DIG(1) BIND 9 DIG(1)

NAME

dig - DNS lookup utility

SYNOPSIS

dig [@server] [-b address] [-c class] [-f filename] [-k filename]
[-m] [-p port#] [-q name] [-t type] [-v] [-x addr] [-y
[hmac:]name:key] [ [-4] | [-6] ] [name] [type] [class] [queryopt...]

dig [-h]

dig [global-queryopt...] [query...]

DESCRIPTION

dig is a flexible tool for interrogating DNS name servers. It
performs DNS lookups and displays the answers that are returned from
the name server(s) that were queried. Most DNS administrators use dig
to troubleshoot DNS problems because of its flexibility, ease of use,
and clarity of output. Other lookup tools tend to have less
functionality than dig.

Although dig is normally used with command-line arguments, it also
has a batch mode of operation for reading lookup requests from a
file. A brief summary of its command-line arguments and options is
printed when the -h option is given. The BIND 9 implementation of dig
allows multiple lookups to be issued from the command line.

Unless it is told to query a specific name server, dig tries each of
the servers listed in /etc/resolv.conf. If no usable server addresses
are found, dig sends the query to the local host.

When no command-line arguments or options are given, dig performs an
NS query for "." (the root).

It is possible to set per-user defaults for dig via ${HOME}/.digrc.
This file is read and any options in it are applied before the
command-line arguments. The -r option disables this feature, for
scripts that need predictable behavior.

The IN and CH class names overlap with the IN and CH top-level domain
names. Either use the -t and -c options to specify the type and
class, use the -q to specify the domain name, or use "IN." and "CH."
when looking up these top-level domains.

SIMPLE USAGE

A typical invocation of dig looks like:

dig @server name type

where:

server is the name or IP address of the name server to query. This
can be an IPv4 address in dotted-decimal notation or an IPv6
address in colon-delimited notation. When the supplied server
argument is a hostname, dig resolves that name before querying
that name server.

If no server argument is provided, dig consults
/etc/resolv.conf; if an address is found there, it queries the
name server at that address. If either of the -4 or -6 options
are in use, then only addresses for the corresponding
transport are tried. If no usable addresses are found, dig
sends the query to the local host. The reply from the name
server that responds is displayed.

name is the name of the resource record that is to be looked up.

type indicates what type of query is required - ANY, A, MX, SIG,
etc. type can be any valid query type. If no type argument is
supplied, dig performs a lookup for an A record.

OPTIONS

-4 This option indicates that only IPv4 should be used.

-6 This option indicates that only IPv6 should be used.

-b address[#port]
This option sets the source IP address of the query. The
address must be a valid address on one of the host's network
interfaces, or "0.0.0.0" or "::". An optional port may be
specified by appending #port.

-c class
This option sets the query class. The default class is IN;
other classes are HS for Hesiod records or CH for Chaosnet
records.

-f file
This option sets batch mode, in which dig reads a list of
lookup requests to process from the given file. Each line in
the file should be organized in the same way it would be
presented as a query to dig using the command-line interface.

-h Print a usage summary.

-k keyfile
This option tells dig to sign queries using TSIG or SIG(0)
using a key read from the given file. Key files can be
generated using tsig-keygen. When using TSIG authentication
with dig, the name server that is queried needs to know the
key and algorithm that is being used. In BIND, this is done by
providing appropriate key and server statements in named.conf
for TSIG and by looking up the KEY record in zone data for
SIG(0).

-m This option enables memory usage debugging.

-p port
This option sends the query to a non-standard port on the
server, instead of the default port 53. This option is used to
test a name server that has been configured to listen for
queries on a non-standard port number.

-q name
This option specifies the domain name to query. This is useful
to distinguish the name from other arguments.

-r This option indicates that options from ${HOME}/.digrc should
not be read. This is useful for scripts that need predictable
behavior.

-t type
This option indicates the resource record type to query, which
can be any valid query type. If it is a resource record type
supported in BIND 9, it can be given by the type mnemonic
(such as NS or AAAA). The default query type is A, unless the
-x option is supplied to indicate a reverse lookup. A zone
transfer can be requested by specifying a type of AXFR. When
an incremental zone transfer (IXFR) is required, set the type
to ixfr=N. The incremental zone transfer contains all changes
made to the zone since the serial number in the zone's SOA
record was N.

