Free DNS Lookup Tool – Check A, MX, TXT, NS Records

What Is a DNS Lookup?

A DNS lookup queries the Domain Name System to find the records a domain currently publishes — the IP addresses it resolves to, the mail servers that handle its email, the nameservers that answer for it, and any text records used for verification or security. It's the same lookup your browser performs silently every time you type a web address, except here you can see the raw answer.

This tool queries public DNS-over-HTTPS resolvers directly from your browser, so results reflect what those resolvers see right now — useful when you're troubleshooting a change that hasn't fully propagated yet.

DNS Record Types Explained

• A — maps a domain to an IPv4 address. This is the most common record and the one used to actually load a website.
• AAAA — same purpose as an A record, but maps to an IPv6 address instead.
• MX — Mail Exchange record, tells the internet which server(s) handle email for the domain, along with priority.
• TXT — free-form text, most often used for domain verification, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication.
• NS — Nameserver record, lists the authoritative servers responsible for answering DNS queries for the domain.
• CNAME — Canonical Name record, an alias that points one hostname to another domain name.
• SOA — Start of Authority, contains admin info about the zone: primary nameserver, refresh/retry timers, and serial number.

Why Check DNS Records?

• Migrating a domain or host. Confirm A/AAAA records point to the new server before decommissioning the old one.
• Setting up email. Verify MX records are correct and TXT records for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are published so mail isn't marked as spam.
• Debugging propagation issues. Comparing results across resolvers helps spot whether a change has fully rolled out.
• Verifying domain ownership. Many services (Google, AWS, SSL providers) require a TXT or CNAME record before issuing access or certificates.
• Auditing nameservers. Confirm NS records match your registrar settings, especially after transferring a domain.

Key Terms to Know

• TTL (Time To Live) — how long, in seconds, a resolver is allowed to cache a record before checking again.
• Authoritative nameserver — the official source of truth for a domain's DNS records.
• Resolver — the server that looks up and returns DNS answers on your behalf (e.g. Cloudflare, Google).
• Propagation — the time it takes for a DNS change to be visible everywhere, governed largely by TTL and caching.
• Zone file — the file on an authoritative nameserver that stores all DNS records for a domain.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How long does DNS propagation take? Usually anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours, depending on the TTL set on the old records and how aggressively resolvers cache them.
• Why do results differ between resolvers? Different resolvers cache records at different times, so during propagation it's normal to see temporarily inconsistent answers.
• What's the difference between an A and a CNAME record? An A record points directly to an IP address; a CNAME points to another domain name, which is then resolved separately.
• Why does my domain show no records? Either the domain doesn't exist, the specific record type isn't set for it, or it's using a registrar's default parking page with different DNS.