Check DNS records

Enter a domain. The DNS checker queries the authoritative name servers and shows A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS and CAA exactly as they are in the zone, without cached answers from a resolver.

Why query authoritatively?

Most DNS tools ask a public resolver such as 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8. It answers from its cache, and that cache can be minutes to hours old. After a change you still see the old state there or, depending on location, sometimes the old and sometimes the new one. This checker determines the zone's name servers and queries one of them directly. The result is the state the zone has right now.

The record types

What the individual entries mean:

  • A and AAAA: IPv4 and IPv6 addresses the name points to. Without AAAA the domain is not reachable over IPv6.
  • CNAME: alias to another name. A CNAME must not coexist with other records on the same name.
  • MX: mail servers with priority. Without MX no mail arrives.
  • TXT: free text, used for SPF, DMARC, DKIM selectors and verifications (Google, Microsoft, Facebook).
  • NS: the zone's authoritative name servers. An unnoticed change is the clearest sign of a provider switch or a takeover.
  • CAA: defines which certificate authorities may issue certificates. Optional but recommended.

Typical problems

The checker points out the following situations:

  • NXDOMAIN: the domain does not exist or has expired.
  • SERVFAIL: the name servers answer with an error, often because of broken DNSSEC signatures.
  • No A, AAAA, CNAME or MX records: the zone is empty.
  • CNAME next to other records: violates the standard and leads to unpredictable behaviour.
  • No CAA record: every certificate authority may issue certificates.

Detect changes instead of just looking

A DNS check shows one moment. What agencies actually need is a message when something changes: an MX that disappears, name servers that switch, an SPF record the client edited themselves. DomainWarn stores the zone as a snapshot, compares it on every check and reports typed changes with before and after.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I see different values here than in my DNS tool?
Because this checker asks the authoritative name server and not a caching resolver. After a change this result is the current one.
How long does a DNS change take?
On the authoritative server it is immediate. Resolvers worldwide pick it up once their cached copy expires, i.e. after the TTL of the old record.
Does the tool check subdomains too?
Yes, enter the full host name, for example shop.example.com.

Add the DNS records at IONOS, STRATO, Hetzner, Cloudflare and others

The path to the DNS editor differs by host. For the common providers this shows where you create the DNS records and what to watch out for.

DNS records at IONOS

  1. Sign in to the IONOS account and open "Domains & SSL".
  2. Click the gear icon next to the domain and choose "DNS".
  3. Choose "Add record", pick the type (TXT, MX, CNAME) and host name, paste the value, save.
  4. Changes usually apply within minutes; the default TTL is one hour.

Use "@" as the host name for the apex domain; IONOS shows it as the domain name.

DNS records at STRATO

  1. In the STRATO customer login open "Domains" and then "Domain administration".
  2. Choose "manage" next to the domain and switch to the "DNS settings" tab.
  3. STRATO separates by type: "TXT and CNAME records" for SPF, DKIM, DMARC and verifications, "MX records" for mail delivery.
  4. Enter the value and save; propagation can take up to an hour.

For subdomain records such as _dmarc or selector._domainkey put the prefix into the "Subdomain" field, not into the value.

DNS records at Hetzner

  1. Open the Hetzner DNS Console (dns.hetzner.com) and select the zone of the domain.
  2. Choose "Add record", enter type, name and value, lower the TTL if needed.
  3. Save; the Hetzner name servers serve the record immediately.

DNS records at ALL-INKL

  1. Sign in to KAS (the customer administration system) and open "Domain".
  2. Click "edit" next to the domain and then "DNS settings".
  3. "Create new DNS record", enter name (empty for the apex), type and value, save.
  4. ALL-INKL applies changes within minutes.

DNS records at Cloudflare

  1. In the Cloudflare dashboard open the domain and choose "DNS" → "Records".
  2. Choose "Add record" and enter type, name and content.
  3. For MX, TXT and mail-related CNAME records keep the proxy status on "DNS only"; the orange cloud belongs to web records only.
  4. Save; Cloudflare propagates instantly.

DNS records at netcup

  1. In the netcup Customer Control Panel (CCP) open "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Switch to the "DNS" tab and choose "Add new record".
  3. Enter host (@ for the apex), type and destination, then "Save DNS records".

DNS records at united-domains

  1. In the united-domains portfolio click the domain and open "DNS settings".
  2. Under "Custom DNS records" choose the type, enter subdomain and value.
  3. Save; propagation takes a few minutes.

DNS records at checkdomain

  1. In the checkdomain customer area open "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Open "DNS settings" and create a new record with type, name and value.
  3. Save.

DNS records at domainfactory

  1. In the domainfactory customer menu open "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Open "Name server settings" and create a new record.
  3. Enter type, host name and value, save.

DNS records at Alfahosting

  1. In the Alfahosting customer center open the domain and choose "DNS management".
  2. Create a new record with type, name and value, save.

DNS records at webgo

  1. In the webgo customer portal open "Domains" and choose "DNS management" next to the domain.
  2. Create a record with type, name and value, save.

DNS records at 1blu

  1. In the 1blu customer service area open "Domains" and choose "DNS settings" next to the domain.
  2. Create a record with type, name and value, save.

