dig – DNS Lookup Utility

dig (Domain Information Groper) is the go-to DNS lookup utility for system administrators and network...

Networking Tools Linux Open Source

dig (Domain Information Groper) is the go-to DNS lookup utility for system administrators and network engineers. It queries DNS servers for various record types and provides detailed responses, making it essential for troubleshooting DNS issues, verifying configurations, and understanding DNS propagation.

📑 Table of Contents

Key Features

  • Flexible Queries – Query any DNS record type (A, AAAA, MX, TXT, etc.)
  • Detailed Output – Complete DNS response information
  • Server Selection – Query specific DNS servers
  • Reverse Lookups – PTR record queries

Installation

sudo apt install dnsutils    # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install bind-utils  # Fedora/RHEL

Basic Usage

# Basic A record lookup
dig example.com

# Query specific record type
dig example.com MX
dig example.com TXT
dig example.com AAAA

# Query specific DNS server
dig @8.8.8.8 example.com

# Short answer only
dig +short example.com

# Reverse DNS lookup
dig -x 8.8.8.8

# Trace delegation path
dig +trace example.com

View Documentation

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