DNS Lookup
Check DNS records for any domain name.
What is DNS?
DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet's phone book. It translates human-readable domain names like "example.com" into IP addresses that computers use to locate each other.
When you type a URL in your browser, a DNS resolver queries multiple servers to find the IP address associated with that domain. This process typically takes milliseconds and happens entirely behind the scenes.
Different DNS record types serve different purposes: A records point to IPv4 addresses, MX records direct email, TXT records store verification data, and NS records delegate to authoritative name servers.
This tool resolves the current DNS records for any hostname, covering the six most common record types: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, SOA, and TXT.
What the six record types tell you
Each DNS record type answers a different question about a domain. A records map a hostname to an IPv4 address; AAAA records do the same for IPv6. CNAME records point a hostname to another hostname, often used for subdomains or aliases. MX records specify the mail servers that handle email for the domain, along with priority values. NS records list the authoritative nameservers, and SOA records contain administrative details like the primary nameserver and refresh intervals. TXT records hold arbitrary text, commonly used for verification strings or email authentication like SPF. Using this tool returns all of these record types at once, so you can see a full picture of a domain's DNS configuration without querying each type separately.
Reading a live snapshot, not a history
The results you see are a live snapshot of the authoritative answer at the moment you run the lookup. This tool reads the current record, not the history of changes. If you need to know what a domain's DNS looked like last week or whether a change has propagated globally, that is a different kind of tool. This one is for checking the state right now. Because DNS records can change frequently, especially during migrations or failovers, a quick lookup here gives you the ground truth for that instant. If you suspect a record has recently been updated but the response looks stale, you may be looking at cached data from your local resolver, not what this tool retrieves.
Practical uses: from email setup to domain transfers
A single lookup here can save time in several routine tasks. If you are configuring email, checking the MX records confirms which server should accept mail. If you are moving a domain to a new registrar, verifying the NS records ensures the delegation is correct before you cut over. If you just bought a domain and pointed it at a web host, an A or AAAA record lookup tells you whether the hostname resolves to the expected IP. For subdomains, a CNAME check shows whether the alias points where you intended. TXT records are often the sticking point in domain verification, and a quick lookup confirms whether a required text value is actually present. Because the tool returns all six types together, you can verify multiple aspects of a domain's configuration in one pass.
How it fits with other checks on this site
A DNS lookup is one piece of a domain's overall health. For a fuller picture, pair it with the WHOIS lookup to see registration details, the SSL checker to confirm the certificate matches the hostname, or the IP lookup to learn more about the resolved address. The domain age checker can tell you how long the domain has been registered, and the bulk domain checker lets you run similar checks across multiple domains at once. If you are comparing registrars or TLDs, the /compare and /tlds pages help you see how DNS settings are handled per provider. None of these tools replace the others; they each look at a different layer of the domain stack.
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. It translates human-readable names into machine-readable addresses.
What are the different DNS record types?
Common types include A (IPv4 address), AAAA (IPv6), MX (mail server), TXT (text data like SPF), NS (name server), CNAME (alias), and SOA (zone authority).
How long does DNS propagation take?
DNS propagation typically takes 1-48 hours globally, depending on TTL values and caching. Changes to NS records take longer than A or CNAME updates.
What is TTL in DNS?
TTL (Time to Live) is the duration in seconds that a DNS record is cached by resolvers. Lower TTL means faster propagation but more queries to your server.