DNS records at Host Europe

  1. In KIS (the customer information system) open "Domain services" and then "Domain administration".
  2. Choose "Name server / DNS" next to the domain and create the record with type, name and value.
  3. Save.

DNS records at Mittwald

  1. In mStudio open the project and select the domain under "Domains".
  2. Open "DNS", edit or create the record, save.

DNS records at GoDaddy

  1. At GoDaddy open "My Products" and choose "DNS" next to the domain.
  2. Choose "Add", enter type, name and value, save.

DNS records at Hostinger

  1. In hPanel open "Domains" and choose "DNS / Nameservers" next to the domain.
  2. In the DNS zone editor create the record with type, name and value.

DNS records at Amazon Route 53

  1. In the AWS console open Route 53, "Hosted zones" and select the zone.
  2. Choose "Create record", enter name, type and value, set the TTL, "Create records".

DNS records at Google Cloud DNS

  1. In the Google Cloud console open "Cloud DNS" and select the zone.
  2. "Add record set", enter name, type and value, create.

DNS records at Azure DNS

  1. In the Azure portal open "DNS zones" and select the zone.
  2. Add a "Record set", enter name, type and value, OK.

DNS records at OVHcloud

  1. In the OVHcloud control panel open "Web Cloud" → "Domain names" and the domain.
  2. Tab "DNS zone", "Add an entry", choose the type, enter subdomain and value, confirm.

DNS records at DigitalOcean

  1. In the DigitalOcean dashboard open "Networking" → "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Choose the type, enter host name and value, "Create Record".

DNS records at Squarespace

  1. At Squarespace open "Domains", select the domain and open "DNS settings".
  2. Under "Custom records" create the record with type, host and data.

DNS records at Wix

  1. In the Wix account open "Domains" and choose "Manage DNS records" next to the domain.
  2. Under the matching type choose "Add record", enter host name and value, save.

DNS records at Shopify

  1. In the Shopify admin open "Settings" → "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Open "DNS settings", "Add custom record", enter type, name and value, confirm.

DNS records at INWX

  1. At INWX open "Nameserver" and select the domain.
  2. "Add record", enter type, name and value, save.

DNS records at dogado

  1. In the dogado customer area open the domain and choose "DNS".
  2. Create the record with type, name and value, save.

DNS records at Variomedia

  1. In the Variomedia customer menu open the domain and choose "DNS settings".
  2. Create the record with type, name and value, save.

DNS records at Namecheap

  1. At Namecheap open "Domain List", "Manage" and the "Advanced DNS" tab.
  2. "Add New Record", enter type, host and value, save.

DNS records at Gandi

  1. At Gandi open the domain and choose "DNS records".
  2. "Add a record", enter type, name and value, create.

DNS records at Vercel

  1. In the Vercel dashboard open "Domains" and select the domain.
  2. Under "DNS Records" enter type, name and value, "Add".

Guides for this tool

More tools

Free tool

SPF Checker

Free SPF record check and lookup: syntax, includes, the 10 DNS lookup limit and the closing qualifier. Shows whether your domain blocks forged senders.

Open tool →
Free tool

DMARC Checker

Free DMARC record check and lookup: policy (none, quarantine, reject), pct, reporting addresses and syntax errors. With recommendations for moving to p=reject.

Open tool →
Free tool

MX Checker

Free MX lookup: which mail servers receive for a domain, do they resolve, is the priority right? Detects missing and unreachable mail servers.

Open tool →
Free tool

SSL Checker

Free SSL certificate check: expiry date, issuer, chain, host name, alternative names and TLS version. Detects expired, self-signed and mismatched certificates.

Open tool →
Free tool

HTTP Header Checker

Free HTTP header check: HSTS, Content-Security-Policy, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy and Permissions-Policy with recommendations.

Open tool →
Free tool

Redirect Checker

Free 301 redirect check: every hop with status code and response time, from http to https, from www to non-www. Detects redirect chains, loops and 302s.

Open tool →
Free tool

DKIM Checker

Free DKIM record check and lookup: selector, key type, key length, syntax and revoked keys. Leave the selector empty to try common selectors automatically.

Open tool →
Free tool

DNSSEC Checker

Free DNSSEC test: DS record, resolver validation and broken signature chains. Shows whether validating resolvers like Google or Cloudflare reach your domain.

Open tool →
Free tool

MTA-STS Checker

Free MTA-STS check: DNS record, policy file, mode, max_age and whether your MX servers are covered. Shows whether inbound mail enforces TLS.

Open tool →
Free tool

TLS-RPT Checker

Free TLS-RPT record check: syntax, reporting addresses (rua) and common errors such as a missing record. Shows whether you get reports on TLS failures.

Open tool →
Free tool

BIMI Checker

Free BIMI record check: syntax, logo URL, SVG Tiny PS, VMC certificate and the DMARC prerequisite. Shows why your logo does not appear in Gmail.

Open tool →
Free tool

Blacklist Check

Free IP blacklist and domain blacklist check: mail server IPs, website IP and domain against Spamhaus, Spamcop, Barracuda, PSBL and SURBL. With delisting links.

Open tool →
Free tool

Domain Checker

Free domain check: expiry date, registrar, EPP status, transfer lock and name servers straight from the registry via RDAP. Warns about expiry and holds.

Open tool →