Instantly retrieve and analyze DNS records for any domain. Check A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, SOA, CAA, and SRV records to troubleshoot domain configuration, verify email settings, and understand how your domain is connected to the internet.
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What is DNS and what does a DNS lookup do?
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the address book of the internet. People remember names such as antimatterav.ca, while routers and servers only understand numeric addresses such as 203.0.113.24. DNS is the translation layer between the two, and it answers billions of questions every second so that browsers, mail servers, and apps can find each other.
A DNS lookup is a single question asked against that address book. You supply a domain name and a record type, and a resolver returns the values published in that domain’s zone. Our DNS Lookup Tool performs that query for you and prints the raw answer, so you see exactly what the rest of the internet sees rather than what a control panel claims is configured.
DNS records matter because almost nothing on a domain works without them. An A record decides which server loads your website. MX records decide where your email is delivered. TXT records carry the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC policies that stop attackers from spoofing your address. NS records decide which provider is authoritative for the whole zone. One wrong value in any of them can take a site offline or silently send mail to the wrong place.
DNS is also cached at every step of the chain, which is why changes are not instant. Each record carries a TTL (time to live) telling resolvers how long they may keep the answer. Until that timer expires, visitors can keep reaching an old server — the effect commonly called DNS propagation. Running a DNS record lookup from an independent network is the fastest way to tell whether a change has actually taken effect or is still being served from cache.
Whether you are a site owner checking a migration, a developer debugging a staging subdomain, or an analyst investigating a suspicious domain, this online DNS tool gives you the same authoritative view of a domain’s DNS configuration in one query.
Why use our DNS Lookup Tool?
Instant DNS record retrieval
Queries run server-side against live resolvers and return in seconds — no waiting, no queue, no account.
Supports multiple DNS record types
Look up A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, SOA, SRV, and CAA records from a single form.
Verify website configuration
Confirm that your domain and its subdomains point at the hosting, load balancer, or CDN you expect.
Troubleshoot email delivery
Use the MX record checker and TXT record lookup together to see where mail is routed and which senders are authorized.
Monitor DNS changes
Re-run a lookup after each edit to watch a new value replace the old one as caches expire.
Validate domain infrastructure
Check that name servers, SOA values, and delegation match the provider that is supposed to host the zone.
Security investigations
Resolve unfamiliar domains, review their mail and certificate policies, and record the evidence before you act.
Server migration verification
Compare the answer you receive against the target server’s address to confirm a cutover has completed.
Domain auditing
Walk a portfolio of domains and flag missing SPF, absent CAA, or stale records left behind by old vendors.
Easy to understand results
Answers are shown as plain records rather than resolver jargon, with a DNSSEC signal alongside them.
Supported DNS record types explained
Every DNS record answers a different question about a domain. Expand any record below for a plain-language explanation, a real example, and the situations where a DNS record lookup of that type is the right first step.
A RecordMaps a hostname to an IPv4 address.
The A record is the most common answer in DNS and the one browsers need first. An A record lookup tells you which IPv4 server currently answers for a hostname, which is the quickest way to prove where a site is really hosted.
example.com. 300 IN A 93.184.216.34
Confirm a website points at the correct web server or load balancer
Verify a migration after changing hosting providers
Check whether a subdomain such as api. or staging. resolves at all
AAAA RecordMaps a hostname to an IPv6 address.
AAAA records are the IPv6 counterpart of A records. Mobile networks and modern ISPs increasingly prefer IPv6, so a missing or stale AAAA record can break a site for a subset of visitors while it still loads perfectly over IPv4.
example.com. 300 IN AAAA 2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946
Confirm IPv6 availability before enabling it publicly
Diagnose “works for some users only” connectivity reports
Verify that a CDN is serving both address families
MX RecordDefines the mail servers that accept email for the domain.
Each MX record carries a priority and a hostname; lower numbers are tried first. An MX record checker is the first stop for any delivery problem, because mail can only arrive where these records point — regardless of what your mail client is configured to do.
example.com. 3600 IN MX 10 mail.example.com.
