DNS Lookup
Query A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, CNAME, SOA, and PTR records for any domain
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Frequently Asked Questions
DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet's phonebook — it translates human-readable domain names like
example.com into machine-readable IP addresses. A DNS lookup queries DNS servers to retrieve these records. Different record types store different information: A records store IPv4 addresses, MX records store mail server info, TXT records store text (often used for domain verification), etc.An A record (Address record) maps a domain name to an IPv4 address (e.g.,
93.184.216.34). It is the most fundamental DNS record type — when a browser looks up a website, it typically queries the A record first. A domain can have multiple A records for load balancing.An MX (Mail Exchanger) record specifies the mail servers responsible for accepting email for a domain. MX records include a priority value — lower numbers = higher priority. A domain can have multiple MX records for redundancy (e.g., Google Workspace uses
aspmx.l.google.com with priority 1).TXT records store arbitrary text data associated with a domain. Common uses include: SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records for email anti-spoofing, DKIM public keys for email signing, DMARC policies, and domain verification tokens for Google Search Console, GitHub Pages, and similar services.
A CNAME (Canonical Name) record creates an alias from one domain to another. For example,
www.example.com might CNAME to example.com. When a DNS resolver sees a CNAME, it continues the lookup to resolve the target. Note: you cannot have a CNAME at a zone apex (root domain).TTL (Time To Live) is the number of seconds a DNS record is cached by resolvers before they query the authoritative server again. A TTL of 3600 means the record is cached for 1 hour. Lower TTLs allow faster propagation of DNS changes but increase server load. Common TTL values are 300 (5 min), 3600 (1 hr), and 86400 (1 day).
About This DNS Lookup Tool
This free DNS Lookup tool queries the DNS system in real time for any domain. It supports all major record types including A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, CNAME, SOA, and PTR. Results include the value, TTL, and any record-specific fields like MX priority or SOA serial number.
DNS Record Types
| Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| A | Maps domain to IPv4 address |
| AAAA | Maps domain to IPv6 address |
| MX | Mail exchange servers |
| NS | Nameservers for the domain |
| TXT | Text data (SPF, DKIM, etc.) |
| CNAME | Alias to another domain |
| SOA | Start of Authority record |
| PTR | Reverse DNS pointer |
Common TTL Values
| TTL | Duration | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| 60 | 1 minute | During migrations |
| 300 | 5 minutes | Dynamic/changing |
| 3600 | 1 hour | Standard |
| 86400 | 24 hours | Stable records |
| 604800 | 1 week | Rarely changed |
