Developer Tools

DNS Lookup

Q: Is this the same as nslookup or dig?

It gives the same answers as nslookup or dig pointed at a public resolver, in this tab and with explanations. Copy records gives you dig-style output.

DNS Lookup is part of Toolspire and is ready as soon as this page loads. See every DNS record of a domain in one go — IP addresses, mail servers, name servers, TXT, SPF, DMARC and more — with plain-English explanations, DNSSEC status and reverse lookups for IPs.

Looks up public recordsFreeNo account

On this page

What you can do here

Every record at once

One click shows IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, mail servers, name servers, TXT, SOA, CAA and HTTPS records — no need to query each type.

Email health check

See at a glance whether the domain has MX, SPF and DMARC records, and what its DMARC policy tells receivers to do.

Plain-English answers

MX priorities, SOA timers, CAA rules and TXT verification codes are explained, and TTLs are shown as “1 hour”, not 3600.

Choose the DNS server

Compare the answer from Google Public DNS, Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 and other resolvers — handy right after changing a record.

Reverse DNS

Paste an IPv4 or IPv6 address to see the host name its owner registered for it.

Copy and share

Copy any value with one click, copy all records in dig format, or share a link that runs the same lookup.

The sequence

How to look up DNS records

1
Enter the domain
Type a domain such as example.com, paste a link or an email address, or enter an IP address for reverse DNS.
2
Pick a record type
Leave All records selected for a full overview, or choose one type such as MX or TXT.
3
Look it up
Click Look up. Records appear grouped by type, with their TTL and a short explanation.
4
Compare or copy
Switch the DNS server to compare answers, copy records, or open the propagation checker to see the answer worldwide.

Worth knowing

DNS Lookup on Toolspire: looks up A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA, CAA, SRV, PTR, HTTPS, DS and DNSKEY records, or all the everyday ones at once.
All records mode adds an overview: where the domain points, who hosts its DNS, which provider handles its email, and whether SPF and DMARC are set up.
Enter an IP address to find its host name (reverse DNS / PTR).
Shows whether answers are DNSSEC-signed and validated, and each record’s TTL in plain words.
Recognises common TXT records — SPF, DMARC, DKIM and verification codes for Google, Microsoft 365, Meta and others.
Queries go straight from your browser to the public DNS server you choose (Google, Cloudflare and five others) over encrypted DNS-over-HTTPS. Only the name you look up is sent.

DNS record types explained

Type	What it does	Example
A	Points a name to an IPv4 address	203.0.113.10
AAAA	Points a name to an IPv6 address	2001:db8::10
CNAME	Makes a name an alias of another name	www → example.netlify.app
MX	Mail servers for the domain, with priority	10 mail.example.com
NS	Name servers that hold the domain’s records	ada.ns.cloudflare.com
TXT	Text: SPF, DMARC, DKIM, verification codes	v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
SOA	Zone details: primary server, admin, serial, timers	ns1.example.com …
CAA	Which authorities may issue SSL certificates	0 issue "letsencrypt.org"
PTR	Host name for an IP address (reverse DNS)	dns.google

Checking your email setup

For email to arrive — and for your own mail not to land in spam — a domain needs MX records pointing to its mail provider, an SPF TXT record listing the servers allowed to send for it, and a DMARC record at _dmarc.yourdomain saying what to do with mail that fails the checks. Gmail and Yahoo require SPF and DMARC from bulk senders.

There must be only one SPF record: two SPF records make both invalid. Start DMARC with p=none to monitor, then move to quarantine or reject once all your sending services pass. DKIM keys live at selector._domainkey.yourdomain; look them up by typing that full name and choosing TXT.

FAQ

Questions about DNS Lookup

Where does DNS Lookup run?

DNS Lookup has to reach the network for a public lookup. The page says what leaves your device. Toolspire does not keep a copy of the query.

What is a DNS lookup?

A DNS lookup asks the Domain Name System for the records of a name — for example the IP address of a website (A record) or the mail servers of a domain (MX). It’s what your browser does every time you visit a site.

Why does the DNS server I choose give a different answer?

Each DNS server caches answers for the record’s TTL. After a change, some servers still hold the old answer until their copy expires. Sites on a CDN may also give different answers by location. Use the DNS Propagation Checker to see many servers at once.

What does TTL mean?

Time to live: how long DNS servers may keep an answer before asking again. A TTL of 1 hour means a change can take up to an hour to reach everyone. Lower it a day before planned changes.

How do I do a reverse DNS lookup?

Enter an IP address, such as 8.8.8.8. The tool looks up its PTR record automatically and shows the host name, if the owner of the address has set one.

Is this the same as nslookup or dig?

It gives the same answers as nslookup or dig pointed at a public resolver, in this tab and with explanations. Copy records gives you dig-style output.

What is sent, and to whom?

Only the name you look up and the record type, sent from your browser over encrypted DNS-over-HTTPS to the DNS server you pick (Google Public DNS by default). Toolspire doesn’t receive or store your lookups.

Keep going

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Last updated 30 September 2026Report a problem or suggest a feature