual rollout, it is many separate caches expiring at different moments.

Does flushing my DNS cache help?

It fixes your machine only. ipconfig /flushdns on Windows or dscacheutil -flushcache on macOS clears the local stub cache, but the recursive resolver upstream still holds its own copy until the TTL expires.

Why can I not put a CNAME on the root domain?

Because a CNAME must be the only record for that name, and the root of a zone has to carry SOA and NS records. Providers work around it with ALIAS, ANAME or CNAME flattening, which resolve the target and answer with an A record instead.

What TTL should I use?

3600 seconds is a sensible default. Drop to 300 for the window around a planned migration and raise it back afterwards. A permanently low TTL means more queries, slower first page loads, and no cached fallback if your DNS provider has an outage.

My MX records look right but mail still bounces. What next?

Check SPF, DKIM and DMARC before touching MX again. MX controls where inbound mail is delivered; the TXT records control whether your outbound mail is accepted. A bounce that mentions authentication, alignment or policy is a TXT problem, not an MX one.

Lookups on this page query public registry and DNS data. Nothing about the domain you type is stored, and the domain owner is not notified.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a DNS lookup?
A DNS lookup queries the Domain Name System to find the IP address and other records associated with a domain name. It translates human-readable domain names like google.com into machine-readable IP addresses.
What are the different DNS record types?
Common DNS record types include: A (IPv4 address), AAAA (IPv6 address), MX (mail server), NS (name server), TXT (text information like SPF/DKIM), CNAME (alias to another domain), and SOA (start of authority with zone details).
How long does DNS propagation take?
DNS propagation typically takes 24-48 hours after making changes, though it can sometimes complete in minutes. The time depends on the TTL (Time to Live) values set for the records and how quickly DNS servers around the world update their caches.

Domain and network questions, answered

Questions this lookup answers in full, with the reference tables.

For teams, not just visitors

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