Verify migration to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or another provider
Diagnose bounced or missing inbound email
Detect leftover MX entries pointing at a decommissioned server
TXT RecordStores free-form text used for verification and email authentication.
TXT records hold the email DNS records that protect your domain: SPF lists which servers may send on your behalf, DKIM publishes signing keys, and DMARC states what receivers should do with messages that fail. Vendors also use TXT records for domain-ownership verification.
example.com. 3600 IN TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"
Check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC policies with a TXT record lookup
Confirm a domain-verification string was published correctly
Audit which third parties are authorized to send as your domain
CNAME RecordPoints one hostname at another hostname.
A CNAME is an alias. Instead of an address, it returns another name that the resolver then follows. CDNs, SaaS platforms, and status pages rely on CNAMEs so they can change the underlying servers without asking you to edit DNS again.
www.example.com. 3600 IN CNAME example.com.
Verify a CDN, hosting, or SaaS platform alias is in place
Trace where a marketing or tracking subdomain actually resolves
Spot a CNAME left pointing at a service you no longer own
NS RecordLists the authoritative name servers for the zone.
NS records decide who is allowed to answer for your domain. If they point at the wrong provider, every other record you edit is ignored, because the internet is asking a different set of servers for the truth.
example.com. 86400 IN NS ns1.provider.net.
Confirm delegation after moving DNS hosting
Check that registrar and zone name servers agree
Investigate a domain whose records appear not to update
SOA RecordHolds administrative metadata for the zone.
The Start of Authority record names the primary name server and the zone contact, and carries the serial number plus refresh, retry, expire, and minimum TTL timers. The serial increments on each change, which makes it a reliable way to see whether a zone was recently edited.
example.com. 3600 IN SOA ns1.provider.net. hostmaster.example.com. 2026073101 7200 3600 1209600 3600
Confirm which server is primary for the zone
Use the serial number to verify a change was published
Review negative-caching and refresh timers during migrations
CAA RecordRestricts which certificate authorities may issue certificates for the domain.
A Certification Authority Authorization record is a short allow-list. Public CAs must check it before issuing, so a correct CAA record blocks an unauthorized authority from producing a valid certificate for your domain — a small entry with a large security payoff.
example.com. 3600 IN CAA 0 issue "letsencrypt.org"
Lock certificate issuance to your chosen authority
Investigate why a certificate request was refused
Audit domains that have no CAA policy at all
PTR RecordMaps an IP address back to a hostname (reverse DNS).
PTR records reverse the usual direction: they answer “which name belongs to this address?”. Receiving mail servers check them, so a sending IP without matching forward and reverse DNS is far more likely to be filtered as spam. PTR records live in the in-addr.arpa (IPv4) or ip6.arpa (IPv6) zones and are published by whoever owns the IP block, usually your hosting provider.
34.216.184.93.in-addr.arpa. 3600 IN PTR mail.example.com.
Improve deliverability from a self-hosted mail server
Identify the operator behind an address seen in logs
Verify reverse DNS after being assigned a new IP
Reverse DNS is published by the owner of the IP block, so PTR records are covered here for reference rather than queried from the form above.
SRV RecordAdvertises the host and port for a specific service.
SRV records let a domain publish where a named service runs, including protocol, port, priority, and weight. Clients for SIP, XMPP, Microsoft 365 autodiscover, and Minecraft-style services read them so users never have to type a port number.
_sip._tcp.example.com. 3600 IN SRV 10 60 5060 sipserver.example.com.
Verify VoIP, chat, or directory service discovery
Confirm autodiscover entries after a mail migration
Check priority and weight for load distribution
How to use the DNS Checker
1Enter a domain nameType the hostname you want to inspect, such as example.com or mail.example.com. Protocols, paths, and trailing slashes are stripped automatically.
2Select the DNS record typeChoose A for web hosting, MX for mail routing, TXT for SPF and DMARC, NS for delegation, or any other supported type.
3Run the lookupPress the lookup button or hit Enter. The query is resolved server-side against public DNS, independently of your browser cache.
