Query DNS records for any domain - A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, SOA, PTR - using Google DNS
Maps domain to IPv4 address
Maps domain to IPv6 address
Mail server records
Text information and verification
Domain aliases and redirects
Authoritative name servers
Zone authority information
Reverse IP to domain mapping
Our free online DNS record lookup tool lets you query, analyze, and troubleshoot DNS records for any domain name in real time. Whether you need to check A records for IP addresses, MX records for email servers, TXT records for SPF/DKIM verification, CNAME records for subdomain aliases, or NS records for authoritative name servers - this tool covers every DNS record type in one place. Powered by Google's public DNS API (dns.google), results are always fresh, accurate, and propagation-aware.
A DNS record lookup (also called a DNS query or DNS check) is the process of querying the Domain Name System to retrieve configuration records stored for a specific domain. Every domain on the internet has DNS records - structured data stored on authoritative name servers - that tell browsers, email clients, and other internet services where to direct traffic.
When you type "google.com" into your browser, your device silently performs a DNS lookup to find the A record (IP address) for that domain, then connects to the server at that IP. Our online DNS lookup tool makes this process visible and accessible, letting you inspect every record type for any public domain - no command-line tools like nslookup or dig required.
DNS lookups are performed millions of times per second across the internet. Understanding what DNS records are configured for your domain - and being able to quickly check, verify, and troubleshoot them - is an essential skill for webmasters, developers, system administrators, email deliverability specialists, and SEO professionals.
The A record is the most fundamental DNS record type. It maps a domain name (like example.com) to an IPv4 address (like 93.184.216.34). When someone visits your website, their browser first performs a DNS A record lookup to find the IP address of your server.
A records are also used in round-robin DNS load balancing, where multiple A records are configured for the same domain, each pointing to a different server IP. This distributes incoming traffic across multiple servers.
Common uses: Website hosting, API endpoints, load balancing, CDN origin servers.
The AAAA record (pronounced "quad-A") maps a domain to an IPv6 address - the next-generation IP protocol with a vastly larger address space than IPv4. IPv6 addresses look like 2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946.
As the internet transitions from IPv4 to IPv6, having both A and AAAA records configured ensures your domain is accessible to all users regardless of whether their ISP supports IPv6. Most modern hosting providers and CDNs support dual-stack (IPv4 + IPv6) configurations.
Common uses: Modern websites, dual-stack hosting, mobile networks (which heavily use IPv6).
The MX record specifies the mail servers responsible for accepting incoming email for a domain. Without correct MX records, email delivery fails completely. Each MX record includes a priority value - lower numbers indicate higher priority, so if the primary mail server is down, email is routed to the next one.
For example, Google Workspace uses MX records like aspmx.l.google.com with various priority values. Microsoft 365 uses records like domain-com.mail.protection.outlook.com. Checking your MX records is the first step in troubleshooting email deliverability problems.
Common uses: Email hosting setup, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, email deliverability troubleshooting, SPF/DMARC verification.
The TXT record stores arbitrary text data in the DNS and is used for an enormous variety of purposes. The most common uses are email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), domain verification for Google Search Console, site ownership proofs for SSL certificate issuance, and BIMI records for email brand logos.
An SPF TXT record looks like: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all. A DMARC record looks like: v=DMARC1; p=reject; rua=mailto:[email protected]. Checking TXT records is critical when troubleshooting email ending up in spam folders.
Common uses: SPF records, DKIM verification, DMARC policies, Google Search Console, domain ownership verification, BIMI.
A CNAME record (Canonical Name) creates an alias that points one domain name to another domain name (not directly to an IP address). For example, www.example.com might CNAME to example.com, or shop.example.com might CNAME to your-store.myshopify.com.
CNAME records are widely used in CDN setups (Cloudflare, Fastly, AWS CloudFront), email service verification (SendGrid, Mailchimp), and SaaS integrations where your subdomain needs to point to an external service. Important: CNAME records cannot be used at the root/apex of a domain - that's what ALIAS or ANAME records (not shown here) solve.
Common uses: CDN configuration, subdomain aliases, SaaS integrations, email service verification.
The NS record (Name Server record) identifies which DNS servers are authoritative for your domain - meaning which servers hold the official DNS records. When you register a domain, you point it to your DNS provider's name servers (e.g., Cloudflare's ns1.cloudflare.com, or AWS Route 53's ns-xxx.awsdns-xx.com).
NS records are critical during domain migrations and hosting transfers. After changing name servers, DNS propagation can take 24–72 hours globally. Checking NS records lets you verify that your domain is still pointing to the correct DNS provider and that changes have propagated.
Common uses: DNS provider verification, domain migration, nameserver change verification, delegation troubleshooting.
The SOA record (Start of Authority) is the most authoritative record in a DNS zone. It contains essential information about the zone: the primary name server, the email address of the domain administrator (in DNS format), and key timing parameters like the zone's serial number, refresh interval, retry interval, expire time, and minimum TTL.