All resource record types can be expressed as TYPEnn, where nn
is the number of the type. If the resource record type is not
supported in BIND 9, the result is displayed as described in
RFC 3597.

-u This option indicates that print query times should be
provided in microseconds instead of milliseconds.

-v This option prints the version number and exits.

-x addr
This option sets simplified reverse lookups, for mapping
addresses to names. The addr is an IPv4 address in
dotted-decimal notation, or a colon-delimited IPv6 address.
When the -x option is used, there is no need to provide the
name, class, and type arguments. dig automatically performs a
lookup for a name like 94.2.0.192.in-addr.arpa and sets the
query type and class to PTR and IN respectively. IPv6
addresses are looked up using nibble format under the IP6.ARPA
domain.

-y [hmac:]keyname:secret
This option signs queries using TSIG with the given
authentication key. keyname is the name of the key, and
secret is the base64-encoded shared secret. hmac is the name
of the key algorithm; valid choices are hmac-md5, hmac-sha1,
hmac-sha224, hmac-sha256, hmac-sha384, or hmac-sha512. If hmac
is not specified, the default is hmac-md5; if MD5 was
disabled, the default is hmac-sha256.

NOTE:
Only the -k option should be used, rather than the -y option,
because with -y the shared secret is supplied as a command-line
argument in clear text. This may be visible in the output from ps1
or in a history file maintained by the user's shell.

QUERY OPTIONS

dig provides a number of query options which affect the way in which
lookups are made and the results displayed. Some of these set or
reset flag bits in the query header, some determine which sections of
the answer get printed, and others determine the timeout and retry
strategies.

Each query option is identified by a keyword preceded by a plus sign
(+). Some keywords set or reset an option; these may be preceded by
the string no to negate the meaning of that keyword. Other keywords
assign values to options, like the timeout interval. They have the
form +keyword=value. Keywords may be abbreviated, provided the
abbreviation is unambiguous; for example, +cd is equivalent to
+cdflag. The query options are:

+aaflag, +noaaflag
This option is a synonym for +aaonly, +noaaonly.

+aaonly, +noaaonly
This option sets the aa flag in the query.

+additional, +noadditional
This option displays [or does not display] the additional
section of a reply. The default is to display it.

+adflag, +noadflag
This option sets [or does not set] the AD (authentic data) bit
in the query. This requests the server to return whether all
of the answer and authority sections have been validated as
secure, according to the security policy of the server. AD=1
indicates that all records have been validated as secure and
the answer is not from a OPT-OUT range. AD=0 indicates that
some part of the answer was insecure or not validated. This
bit is set by default.

+all, +noall
This option sets or clears all display flags.

+answer, +noanswer
This option displays [or does not display] the answer section
of a reply. The default is to display it.

+authority, +noauthority
This option displays [or does not display] the authority
section of a reply. The default is to display it.

+badcookie, +nobadcookie
This option retries the lookup with a new server cookie if a
BADCOOKIE response is received.

+besteffort, +nobesteffort
This option attempts to display the contents of messages which
are malformed. The default is to not display malformed
answers.

+bufsize[=B]
This option sets the UDP message buffer size advertised using
EDNS0 to B bytes. The maximum and minimum sizes of this
buffer are 65535 and 0, respectively. +bufsize restores the
default buffer size.

+cd, +cdflag, +nocdflag
This option sets [or does not set] the CD (checking disabled)
bit in the query. This requests the server to not perform
DNSSEC validation of responses.

+class, +noclass
This option displays [or does not display] the CLASS when
printing the record.

+cmd, +nocmd
This option toggles the printing of the initial comment in the
output, identifying the version of dig and the query options
that have been applied. This option always has a global
effect; it cannot be set globally and then overridden on a
per-lookup basis. The default is to print this comment.

+comments, +nocomments
This option toggles the display of some comment lines in the
output, with information about the packet header and OPT
pseudosection, and the names of the response section. The
default is to print these comments.

Other types of comments in the output are not affected by this
option, but can be controlled using other command-line
switches. These include +cmd, +question, +stats, and
+rrcomments.

