dig Command Snippets

Copy-paste-ready Domain Information Groper (dig) commands for common DNS lookup tasks.

Query A Records with dig

Domain Information Groper (dig) queries A records to retrieve the IPv4 address of a domain. The A record type is the default when no type is specified.

dig example.com A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
example.com.        86400   IN      A       93.184.216.34

Query AAAA Records with dig

dig queries AAAA records to retrieve the IPv6 address of a domain.

dig example.com AAAA

Query MX Records with dig

dig queries Mail Exchange (MX) records to identify the mail servers responsible for receiving email for a domain. The output includes a priority value and the mail server hostname.

dig example.com MX

;; ANSWER SECTION:
example.com.        3600    IN      MX      10 mail.example.com.

Query NS Records with dig

dig queries Name Server (NS) records to list the authoritative nameservers delegated for a domain.

dig example.com NS

Query SOA Records with dig

dig queries Start of Authority (SOA) records to retrieve zone authority metadata, including the primary nameserver, administrator email, zone serial number, and Time to Live (TTL) timers.

dig example.com SOA

Query TXT Records with dig

dig queries TXT records to retrieve text-based DNS data such as Sender Policy Framework (SPF) policies, DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) keys, and domain verification strings.

dig example.com TXT

Query CNAME Records with dig

dig queries Canonical Name (CNAME) records to find the alias target of a domain name.

dig www.example.com CNAME

Query All Record Types with dig

dig queries all available DNS record types for a domain using the ANY keyword. Some DNS servers restrict ANY queries for performance or security reasons and may return incomplete results.

dig example.com ANY

Perform a Reverse DNS Lookup with dig

dig performs a reverse DNS lookup using the -x flag to find the domain name associated with an IP address through a PTR record query.

dig -x 8.8.8.8

Display Short-Form Output with dig

dig returns the record value without metadata when the +short option is appended. This format outputs the IP address or record value on a single line.

dig example.com +short

Show Answer Section Only with dig

dig displays the answer section without headers, comments, or statistics when +noall and +answer are combined. This produces clean, script-friendly output.

dig example.com +noall +answer

Trace the DNS Delegation Path with dig

dig traces the full DNS resolution path from root nameservers through Top-Level Domain (TLD) servers to the authoritative nameserver with the +trace option.

dig example.com +trace

Query a Specific DNS Server with dig

dig queries a specific DNS resolver by placing the @server argument before the domain name. This bypasses the system's default resolver configured in /etc/resolv.conf.

dig @8.8.8.8 example.com

Query Multiple Domains in Batch Mode with dig

dig reads domain names from a text file and queries each one sequentially with the -f flag. Create a file with one domain per line.

dig -f domains.txt

Display TTL Values in Human-Readable Units with dig

dig displays Time to Live (TTL) values in human-readable time units (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks) with the +ttlunits option.

dig example.com +ttlunits

Request DNSSEC Records with dig

dig requests DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) records, including RRSIG signatures, with the +dnssec option. This verifies whether a domain's DNS responses are cryptographically signed.

dig example.com +dnssec

Display SOA Records in Multiline Format with dig

dig prints SOA records in an expanded multiline format with field labels using the +multiline option. This makes serial numbers, refresh intervals, and TTL values easier to read.

dig example.com SOA +multiline

Force TCP Transport with dig

dig sends the DNS query over TCP instead of the default UDP transport with the +tcp option. Use TCP for large responses that exceed the UDP payload limit.

dig example.com +tcp

Check dig Version

dig displays its version number and the BIND library version with the -v flag.

dig -v