DNS Lookup Tool
Query A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, and SOA DNS records globally using Cloudflare DoH — for email, SSL, and domain debugging.
Last updated: March 25, 2026
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Buy me a coffeeWhat is DNS Lookup Tool?
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the internet's distributed phonebook — it translates human-readable domain names (google.com) into IP addresses (172.217.16.206) and stores a wide range of configuration records that govern how email, web traffic, and other services for a domain work. Every domain has multiple DNS record types stored at its authoritative nameservers, and any computer on the internet can query these records using the DNS protocol.
This tool queries DNS records via Cloudflare's DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) API (1.1.1.1) — providing fast, globally consistent results without caching delays from your local ISP resolver. Key record types: **A** records map a domain to IPv4 addresses (where the website is hosted). **AAAA** maps to IPv6. **MX** records define mail servers for receiving email. **TXT** records store arbitrary text — critical for email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and domain ownership verification. **CNAME** records are domain aliases pointing one domain to another. **NS** records identify the authoritative nameservers for the domain.
How to Use DNS Lookup Tool
Enter a valid domain name (e.g., `github.com`, `mail.google.com`, or a subdomain like `api.example.com`)
Select the DNS record type to query from the dropdown: A, AAAA, MX, TXT, CNAME, NS, SOA, or ALL
The results table displays each record's value, TTL (time-to-live in seconds), and priority (for MX records)
Click the "Copy" icon next to any record value to copy it to your clipboard
For email troubleshooting, query TXT records and look for records starting with "v=spf1" (SPF), "v=DKIM1" (DKIM), or "v=DMARC1" (DMARC)
Common Use Cases
- Verifying SPF records are correctly set up after adding a new email sending service (SendGrid, Mailchimp, Postmark)
- Checking if a DNS migration (new hosting provider) has propagated by comparing old vs. new A record IP addresses
- Troubleshooting email deliverability by looking up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC TXT records for your domain
- Verifying SSL certificate domain ownership challenge — checking for TXT record added during Let's Encrypt or Certbot validation
- Confirming a CNAME redirect is working correctly after setting up a custom domain for a GitHub Pages or Netlify site
- Checking NS records to identify which DNS provider controls a domain (Cloudflare, Route 53, Namecheap, GoDaddy)
- Inspecting MX record priorities to understand which mail server receives email first (lower priority = higher precedence)
- Looking up SOA records to find the domain's primary nameserver and the serial number that indicates when zone data was last updated
Example Input and Output
Querying all email-related DNS records for a domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC):
Domain: example.com
Record type: TXTTXT Records for example.com:
1. "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net ~all"
TTL: 3600s
→ SPF record: authorized sending servers for email
2. "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@example.com"
TTL: 3600s
→ DMARC policy: quarantine failing emails, send reports
3. "google-site-verification=abc123def456..."
TTL: 3600s
→ Domain ownership proof for Google Search Console
MX Records for example.com:
Priority 10: aspmx.l.google.com (Google Workspace primary)
Priority 20: alt1.aspmx.l.google.com (backup)Privacy Note (Server-Side DNS Query)
DNS lookups require a server-side query to Cloudflare's DoH API (browsers cannot make raw DNS protocol requests directly). The domain name you query is sent to Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 resolver. Cloudflare's privacy policy states they do not store queried domain names beyond 24 hours and do not sell query data.
Debugging Email Deliverability
The most common email deliverability problems found via DNS: (1) SPF includes too many lookup mechanisms (>10 DNS lookups = "permerror"). (2) DKIM selector name doesn't match the d= and s= values the sending service specified. (3) DMARC "p=none" with no rua= report address — you're collecting no data. (4) Multiple conflicting SPF records (only one "v=spf1" TXT record is allowed per domain). Query TXT records here and compare against your email provider's configuration docs.
DNS-over-HTTPS Privacy
Traditional DNS queries are sent over UDP in plaintext — your ISP can see every domain you look up. DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) encrypts DNS queries inside HTTPS traffic. Modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) support DoH natively. You can configure your browser to use Cloudflare DoH (1.1.1.1/dns-query) or Google DoH (8.8.8.8/dns-query) for private DNS resolution at the browser level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an A record and a CNAME record?
How do SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records affect email delivery?
What does TTL mean and how does it affect DNS changes?
How long does DNS propagation take globally?
What does the MX record priority number mean?
Can I use this tool to check if DNS has propagated to Cloudflare?
How This Tool Works
The domain and record type are sent to Cloudflare's public DNS-over-HTTPS endpoint: https://cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query?name={domain}&type={type} with Accept: application/dns-json headers. Cloudflare queries its global anycast resolver network and returns a JSON response with the Answer array containing record values, TTLs, and metadata. The response is parsed and displayed in the results table. For MX records, the priority field is extracted from the data field prefix.
Technical Stack