The serial number in the SOA record is critical - it must be incremented every time DNS records are changed, so secondary name servers know to refresh their cached copies. SOA records are checked during DNS zone audits and when troubleshooting DNS replication issues between primary and secondary name servers.
Common uses: DNS zone administration, zone transfer troubleshooting, DNS audit tools, nameserver synchronization debugging.
The PTR record (Pointer record) is used for reverse DNS lookup - the opposite of a standard DNS query. Instead of mapping a domain to an IP address, it maps an IP address back to a domain name. PTR records are stored in the special in-addr.arpa domain (for IPv4) or ip6.arpa (for IPv6).
PTR records are critically important for email server reputation. Many spam filters reject email from servers whose IP address does not have a PTR record, or whose PTR does not match the server's hostname (a technique called forward-confirmed reverse DNS). PTR records are set by your hosting provider or ISP, not in your domain's DNS settings.
Common uses: Email server reputation, spam filter compliance, network troubleshooting, security auditing, server identity verification.
Using our DNS record lookup tool is fast and straightforward. Follow these steps to check DNS records for any domain:
example.com), a subdomain (like mail.example.com), or even a full URL with https:// - the tool automatically strips the protocol prefix and path.The tool supports both simple single-type queries (e.g., just check MX records to verify email configuration) and comprehensive multi-type audits where you check all record types at once. Query times are displayed in milliseconds so you can assess DNS server response performance.
When emails land in spam or bounce, the first step is checking MX, SPF (TXT), DKIM (TXT), and DMARC (TXT) records. Our tool lets you verify all four in a single query, helping you identify misconfigured or missing email authentication records.
When migrating a website to a new host or changing DNS providers, you need to verify that new A records, CNAME records, and NS records have propagated correctly. Our real-time lookup using Google DNS gives you an accurate view of current DNS state.
Security teams use DNS record lookups to audit domain configurations for missing DMARC policies, weak SPF records, misconfigured DNSSEC, or unauthorized subdomain delegations that could expose the domain to DNS hijacking or phishing attacks.
SEO professionals use DNS lookups to verify domain ownership through TXT records (Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools), check CDN configuration via CNAME records, and confirm that www and non-www versions of a domain resolve correctly.
Checking a competitor's DNS records can reveal insights about their hosting infrastructure - which cloud provider they use (from A records and NS records), whether they use Cloudflare (from NS records), and which email marketing platforms they use (from TXT and CNAME records).
Developers frequently check DNS records when setting up SSL/TLS certificates (verifying ACME challenge TXT records), configuring Kubernetes ingress (checking CNAME records), setting up custom domains for SaaS products, and debugging microservice connectivity issues.
Every DNS record has a TTL (Time to Live) value measured in seconds. This tells DNS resolvers how long they should cache the record before fetching a fresh copy from the authoritative name server. Understanding TTL is crucial for planning DNS changes and managing propagation times.
Pro tip: Before migrating a website or changing DNS servers, lower your TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) at least 24 hours in advance. This minimizes downtime during the cutover since DNS caches will expire quickly. After the migration is complete and stable, raise the TTL back to a higher value.
Command-line tools like nslookup (available on Windows, macOS, Linux) and dig (available on macOS and Linux) are powerful alternatives for DNS lookups. However, our online DNS lookup tool has several significant advantages:
DNS propagation typically takes between a few minutes and 72 hours, depending on your record's TTL setting. If you lowered your TTL to 300 seconds before making changes, most of the world will see your new records within 5–15 minutes. With a 24-hour TTL, full propagation can take up to 48–72 hours in rare cases where ISPs ignore TTL values and cache records longer.
Your DNS control panel shows the records you've configured, but this tool shows what the live public DNS system actually returns. There's often a delay between saving changes in your control panel and those changes propagating to public DNS servers. Additionally, your DNS provider may cache records differently. If results differ, check whether your SOA serial number was incremented and whether propagation is still in progress.
A DNS lookup queries a single DNS resolver (in our case, Google's public DNS) and returns what that resolver currently sees. A DNS propagation check queries multiple DNS resolvers located in different countries around the world, showing whether your DNS changes have propagated globally. Use a DNS lookup for basic record verification; use a propagation checker when you need to confirm worldwide propagation after making DNS changes.
Yes. DNS records are public by design - they must be publicly accessible for the internet to function. Any tool (including command-line tools like dig and nslookup) can query DNS records for any domain. This is completely legitimate and is a standard practice for system administrators, security researchers, and developers.
Not all record types are configured for every domain. For example, a domain that doesn't have email service won't have MX records. A domain without IPv6 support won't have AAAA records. If a query returns no results, it simply means that record type isn't configured for that domain - it's not an error.
An A record maps a domain directly to an IP address (e.g., example.com → 93.184.216.34). A CNAME record maps a domain to another domain name (e.g., www.example.com → example.com), which then resolves to an IP through its own A record. A records are slightly faster (one fewer DNS lookup step) but CNAMEs are more flexible - when the underlying IP changes, you only need to update the A record, and all CNAMEs pointing to it automatically update.
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