DNS lookup
Query all DNS record types for any domain - A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, and SOA.
How to read your DNS results
This lookup queries public DNS directly, so it shows what the rest of the internet sees rather than what your own machine has cached. Each section answers a different question about the domain.
- A and AAAA are the addresses the name resolves to, IPv4 and IPv6 respectively. If you moved hosts and the A record still shows the old IP, nothing else on this page matters until that is fixed. Several A records for one name is normal and means traffic is balanced across them.
- CNAME is an alias pointing at another name. A name cannot have a CNAME and any other record at the same time, which is why a CNAME on the bare domain breaks mail.
- MX lists the mail servers for the domain and the priority of each. Lower numbers are tried first. An empty MX section means the domain currently receives no mail.
- NS is the set of nameservers that are authoritative for the zone. These should match what your registrar has on file. When they do not, you are editing DNS in one place and the world is reading it from another.
- TXT holds SPF, domain verification strings, and anything else that needs to be published as free text. This is where most email authentication problems are visible.
- SOA carries the zone serial and its timers. The serial should change every time you edit the zone, which makes it a quick way to confirm an edit actually landed.
What usually goes wrong
Most DNS problems are one of a handful of patterns, and the results above will show all of them.
- The change is correct here but wrong in your browser. Your resolver is still holding the old answer until its TTL expires. Nothing is broken, and clearing your local DNS cache usually settles it.
- The bare domain works and www does not, or the reverse. These are two separate names and each needs its own record. One being right says nothing about the other.
- Two SPF records in TXT. A domain is allowed exactly one. Two is a permanent error at the receiving server and mail starts failing authentication for everyone. Merge them into a single record.
- NS records that disagree with the registrar. Common after a migration where the zone was recreated but the delegation was never repointed.
- No records at all. Either the domain has expired, the delegation is broken, or the zone was never created on the nameservers it points to. Check the NS section first.
Common questions
Why does this show different results than my computer?
This tool queries public DNS directly, while your computer and your router both cache answers until the record's TTL expires. A difference between the two almost always means your local cache is stale rather than that DNS is broken. Flushing your DNS cache resolves it.
How long does a DNS change take to apply?
Up to the TTL of the record you changed, counted from the last time each resolver asked. A 3600 second TTL means some resolvers keep the old answer for another hour. Lowering the TTL before a planned change is what shortens the window, and doing it afterwards does not help.
What TTL should I use?
3600 seconds is a reasonable default for records that rarely change. Drop it to 300 a day or two before a migration so the cutover is quick, then put it back once the new address is confirmed working. Very low TTLs everywhere just add lookups without adding value.
Do I need an AAAA record?
Not strictly, since IPv4 still works everywhere, but an AAAA record lets IPv6 clients reach you directly instead of going through a translation layer. Add one only if the address actually serves your site, because a stale AAAA record causes slow or failed loads that are hard to diagnose.
Can one name have several A records?
Yes, and it is a normal way to spread traffic across multiple servers. Clients pick one of the returned addresses. It is not a health check though, so a server that is down will still receive its share of connections until you remove its record.