DNS Lookup
Look up DNS records and check how a domain is set up
- Eight common record types
- Cloudflare, Google or Quad9 resolver
- SPF and DMARC presence
About DNS Lookup
Get a domain's A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, CAA and HTTPS records from the public resolver you choose (Cloudflare, Google or Quad9), see whether SPF, DMARC and DNSSEC are in place, and check registration details such as the registrar and expiry date. Each lookup also asks all three resolvers whether they return an A record, a quick check after a DNS change. No account needed.
Which records you’ll see
A lookup returns the records most problems come down to:
- A and AAAA: the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses a domain points to
- CNAME: an alias pointing to another hostname
- MX: the servers that accept email for the domain
- TXT: text records, including SPF and domain-verification tokens, plus the DMARC record
- NS: the nameservers that answer for the domain
- CAA: which certificate authorities may issue certificates
- HTTPS: connection hints such as supported protocols, used by modern browsers
Checking whether a change has propagated
After you change a record, resolvers keep serving the old answer until its time to live (TTL) runs out. Every lookup asks Cloudflare, Google and Quad9 whether they return an A record for the domain, and you can switch the main resolver to compare the other records too. If the answers differ, one of them is still serving a cached copy of the old record.
Security checks
Alongside the records, the results show whether the domain publishes SPF and DMARC for email and whether the resolver reported the answer as DNSSEC-validated. To count SPF’s DNS lookups or check a DKIM key, use the Email Authentication & Deliverability Studio.
Further reading
Questions people ask
- How long does DNS propagation take?
- Usually as long as the old record’s TTL, often between a few minutes and a day. Lowering the TTL a day before a planned change makes the switch faster.
- Why do resolvers show different answers?
- They cached the record at different times, or the domain returns different answers by location. If they still disagree after the TTL has passed, check the records at your DNS provider.
- Can I look up any domain?
- Yes. DNS records are public, so any domain can be looked up, and no account is needed.
- Does it show who owns a domain?
- It shows registration data published through RDAP, such as the registrar, status, nameservers and registration and expiry dates. Owner contact details are usually redacted and aren’t shown.