About
Enter a domain and read its public records back. The resolution happens on our server, which is what makes this useful after a change: it shows whether the new value has reached somewhere other than your own machine.
How to use
Type the domain without a protocol or a path, for example example.com. Records come back grouped by type. For mail specifically, the MX lookup gives a narrower view.
What comes back, and what each type is for
A and AAAA are the addresses a name resolves to, in IPv4 and IPv6. CNAME points one name at another and forces a second lookup underneath. MX names the mail servers and carries a priority. NS names the servers that hold the authoritative answers. TXT is the general purpose slot, which is why domain verification and mail policy both live there.
The three answers that can all be correct
Your machine, your ISP's resolver, and a server elsewhere can hold three different values for one record at the same time, and none of them is wrong. Each cached at a different moment. This matters when a colleague says the change is live and you cannot see it. The useful question is not who is right but how long the record's TTL is, since that sets when the disagreement ends.
After you change a record
Lower the TTL before making a change rather than after, because the old TTL governs how long the old value survives. Then check from somewhere outside your own network, which is what this page gives you. Seeing the new value here means it has propagated at least this far, and that is a stronger signal than a successful save in your registrar's dashboard.
Reading a TXT record without squinting
TXT is where verification strings, SPF policy, and assorted vendor tokens accumulate, and a domain that has been through a few providers usually has several. Compare the exact characters when a provider says their record is missing. The frequent culprits are a value pasted with the surrounding quotes included, a record placed on the wrong subdomain, and two SPF records where only one is allowed.
FAQ
Why does my computer show a different answer?
Caching, mostly. Your resolver holds the old value until its timer runs out, and corporate networks add another layer that can hold it longer.
Which record types are covered?
The common ones: A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT and NS. It is a lookup for everyday checks rather than a full DNS debugging console.
What is TTL and why does my change not show?
TTL is how many seconds resolvers are told they may keep a record. Until it expires they answer from cache, so a change can be correct at the authoritative server and invisible everywhere else for hours.
How do I verify a TXT record a provider asked me to add?
Look at the TXT rows here and compare the exact string. Quoting and trailing spaces are where these usually fail, and providers rarely say so.
Related tools
- Network and domain tools
- MX Lookup
Mail servers and priorities for a domain.
- What Is My IP
The public IP our server sees for your connection.
- Hostname to IP
Resolve a hostname to an IP, or an IP back to a name.
- Open Port Checker
Try one TCP connection to a host and port.
- HTTP Header Checker
Read the response headers a URL returns.
- SSL Certificate Checker
Read the certificate a host presents over TLS.