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DNS Lookup
All the common DNS records for a domain or sub-domain in one table: where the website points, which servers handle email, who answers for the domain, and the TXT records that prove ownership and protect mail.
What each DNS record does
DNS is the internet's address book: it turns a name into the information other computers need to reach it. A domain usually has a handful of records, and each type answers a different question.
| Record | Question it answers | Typical value |
|---|---|---|
| A | Which IPv4 address serves this name? | 104.21.32.1 |
| AAAA | Which IPv6 address serves it? | 2606:4700::6810:2001 |
| CNAME | Is this name an alias for another one? | example.netlify.app |
| MX | Which servers accept email for it, in which order? | 1 smtp.google.com |
| NS | Which name servers are authoritative for the domain? | ana.ns.cloudflare.com |
| TXT | Free text: SPF mail policy, site verification codes | v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all |
| SOA | Which server is primary, and what is the zone's serial? | ns1.example.com hostmaster… |
| CAA | Which certificate authorities may issue certificates? | 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" |
Common problems this lookup catches
- The site does not open after launch. No A, AAAA or CNAME record on the name you are typing, often because the record was added for
wwwbut not for the bare domain, or the other way round. - Name server change not live yet. The NS records still show the registrar's parking servers. Check the name servers at your registrar, then wait for the old TTL to expire.
- Email lands in spam. MX records exist but there is no SPF record in TXT. Add one that lists the services allowed to send mail for you, and set up DKIM and DMARC as well.
- Verification fails. Google Search Console, Bing and many SaaS tools verify ownership with a TXT record. The lookup shows whether the record is published exactly as they asked.
- Certificate issuance fails. A CAA record that does not include your certificate authority blocks it from issuing a certificate.
A launch checklist for a new domain
- Set the name servers at your registrar to your DNS provider and confirm the NS records here.
- Add A/AAAA or CNAME records for both the bare domain and
www, and pick one as the main address. - Use the redirect checker to confirm the other address and plain http:// redirect to it with a single 301.
- Publish your Search Console verification TXT record and, if you send mail, SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- Run the robots.txt checker so search engines are not blocked by a leftover staging rule.
Related tools
Look up a domain
WHOIS Lookup
Registrar, creation and expiry dates, status and name servers from the registry.
Domain Age Checker
How old a domain is, when it was first archived and whether it changed hands.
SSL Checkercoming soon
Certificate issuer and expiry date.
Check a live site
Redirect Checker
Every hop of a redirect chain with status codes, loops and HTTPS problems.
Robots.txt & AI Crawler Checker
Whether Googlebot, GPTBot, ClaudeBot and others may crawl a page.
Open Graph Checkercoming soon
Preview how a link looks when shared.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I see old records after changing DNS?
Resolvers cache answers for as long as the record's TTL says, and the TTL of the old record still applies. Name server changes can take up to 48 hours because the parent zone's NS records often have long TTLs. Our lookup goes through Cloudflare's public resolver and is cached for up to five minutes on our side.
How do I check DMARC or DKIM?
Both live on sub-names. Look up _dmarc.example.com for DMARC, and selector._domainkey.example.com for DKIM, where the selector is set by your email provider (Google Workspace uses google, for example).
Can a domain have both a CNAME and other records?
Not on the same name. A CNAME must be the only record for a name, which is why the bare domain usually cannot be a CNAME. Providers such as Cloudflare offer “CNAME flattening” or ALIAS records to work around it; the lookup then shows A records.
What does NXDOMAIN mean?
The name does not exist in DNS. For a domain you just registered, it usually means the name servers are not set yet or the change has not reached the registry. For a sub-domain it means no record was created.
Which record types are checked?
A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA and CAA, which together cover websites, email, delegation and certificates. Each is queried separately, so one empty type does not hide the others.