What this lookup shows
DNS is the system that turns a name such as example.com into the addresses and settings that computers need. Each setting is a record, and each record has a type.
| Type | What it holds |
|---|---|
| A | The IPv4 address of the server. |
| AAAA | The IPv6 address of the server. |
| CNAME | Another name that this name is an alias of. |
| MX | The mail servers that accept email for the domain. |
| NS | The name servers that hold the domain's records. |
| TXT | Free text: SPF, domain verification codes, DKIM keys. |
| SOA | The zone's primary server, contact and timers. |
| CAA | Which certificate authorities may issue certificates. |
How to read the result
The lookup asks two public resolvers, Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) and Google (8.8.8.8). The answer is what a visitor's computer would get, not what your DNS provider's control panel says.
The TTL column is the number of seconds a resolver may keep the answer before it asks again. A TTL of 300 means a change can take up to 5 minutes to reach everyone. A TTL of 86400 means up to a day.
A missing type is normal. Most domains have no CAA record, and a name with a CNAME has no A record of its own.
When a lookup helps
- After a DNS change. Check that the new value is live before you tell anyone.
- When a site will not load. No A or AAAA record means the name points nowhere.
- When email bounces. Check the MX records, then the SPF and DMARC records.
- Before a migration. Copy the full list so nothing is lost when you move DNS provider.