+cookie=####, +nocookie
This option sends [or does not send] a COOKIE EDNS option,
with an optional value. Replaying a COOKIE from a previous
response allows the server to identify a previous client. The
default is +cookie.

+cookie is also set when +trace is set to better emulate the
default queries from a nameserver.

+crypto, +nocrypto
This option toggles the display of cryptographic fields in
DNSSEC records. The contents of these fields are unnecessary
for debugging most DNSSEC validation failures and removing
them makes it easier to see the common failures. The default
is to display the fields. When omitted, they are replaced by
the string [omitted] or, in the DNSKEY case, the key ID is
displayed as the replacement, e.g. [ key id = value ].

+defname, +nodefname
This option, which is deprecated, is treated as a synonym for
+search, +nosearch.

+dns64prefix, +nodns64prefix
Lookup IPV4ONLY.ARPA AAAA and print any DNS64 prefixes found.

+dnssec, +do, +nodnssec, +nodo
This option requests that DNSSEC records be sent by setting
the DNSSEC OK (DO) bit in the OPT record in the additional
section of the query.

+domain=somename
This option sets the search list to contain the single domain
somename, as if specified in a domain directive in
/etc/resolv.conf, and enables search list processing as if the
+search option were given.

+dscp=value
This option formerly set the DSCP value used when sending a
query. It is now obsolete, and has no effect.

+edns[=#], +noedns
This option specifies the EDNS version to query with. Valid
values are 0 to 255. Setting the EDNS version causes an EDNS
query to be sent. +noedns clears the remembered EDNS version.
EDNS is set to 0 by default.

+ednsflags[=#], +noednsflags
This option sets the must-be-zero EDNS flags bits (Z bits) to
the specified value. Decimal, hex, and octal encodings are
accepted. Setting a named flag (e.g., DO) is silently ignored.
By default, no Z bits are set.

+ednsnegotiation, +noednsnegotiation
This option enables/disables EDNS version negotiation. By
default, EDNS version negotiation is enabled.

+ednsopt[=code[:value]], +noednsopt
This option specifies the EDNS option with code point code and
an optional payload of value as a hexadecimal string. code can
be either an EDNS option name (for example, NSID or ECS) or an
arbitrary numeric value. +noednsopt clears the EDNS options to
be sent.

+expire, +noexpire
This option sends an EDNS Expire option.

+fail, +nofail
This option indicates that named should try [or not try] the
next server if a SERVFAIL is received. The default is to not
try the next server, which is the reverse of normal stub
resolver behavior.

+fuzztime[=value], +nofuzztime
This option allows the signing time to be specified when
generating signed messages. If a value is specified it is the
seconds since 00:00:00 January 1, 1970 UTC ignoring leap
seconds. If no value is specified 1646972129 (Fri 11 Mar 2022
04:15:29 UTC) is used. The default is +nofuzztime and the
current time is used.

+header-only, +noheader-only
This option sends a query with a DNS header without a question
section. The default is to add a question section. The query
type and query name are ignored when this is set.

+https[=value], +nohttps
This option indicates whether to use DNS over HTTPS (DoH) when
querying name servers. When this option is in use, the port
number defaults to 443. The HTTP POST request mode is used
when sending the query.

If value is specified, it will be used as the HTTP endpoint in
the query URI; the default is /dns-query. So, for example, dig
@example.com +https will use the URI
https://example.com/dns-query.

+https-get[=value], +nohttps-get
Similar to +https, except that the HTTP GET request mode is
used when sending the query.

+https-post[=value], +nohttps-post
Same as +https.

+http-plain[=value], +nohttp-plain
Similar to +https, except that HTTP queries will be sent over
a non-encrypted channel. When this option is in use, the port
number defaults to 80 and the HTTP request mode is POST.

+http-plain-get[=value], +nohttp-plain-get
Similar to +http-plain, except that the HTTP request mode is
GET.

+http-plain-post[=value], +nohttp-plain-post
Same as +http-plain.

+identify, +noidentify
This option shows [or does not show] the IP address and port
number that supplied the answer, when the +short option is
enabled. If short form answers are requested, the default is
not to show the source address and port number of the server
that provided the answer.

