Free tool
DNS lookup
A DNS lookup asks the internet’s address book what a name points at. Type a domain or any hostname and this reads eight record types at once — where the website lives, where its email goes, which nameservers answer for it — with the time each answer has left in the resolver’s cache.
Updated · reads a public DNS resolver live, from your browser
What each record does
| Record | What it says | Typical value |
|---|---|---|
A | The IPv4 address the name points at | 93.184.215.14 |
AAAA | The IPv6 address | 2606:2800:21f:cb07::1 |
CNAME | This name is an alias for another one | shops.myshopify.com |
MX | Which servers accept email for the domain, lowest number first | 1 smtp.google.com |
NS | Which nameservers answer for the domain | ns1.cloudflare.com |
TXT | Free text: SPF, site verification tokens, DKIM keys on their own names | v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all |
SOA | The zone’s primary nameserver, contact and serial number | ns1.example.com hostmaster.example.com 2026110501 … |
CAA | Which certificate authorities may issue SSL certificates for it | 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" |
Where the answer comes from
Your browser sends the query over DNS-over-HTTPS to Cloudflare’s public resolver, 1.1.1.1, and to Google’s 8.8.8.8 if Cloudflare cannot be reached. The result panel names the one that answered. A resolver hands back its cached copy of each record, together with the number of seconds that copy has left to live — the TTL column — and asks the domain’s own nameservers again once it runs out.
Your lookup does not touch our servers. The query goes from your browser straight to the resolver, so DropPerch never sees which name you looked up. Cloudflare does, as it would if your computer used 1.1.1.1 directly; its resolver privacy policy covers what it keeps.
Because the answer comes from a resolver’s cache, it can lag a change made in the last few minutes or hours. To see whether a change has reached the big public resolvers yet, use the DNS propagation checker, which asks four of them side by side.
Reading the result
- No such domain means the resolver got NXDOMAIN: the name does not exist in DNS. For a domain that should exist, the usual cause is that it has expired, or its registrar has put it on hold, and it has been removed from the registry’s zone.
- "none" next to a record type means the name exists but has no record of that type. A domain with no MX records receives no email; that is normal for a name used only for a website.
- An alias. When a name is a CNAME for another, the A and AAAA answers belong to the target, and the page says so above the table.
- Several values for one type are normal: two or four A records for load balancing, several MX records in priority order, a dozen TXT records for different services.
DNS nameservers and registry nameservers
The NS records here are what the domain’s own zone says. The registry holds a second copy, the delegation, which is what actually sends the world to those nameservers, and it is what the domain expiry checker shows from RDAP. The two should match. When they do not, part of the internet may be asking servers that no longer answer for the domain, which shows up as a site that loads for some people and not others.
A change to the registry’s nameservers is also the first step of most domain hijacks: whoever controls the nameservers controls the website and the email. DropPerch reads that registry record and, on paid plans, emails you when a watched domain’s nameservers or registrar change.
When a domain expires, DNS goes with it
An expired domain usually keeps resolving for a while, because registries auto-renew at expiry and give the registrar up to 45 days to decide. Then the registrar either deletes it into the redemption period or puts it on clientHold, and either way it leaves the zone. From that moment every lookup for it, and every record you see on this page, returns NXDOMAIN: the site is down and email bounces. The expiry lifecycle guide covers each stage.
Common questions
How do I check the DNS records of a domain?
Type the domain or hostname in the box above and press Look up records. The page reads its A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA and CAA records from a public resolver over DNS-over-HTTPS and shows each one with its TTL. No signup.
Is this DNS lookup free?
Yes, with no signup and no limit. The lookup runs in your browser and asks a public resolver directly, so it costs us nothing to serve.
What does the TTL column mean?
Time to live: how much longer the resolver will keep its cached copy of the record before asking the domain's nameservers again. A record changed recently can still show the old value until its TTL runs out.
Why does my computer show a different result?
Your computer asks whichever resolver your network uses, often your internet provider's, and that resolver has its own cache. Until every cached copy expires, different resolvers can hold different answers. The DNS propagation checker compares four of them.
Can I look up a subdomain?
Yes. Any hostname works, including www, mail and other subdomains, and names starting with an underscore such as _dmarc.example.com.
Do you see or store the domains I look up?
No. The query goes from your browser to the resolver without passing through our servers. The resolver itself, Cloudflare or Google, does see it.
DNS records live only as long as the domain does
When a domain expires, its registrar pulls it from DNS and every record on this page stops answering at once. DropPerch reads the registry record for every domain you watch and emails you before it expires, and on paid plans the moment its nameservers or registrar change. Any registrar, no transfer, no card: 25 domains free for the first 25 accounts, 5 after.