4Review the returned recordsAnswers appear exactly as published. An empty result means the domain has no record of that type, which is itself a useful finding.
5Analyze the detailsRead MX priorities, SRV ports and weights, SOA serial numbers, and the DNSSEC signal to judge whether the DNS configuration is correct and current.
Common use cases for a domain DNS lookup
Website troubleshooting
When a site will not load, an A record lookup separates a DNS problem from a server problem in one query.
Email configuration
Check MX routing and the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC entries that decide whether your mail reaches the inbox.
DNS migration
Compare old and new values during a move and watch DNS propagation complete as cached answers expire.
Cloud hosting verification
Confirm that records resolve to the intended AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud endpoint after a deployment.
CDN validation
Verify that the CNAME chain reaches your CDN and that both IPv4 and IPv6 answers are being served.
Cybersecurity investigations
Resolve a suspicious domain from a phishing message and capture its hosting and mail footprint as evidence.
Penetration testing
Map the public DNS surface of an authorized target during the reconnaissance phase of an engagement.
Network administration
Validate internal service discovery, delegation, and SRV entries without opening a terminal.
Domain auditing
Review a portfolio for missing CAA, weak SPF, or forgotten records pointing at retired infrastructure.
SSL certificate validation
Check CAA policy before requesting a certificate, and confirm the hostname resolves so validation can succeed.
Who should use this tool
Website owners
Confirm a domain points at the right host before blaming the website.
Developers
Debug staging subdomains, API hostnames, and local-to-production differences.
DevOps engineers
Verify cutovers, blue-green switches, and infrastructure-as-code DNS changes.
IT administrators
Keep company domains, portals, and internal services resolving correctly.
Network engineers
Inspect delegation, SOA timers, and SRV records across zones.
Security analysts
Profile suspicious domains and check authentication policies during triage.
Penetration testers
Enumerate the public DNS footprint of authorized targets.
Email administrators
Validate MX routing plus SPF, DKIM, and DMARC alignment.
SEO professionals
Check hosting, redirects, and subdomain setup that influence crawling.
Domain investors
Assess how a domain is configured and where its records currently point.
DNS and security: what a lookup can reveal
DNS is a security control as much as a routing system. Attackers abuse it to impersonate brands, redirect traffic, and send mail that looks legitimate, and defenders use the same records to spot trouble early. A DNS security review starts with reading what a domain actually publishes.
Suspicious domains
Freshly delegated look-alike domains often share hosting or mail infrastructure with known campaigns.
Misconfigured records
Duplicate MX entries, conflicting A records, or unreachable targets break services quietly.
DNS hijacking
Unexpected name servers or an unfamiliar A record can be the first visible sign of a compromised zone.
Email spoofing
Domains with no authentication policy can be forged by anyone; a TXT lookup shows the gap immediately.
Missing SPF
Without an SPF record, receivers have no list of servers permitted to send on your behalf.
Missing DKIM
Absent signing keys mean messages carry no cryptographic proof that they left your infrastructure.
Missing DMARC
No DMARC policy means failures are not enforced and you receive no reporting on abuse.
Unauthorized certificate authorities
An empty or over-broad CAA record lets any public CA issue certificates for your domain.
Incorrect DNS delegation
Mismatched registrar and zone name servers cause intermittent failures that are hard to reproduce.
None of these checks require access to the domain. That is what makes DNS lookups so useful during incident response: you can assess an unfamiliar domain from the outside, in seconds, before deciding whether to trust it.
Tool features
Multiple DNS record types
Fast global lookup
Real-time results
Mobile friendly
Clean interface
Free to use
Secure queries
No registration required
DNS Lookup frequently asked questions
DNS, the Domain Name System, translates human-readable domain names into the IP addresses that computers use to connect. Every website visit, email delivery, and API call begins with a DNS query, which is why DNS configuration underpins almost everything a domain does.
Check your domain’s DNS records
Analyze your domain configuration, verify email records, inspect name servers, and troubleshoot DNS issues in seconds.