What is a DNS lookup?
The Domain Name System is the internet's address book: it turns readable names into the records computers need. A DNS lookup queries those records for one domain. Looking up example.com, for instance, returns an A record with the site's IPv4 address, an AAAA record with its IPv6 equivalent, MX records naming the mail hosts, and TXT records carrying SPF, DKIM or verification tokens.
Reading the answer record by record is what makes debugging fast: a missing or stale A record explains a site that will not resolve, an MX change moves mail to a new provider, and an outdated TXT token breaks domain verification. NS records name the authoritative servers, so comparing them shows whether an update has propagated.
How to use the DNS lookup
- Enter the domain you want to inspect, for example example.com.
- Choose a record type, or fetch the common record set at once.
- Read each record: address, mail host, text token or name server, and its TTL.
- Re-run the query after a change to confirm it propagated.
Frequently asked questions about DNS
What is the difference between A and AAAA records?
An A record maps a name to an IPv4 address and an AAAA record maps it to an IPv6 address; modern sites publish both so every client can connect.
Why do my DNS changes not show up yet?
Every answer is cached for the record's TTL, so until that TTL expires at each resolver and browser clients may keep seeing the old value.
What does an MX record do?
MX records list the mail servers that accept email for your domain, with a priority number when several are named; changing them moves mail to a new provider.
