What is a DNS record lookup?

A DNS record lookup queries the Domain Name System to retrieve records associated with a domain. Common record types include A (IPv4 address), AAAA (IPv6), MX (mail server), TXT (text/verification), CNAME (alias), and NS (nameservers).

What is the difference between A and CNAME records?

An A record maps a domain directly to an IPv4 address. A CNAME record is an alias that points one domain to another domain name. For example, www.example.com might CNAME to example.com.

What are TXT records used for?

TXT records store arbitrary text data. They are commonly used for domain ownership verification (Google, Microsoft), email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and site verification tokens.

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DNS Lookup

Query any DNS record type for any domain. Uses Cloudflare's DNS-over-HTTPS for fast, accurate, real-time results.

A AAAA MX TXT CNAME NS SOA ALL

🔤 A & AAAA Records

A records map a domain to an IPv4 address. AAAA records map to IPv6. These are the most fundamental DNS records — they tell browsers where to find your server.

📧 MX Records

Mail Exchange records specify which servers handle email for a domain. Multiple MX records can exist with priority values — lower numbers have higher priority.

📝 TXT Records

TXT records store text data. Used for SPF (email authentication), DKIM (email signing), DMARC (email policy), and domain ownership verification for Google, Microsoft, and others.

🔗 CNAME Records

Canonical Name records are aliases — they point one domain to another. For example, www.example.com might CNAME to example.com, avoiding the need to maintain duplicate A records.

DNS Lookup — FAQ

What is DNS propagation and how long does it take?

DNS propagation is the time it takes for DNS changes to spread across all DNS servers worldwide. Changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, depending on the TTL (Time to Live) value of the records being changed. Lower TTL values propagate faster.

What does TTL mean in DNS records?

TTL (Time to Live) is the number of seconds a DNS record is cached by resolvers. A TTL of 3600 means the record is cached for one hour. Lower TTL values allow faster propagation of changes but increase DNS query load on authoritative servers.

Why do I see multiple A records for the same domain?

Multiple A records (round-robin DNS) distribute traffic across several servers. Each DNS query may return a different IP from the pool, providing basic load balancing without additional infrastructure.

What is an SOA record?

Start of Authority records contain administrative information about a zone: the primary nameserver, the email of the domain administrator, and timing values used for zone transfers between nameservers.