netlupaDNS record lookup
Enter a domain to see all its DNS records, or pick a specific type such as MX or TXT.
How to look up a domain's DNS
Enter the domain (example.com). You can paste a URL or an email address: the domain is extracted automatically.
Choose “All” or a specific record type and click “Look up”.
Check the values and the TTL. If you have just changed something, the TTL tells you how long the old version will linger in caches.
What is DNS?
DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet's address book: it turns names like example.com into the IP addresses of the servers behind them, and it stores other information about the domain, such as which servers receive its email or which services are allowed to send it.
That information is organized into records. Each record has a type (A, MX, TXT…), a value and a TTL, the time in seconds other servers may cache it before asking again.
The most important record types
- A: the domain's IPv4 address.
- AAAA: its IPv6 address.
- CNAME: an alias that points to another name.
- MX: the servers that receive email, with their priority.
- NS: the domain's authoritative DNS servers.
- TXT: free text; SPF, DKIM, DMARC and Google or Microsoft verifications live here.
- SOA: the zone's data (primary server, serial number and timers).
- CAA: which certificate authorities may issue SSL certificates for the domain.
DNS propagation and TTL
When you change a record, the change is immediate on your DNS servers, but providers' resolvers may keep returning the old value until their cache expires, that is, for the TTL the record had. This tool uses its own resolver, which asks the domain's official servers directly and, like any other, caches each answer for its TTL.
If you are about to move a website or email, lower the TTL to a few minutes a day or two before the change and raise it again once everything works.
Lookups by record type
Frequently asked questions
How long does a DNS change take to propagate?
As long as the old record's TTL: from a few minutes to 24 or 48 hours. Nameserver (NS) changes usually take longer, because the TTL of the delegation in the TLD is high.
What does NXDOMAIN mean?
That the name you looked up does not exist in DNS: the domain is not registered, has expired or was mistyped.
Which DNS servers does this tool ask?
No middleman: Netlupa runs its own resolver, which starts from the root servers and asks each domain's official DNS servers directly.
Can I do a reverse DNS lookup of an IP?
Yes: look the IP up with the API (/api/dns/ptr/8.8.8.8) or use the WHOIS tool to find out who it belongs to.
Why do I see a different value than in my DNS panel?
Because resolvers still have the previous value cached. Wait for the time shown in the TTL, or check that you edited the zone at the provider listed in the NS records: if the domain uses other DNS servers, changes in your panel have no effect.
What is a record's TTL?
The time, in seconds, other servers may keep the answer before asking again. 3600 is one hour. A low TTL makes changes show up sooner, at the cost of more queries.