Perform global DNS queries for any domain. Fetch A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, and CNAME records instantly.
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the internet's distributed hierarchical naming system that translates human-readable domain names (example.com) into machine-readable IP addresses (93.184.216.34) and provides routing metadata for email, security policies, and service discovery. DNS operates through a globally distributed network of recursive resolvers, authoritative nameservers, and root nameservers that collectively answer billions of queries per day.
This DNS lookup tool queries live DNS servers for any record type and domain, returning the full DNS response including record values, TTL (time-to-live) values, and queried nameserver information. Use it to verify DNS configuration changes, diagnose email delivery failures, check certificate issuance requirements, and monitor propagation of DNS updates.
DNS stores different record types for different purposes. A records map domain names to IPv4 addresses. AAAA records map to IPv6 addresses. CNAME records create aliases from one domain to another (used for www subdomain redirection and CDN routing). MX records specify mail server addresses with priority values for routing email — lower priority number = higher preference.
TXT records store arbitrary text data, used for SPF (Sender Policy Framework) anti-spam verification, DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) public keys, domain ownership verification for SSL certificates, and Google/Microsoft site verification tokens. NS records delegate authority for a domain to specific nameservers. SOA records store administrative information about the zone including the primary nameserver, responsible party email, and serial numbers for zone transfer tracking.
Every DNS record carries a TTL (Time To Live) value — the number of seconds that caching resolvers should store the record before re-querying. Short TTLs (60-300 seconds) propagate changes quickly but increase DNS query load. Long TTLs (86400 seconds = 24 hours) reduce query load but delay propagation after changes.
DNS propagation is not instantaneous because resolvers worldwide cache records until their TTL expires. After changing a DNS record, old values may continue to be served by resolvers that cached them before the change. Best practice for planned DNS migrations is to lower TTL to 300 seconds 24-48 hours before making the change, then raise it back after confirming propagation. Global propagation checking requires querying nameservers in multiple geographic regions.
DNS (Domain Name System) translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses that computers use to route network traffic. Without DNS, you would need to memorize IP addresses like 142.250.80.46 instead of google.com. DNS is a distributed, hierarchical system — root nameservers know which servers are authoritative for each top-level domain (.com, .org), which then delegate to per-domain authoritative nameservers.
DNS propagation is the time required for updated DNS records to be visible from all resolvers worldwide. Each DNS record has a TTL (Time-to-Live) that tells caching resolvers how long to store the record. After a change, propagation is complete only when all resolvers that had cached the old record allow their TTL to expire and re-query. With typical TTLs of 3600-86400 seconds, propagation can take 1-48 hours globally.
An A record directly maps a hostname to an IPv4 address (example.com → 93.184.216.34). A CNAME record creates an alias from one hostname to another (www.example.com → example.com). CNAMEs add an indirection step — resolvers must look up the CNAME target and then resolve that target. CNAMEs cannot coexist with other record types at the same node, so they cannot be used at the zone apex (root domain).
MX (Mail Exchange) records specify the mail servers responsible for accepting email for a domain, with priority values (preference numbers). Lower numbers indicate higher priority. Multiple MX records create redundancy: if the primary mail server (priority 10) is unreachable, sending servers try the backup (priority 20). Example: MX 10 mail1.example.com, MX 20 mail2.example.com.
These TXT records authenticate email to prevent spoofing. SPF (Sender Policy Framework) specifies which servers are authorized to send mail from your domain. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) provides a cryptographic signature for email headers, verifiable using a public key stored in DNS. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) specifies how receivers should handle mail failing SPF or DKIM checks.