DNS Lookup

What is DNS Lookup?

DNS Lookup takes a domain name and returns the DNS records configured for it, broken out by type. It supports A (IPv4 address), AAAA (IPv6 address), MX (mail server), TXT (SPF, DKIM, domain-ownership verification, and more), NS (name server), CNAME (alias), and SOA (start of authority) records — everything you need to confirm where a domain actually points and whether its mail and verification settings are correct.

The lookup runs on the server, not in your browser. Browser JavaScript has no API for issuing raw DNS queries for arbitrary domains, so the domain you enter is sent to the server, which queries a resolver on your behalf and returns just the results. Queries go to the Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) and Google (8.8.8.8) public resolvers, with a 5-second timeout and 2 retries for reliable results.

In practice this is especially handy after a domain migration — to confirm the A/AAAA records point to the new server, the MX records target the right mail host, and TXT records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC were published as expected. Because it queries public resolvers, you see results unaffected by your local cache or corporate internal DNS.

How to use

1. Enter the domain you want to look up (e.g. example.com). Results can differ depending on whether you include www or a subdomain (e.g. mail.example.com), so enter the exact hostname you mean to check.
2. Choose a record type: A/AAAA for IP addresses, MX for mail servers, TXT for SPF and verification strings, NS for the delegated name servers.
3. Click 'DNS Lookup' and the server queries a public resolver and returns the records of that type. Use the copy button next to each record to grab its value verbatim.

Frequently asked questions

It returns 0 records but the domain works fine. Why?

The selected record type simply isn't configured on that domain. A subdomain set up as a CNAME, for instance, may show nothing for an A query, and a domain that doesn't send mail has no MX. Switch the type and query again. Nonexistent domains (ENOTFOUND) also come back as an empty result.

The values differ from nslookup or dig on my machine.

This tool queries via the Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) and Google (8.8.8.8) public resolvers. If you run corporate/ISP internal DNS, a hosts file, or split-horizon DNS, local results can differ. And if you changed a record recently, caches persist for the record's TTL, so values may disagree until propagation completes.

How long do DNS changes take to take effect?

It depends on each record's TTL (Time To Live). A TTL of 300 seconds means caches can linger up to 5 minutes; 3600 seconds means up to an hour. Lowering the TTL ahead of a planned change makes propagation faster.

What can I verify with TXT records?

SPF (allowed sending servers), DKIM signing keys, DMARC policy, and the domain-ownership verification strings for services like Google and GitHub are all published as TXT. When mail authentication or domain verification fails, a TXT lookup confirms whether the value is actually published and free of typos or duplicates.