Softonic

DNS Lookup

Step 1 / 4 DNS lookup

Need to know where a domain points, which mail servers it uses, or whether a TXT record was actually published? This DNS lookup queries authoritative records for any domain and returns A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME and SOA values in one pass, without the ceremony of dig or a terminal.

How to run a DNS lookup

  1. 1

    Enter a domain

    Type the bare domain (no https, no paths), e.g. `example.com`.

  2. 2

    All record types are checked

    The lookup covers A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME and SOA in one pass, so there is no need to pick types.

  3. 3

    Run the lookup

    The tool sends the query from our server, which asks the DNS for each record type and groups the results.

  4. 4

    Read the records

    The results come back grouped by record type, with every value in a readable block.

Record types, what they are for

Type Purpose Common TTL
A IPv4 address the domain points to 300-3600
AAAA IPv6 address 300-3600
MX Mail exchanger hostnames with priority 3600
TXT Free-form text: SPF, DMARC, domain verification, DKIM 300-3600
NS Authoritative nameservers for the zone 86400
CNAME Canonical name alias (e.g., www -> root domain) 300-3600
SOA Start of authority: primary NS, email, zone serial 3600+

Reading an SOA record

The SOA record answers the question “who owns this zone and when did it last change?”. Its fields are:

  • mname - primary nameserver responsible for the zone
  • rname - admin email with dots replacing the @ (e.g., hostmaster.example.com)
  • serial - version number, usually in YYYYMMDDNN format
  • refresh, retry, expire - timers for secondary nameservers
  • minimum - negative-answer TTL (how long NXDOMAIN is cached)

An increasing serial number is the signal that a zone has been updated; secondaries poll the primary, compare serials, and transfer when they differ.

TXT records decoded

TXT is the catch-all type. Common uses:

  • v=spf1 ... - Sender Policy Framework, authorizes mail servers.
  • v=DMARC1 ... - on _dmarc.domain, defines the DMARC policy.
  • v=DKIM1 ... - on selector._domainkey.domain, the DKIM public key.
  • Domain verification tokens - Google, Microsoft, Stripe and others publish random strings to prove ownership.
  • SaaS webhooks - some platforms use TXT to configure custom domains.

Troubleshooting tips

  • NXDOMAIN means the domain itself does not exist; check the spelling.
  • No answer with authoritative NS present means the specific record type has not been published.
  • CNAME at the apex (example.com itself, not www) is technically disallowed by RFC 1034 because CNAME conflicts with SOA/NS at the zone root. Use ALIAS or ANAME records in providers that support them, or A records pointing directly to IPs.
  • Propagation - after a change, new records appear at your authoritative NS immediately but resolvers worldwide respect TTL, so wait for the old TTL to expire (or use a lower TTL before the change).

Frequently Asked Questions

On our server. Your browser sends the domain to us, we ask the DNS for its records, and the results come back grouped by type. There is nothing to install and no local DNS tooling needed.

Your terminal uses your ISP’s resolver or router-configured DNS, which may hold older cached answers. This tool runs the lookup from our server, whose resolver often has fresher data, so you may see a more up-to-date answer.

Yes via the reverse-DNS lookup tool; this page focuses on forward records. PTR lookups need an IP address, not a domain name.

The domain is sent to our server to run the lookup, and it is kept in our usage logs alongside anonymous statistics. It is never published and is not tied to a personal account.

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