DNS lookup

What is a DNS record?

DNS is the internet's address book. When someone types your domain, their computer asks DNS where to go, and your domain's DNS records answer: which server hosts the website, which servers receive email, who may issue certificates and more. Records live at your DNS host, which is often your registrar, your web host or a service like Cloudflare.

The record types

• A and AAAA point a name to a server's IPv4 and IPv6 address.
• CNAME makes a name an alias of another name, like www pointing at your host.
• MX lists the servers that receive email for the domain.
• NS says which nameservers are in charge of the domain's records.
• TXT holds text, mostly SPF, DMARC and "prove you own this domain" codes for Google, Microsoft and others.
• CAA limits which certificate authorities may issue certificates for the domain.
• SOA describes the zone itself: its primary nameserver, admin contact and serial number.

Common problems

• A CNAME at the root. The bare domain can't be a CNAME without breaking its other records, email included. DNS hosts offer ALIAS, ANAME or "flattening" for this.
• Changes that haven't spread yet. Resolvers keep answers for the record's TTL, so a change can take minutes to a day to reach everyone.
• Records at the old DNS host. If you moved DNS, the nameservers at your registrar decide which host's records count. Edits at the other one do nothing.

We ask a public resolver, the way your visitors' computers do. Pingerer can save your records and tell you the moment any of them changes.

More free tools

• Full check: Free, instant, no sign-up. See what's wrong in plain English.
• SSL checker: See when a certificate expires, who issued it and whether browsers trust it.
• DMARC & SPF: Find out if your email can be spoofed or sent to spam, and get the exact record to fix it.
• Is it down?: We'll check the site right now from our servers, not your network.
• Domain expiry: When a domain expires and where it's registered, straight from the registry.