+idnin, +noidnin
This option processes [or does not process] IDN domain names
on input. This requires IDN SUPPORT to have been enabled at
compile time.

The default is to process IDN input when standard output is a
tty. The IDN processing on input is disabled when dig output
is redirected to files, pipes, and other non-tty file
descriptors.

+idnout, +noidnout
This option converts [or does not convert] puny code on
output. This requires IDN SUPPORT to have been enabled at
compile time.

The default is to process puny code on output when standard
output is a tty. The puny code processing on output is
disabled when dig output is redirected to files, pipes, and
other non-tty file descriptors.

+ignore, +noignore
This option ignores [or does not ignore] truncation in UDP
responses instead of retrying with TCP. By default, TCP
retries are performed.

+keepalive, +nokeepalive
This option sends [or does not send] an EDNS Keepalive option.

+keepopen, +nokeepopen
This option keeps [or does not keep] the TCP socket open
between queries, and reuses it rather than creating a new TCP
socket for each lookup. The default is +nokeepopen.

+multiline, +nomultiline
This option prints [or does not print] records, like the SOA
records, in a verbose multi-line format with human-readable
comments. The default is to print each record on a single line
to facilitate machine parsing of the dig output.

+ndots=D
This option sets the number of dots (D) that must appear in
name for it to be considered absolute. The default value is
that defined using the ndots statement in /etc/resolv.conf, or
1 if no ndots statement is present. Names with fewer dots are
interpreted as relative names, and are searched for in the
domains listed in the search or domain directive in
/etc/resolv.conf if +search is set.

+nsid, +nonsid
When enabled, this option includes an EDNS name server ID
request when sending a query.

+nssearch, +nonssearch
When this option is set, dig attempts to find the
authoritative name servers for the zone containing the name
being looked up, and display the SOA record that each name
server has for the zone. Addresses of servers that did not
respond are also printed.

+onesoa, +noonesoa
When enabled, this option prints only one (starting) SOA
record when performing an AXFR. The default is to print both
the starting and ending SOA records.

+opcode=value, +noopcode
When enabled, this option sets (restores) the DNS message
opcode to the specified value. The default value is QUERY (0).

+padding=value
This option pads the size of the query packet using the EDNS
Padding option to blocks of value bytes. For example,
+padding=32 causes a 48-byte query to be padded to 64 bytes.
The default block size is 0, which disables padding; the
maximum is 512. Values are ordinarily expected to be powers of
two, such as 128; however, this is not mandatory. Responses to
padded queries may also be padded, but only if the query uses
TCP or DNS COOKIE.

+qid=value
This option specifies the query ID to use when sending
queries.

+qr, +noqr
This option toggles the display of the query message as it is
sent. By default, the query is not printed.

+question, +noquestion
This option toggles the display of the question section of a
query when an answer is returned. The default is to print the
question section as a comment.

+raflag, +noraflag
This option sets [or does not set] the RA (Recursion
Available) bit in the query. The default is +noraflag. This
bit is ignored by the server for QUERY.

+rdflag, +nordflag
This option is a synonym for +recurse, +norecurse.

+recurse, +norecurse
This option toggles the setting of the RD (recursion desired)
bit in the query. This bit is set by default, which means dig
normally sends recursive queries. Recursion is automatically
disabled when the +nssearch or +trace query option is used.

+retry=T
This option sets the number of times to retry UDP and TCP
queries to server to T instead of the default, 2. Unlike
+tries, this does not include the initial query.

+rrcomments, +norrcomments
This option toggles the display of per-record comments in the
output (for example, human-readable key information about
DNSKEY records). The default is not to print record comments
unless multiline mode is active.

+search, +nosearch
This option uses [or does not use] the search list defined by
the searchlist or domain directive in resolv.conf, if any. The
search list is not used by default.

ndots from resolv.conf (default 1), which may be overridden by
+ndots, determines whether the name is treated as relative and
hence whether a search is eventually performed.

+short, +noshort
This option toggles whether a terse answer is provided. The
default is to print the answer in a verbose form. This option
always has a global effect; it cannot be set globally and then
overridden on a per-lookup basis.

