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DNS Lookup

DNS Lookup

Check DNS records for any domain name. Look up A, AAAA, MX, CNAME, NS, TXT, and other DNS records instantly.

  • Free
  • No registration
  • Real DNS records

Run The Lookup

DNS Records for Your Domain

Enter a domain name, choose a record type, and get the DNS records currently published for it.

Try:

This tool queries live DNS records using this server’s own resolver at the moment you run the lookup — not a cached or third-party database. Results depend on the domain’s current DNS configuration and can vary slightly between resolvers around the world.

Reading Your Results

Understanding Your DNS Results

  • Name — the hostname the record applies to, such as the domain itself or a subdomain.
  • Value — what the record points to: an IP address, another hostname or text, depending on the record type.
  • TTL — time to live, in seconds: how long resolvers are allowed to cache the record before checking again.
  • Priority — on MX records only, the order mail servers should be tried in; lower numbers are preferred first.

Basics

What Is a DNS Lookup?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the directory that connects human-readable domain names to the technical details computers need to reach them. Every domain publishes a set of DNS records — small entries that say where its website is hosted, which servers handle its email, which name servers are authoritative for it, and more.

A DNS lookup queries those records directly and shows you what is currently published for a domain. This tool sends the query to DNS in real time and reports the records returned — the same information your browser, email client and other services rely on every time they resolve that domain.

Reference

DNS Record Types Explained

What each record type does, so you can make sense of your results above.

A

Maps a domain name to an IPv4 address.

AAAA

Maps a domain name to an IPv6 address.

CNAME

Points one domain name to another hostname.

MX

Specifies the mail servers responsible for receiving email for a domain.

NS

Identifies the authoritative DNS name servers for a domain.

TXT

Stores text-based DNS information, commonly used for verification, SPF and DKIM-related data, and other policies.

SOA

Contains administrative information about a DNS zone, including the primary name server and timing parameters.

Methodology

How to Use a DNS Lookup

Three steps, and the records depend entirely on the domain’s current DNS configuration — nothing here is pre-filled or guessed.

  1. Enter a domain name, such as example.com.

  2. Choose a DNS record type, or leave it on “All” to see the main record types at once.

  3. Review the DNS records returned by the lookup, including their values and TTLs.

Use Cases

Why Check DNS Records?

A quick DNS lookup answers most of the day-to-day questions that come up when a domain isn’t behaving as expected.

  • Troubleshooting website DNS issues after a migration or a hosting change.
  • Checking whether a domain points to the IP address you expect.
  • Verifying mail server (MX) configuration for a domain.
  • Checking which name servers a domain is currently using.
  • Inspecting TXT records used for domain verification and email authentication.
  • Confirming that a recent DNS change was saved correctly with your provider.

Terminology

DNS Lookup vs. WHOIS Lookup

Both tools look up information about a domain, but they answer different questions.

DNS Lookup

Checks a domain’s DNS records and shows how it currently resolves — its A/AAAA, MX, NS, TXT and other records. Useful for technical DNS troubleshooting.

WHOIS Lookup

Provides domain registration information, such as the registrar and registration dates, depending on the TLD and the domain’s privacy settings. Try our WHOIS Lookup.

Keep Diagnosing

More Network Tools

DNS is one piece of the picture. These tools look at the rest of your connection and your domain.

IP

What Is My IP

Find your public IP address instantly.

ResultPublic IPv4 / IPv6 address

Domain

WHOIS Lookup

See the registration details of a domain name.

ResultRegistrar, creation & expiry dates

Latency

Ping Test

Measure the response time between your device and our test server.

ResultRound-trip time in ms

Latency

Latency Test

Check the delay between sending a request and getting a response back.

ResultDelay in ms

Speed

Internet Speed Test

Check your download speed, upload speed and connection latency.

ResultDownload & upload in Mbps, ping in ms

IPv4

Subnet Calculator

Work out network ranges, subnet masks and usable host addresses from an IP address and CIDR prefix.

ResultNetwork, broadcast, mask & host range

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Short answers to the questions people ask most about DNS lookups and DNS records.

What is a DNS lookup?

A DNS lookup checks the DNS records published for a domain name — the settings that tell computers which server hosts a website, which servers handle its email, and other configuration published in the Domain Name System. This tool queries those records directly and shows you exactly what is currently published.

What DNS records can I look up?

This tool can look up A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT and SOA records, individually or all at once with the “All” option.

What is an A record?

An A record maps a domain name to an IPv4 address, telling other computers which server to connect to for that domain.

What is an MX record?

An MX (Mail Exchange) record specifies which mail servers are responsible for receiving email for a domain, along with a priority value used when more than one is listed.

What is a CNAME record?

A CNAME record points one domain name to another hostname instead of directly to an IP address, so the second name’s own DNS records apply.

What is an NS record?

An NS (Name Server) record identifies the authoritative DNS servers responsible for a domain — the servers that hold and answer for its DNS records.

What is a TXT record?

A TXT record stores text-based information in DNS, commonly used for domain verification, email authentication policies such as SPF and DKIM-related data, and other configuration values.

Why are my DNS records not showing the changes I made?

DNS records are cached by resolvers around the world for the length of time set by their TTL (time to live), so a recent change may not be visible everywhere at once. This includes our own server, which also caches responses for their TTL rather than bypassing the cache on every lookup — if a change is missing, double-check it was saved correctly with your DNS provider and allow some time for cached copies to expire.

Get started

Check a Domain’s DNS Records

Run the free DNS lookup above to see the A, AAAA, MX, CNAME, NS, TXT and SOA records published for any domain.

Run DNS Lookup