dnsq

DNS query and debugging tool. Look up records, trace delegation chains, check propagation across global resolvers, and benchmark DNS server performance. Single binary, no dependencies.

Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Features

• Multi-type lookups -- query A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA, SRV, CAA, TLSA, NAPTR
• Propagation checks -- verify DNS propagation across 10 public resolvers (Google, Cloudflare, Quad9, OpenDNS, etc.)
• Trace mode -- trace the delegation chain from root servers
• Reverse DNS -- PTR record lookups
• Benchmark -- compare response times across public DNS servers
• Multiple output formats -- table, JSON, short
• Custom server -- query any DNS server

Install

Binary download

Grab the latest binary from Releases and place it in your PATH.

Go install

go install github.com/jmsperu/dnsq@latest

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/jmsperu/dnsq.git
cd dnsq
make build

Cross-compile for all platforms:

make build-all    # outputs to dist/

Quick start

dnsq example.com           # look up all common record types
dnsq example.com A         # look up A records only
dnsq example.com --trace   # trace delegation from root

Commands

Default lookup

dnsq example.com                    # all common records (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, TXT, SOA)
dnsq example.com A                  # specific record type
dnsq example.com MX                 # MX records
dnsq example.com TXT                # TXT records
dnsq example.com --all              # all record types including SRV, CAA, TLSA, NAPTR
dnsq example.com -s 8.8.8.8         # query a specific DNS server
dnsq example.com -o json            # JSON output
dnsq example.com -o short           # compact output

dnsq reverse

Reverse DNS (PTR) lookup.

dnsq reverse 1.2.3.4
dnsq reverse 2606:4700::1111

dnsq trace

Trace the DNS delegation chain from root servers to the authoritative nameserver.

dnsq trace example.com

dnsq propagation (alias: prop)

Check DNS propagation across 10 global public resolvers and report consistency.

dnsq propagation example.com
dnsq prop example.com

dnsq benchmark (alias: bench)

Benchmark DNS server response times (5 queries each, ranked by average latency).

dnsq benchmark example.com
dnsq bench example.com

Flags reference

Flag	Short	Default	Description
--server	-s	system resolver	DNS server to query
--output	-o	table	Output format: table, json, short
--trace	-t	false	Trace delegation chain
--propagation	-p	false	Check propagation across public DNS
--timeout	-T	5s	Query timeout (duration, e.g. 3s)
--all	-a	false	Query all record types

Public resolvers used

Resolver	Server
Google	8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4
Cloudflare	1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1
Quad9	9.9.9.9
OpenDNS	208.67.222.222, 208.67.220.220
AdGuard	94.140.14.14
CleanBrowsing	185.228.168.9
Level3	4.2.2.1

License

MIT