+showbadcookie, +noshowbadcookie
This option toggles whether to show the message containing the
BADCOOKIE rcode before retrying the request or not. The
default is to not show the messages.

+showsearch, +noshowsearch
This option performs [or does not perform] a search showing
intermediate results.

+sigchase, +nosigchase
This feature is now obsolete and has been removed; use delv
instead.

+split=W
This option splits long hex- or base64-formatted fields in
resource records into chunks of W characters (where W is
rounded up to the nearest multiple of 4). +nosplit or +split=0
causes fields not to be split at all. The default is 56
characters, or 44 characters when multiline mode is active.

+stats, +nostats
This option toggles the printing of statistics: when the query
was made, the size of the reply, etc. The default behavior is
to print the query statistics as a comment after each lookup.

+subnet=addr[/prefix-length], +nosubnet
This option sends [or does not send] an EDNS CLIENT-SUBNET
option with the specified IP address or network prefix.

dig +subnet=0.0.0.0/0, or simply dig +subnet=0 for short,
sends an EDNS CLIENT-SUBNET option with an empty address and a
source prefix-length of zero, which signals a resolver that
the client's address information must not be used when
resolving this query.

+tcflag, +notcflag
This option sets [or does not set] the TC (TrunCation) bit in
the query. The default is +notcflag. This bit is ignored by
the server for QUERY.

+tcp, +notcp
This option indicates whether to use TCP when querying name
servers. The default behavior is to use UDP unless a type any
or ixfr=N query is requested, in which case the default is
TCP. AXFR queries always use TCP. To prevent retry over TCP
when TC=1 is returned from a UDP query, use +ignore.

+timeout=T
This option sets the timeout for a query to T seconds. The
default timeout is 5 seconds. An attempt to set T to less than
1 is silently set to 1.

+tls, +notls
This option indicates whether to use DNS over TLS (DoT) when
querying name servers. When this option is in use, the port
number defaults to 853.

+tls-ca[=file-name], +notls-ca
This option enables remote server TLS certificate validation
for DNS transports, relying on TLS. Certificate authorities
certificates are loaded from the specified PEM file
(file-name). If the file is not specified, the default
certificates from the global certificates store are used.

+tls-certfile=file-name, +tls-keyfile=file-name, +notls-certfile,
+notls-keyfile
These options set the state of certificate-based client
authentication for DNS transports, relying on TLS. Both
certificate chain file and private key file are expected to be
in PEM format. Both options must be specified at the same
time.

+tls-hostname=hostname, +notls-hostname
This option makes dig use the provided hostname during remote
server TLS certificate verification. Otherwise, the DNS server
name is used. This option has no effect if +tls-ca is not
specified.

+topdown, +notopdown
This feature is related to dig +sigchase, which is obsolete
and has been removed. Use delv instead.

+trace, +notrace
This option toggles tracing of the delegation path from the
root name servers for the name being looked up. Tracing is
disabled by default. When tracing is enabled, dig makes
iterative queries to resolve the name being looked up. It
follows referrals from the root servers, showing the answer
from each server that was used to resolve the lookup.

If @server is also specified, it affects only the initial
query for the root zone name servers.

+dnssec is also set when +trace is set, to better emulate the
default queries from a name server.

+tries=T
This option sets the number of times to try UDP and TCP
queries to server to T instead of the default, 3. If T is less
than or equal to zero, the number of tries is silently rounded
up to 1.

+trusted-key=####
This option formerly specified trusted keys for use with dig
+sigchase. This feature is now obsolete and has been removed;
use delv instead.

+ttlid, +nottlid
This option displays [or does not display] the TTL when
printing the record.

+ttlunits, +nottlunits
This option displays [or does not display] the TTL in friendly
human-readable time units of s, m, h, d, and w, representing
seconds, minutes, hours, days, and weeks. This implies +ttlid.

+unknownformat, +nounknownformat
This option prints all RDATA in unknown RR type presentation
format (RFC 3597). The default is to print RDATA for known
types in the type's presentation format.

+vc, +novc
This option uses [or does not use] TCP when querying name
servers. This alternate syntax to +tcp is provided for
backwards compatibility. The vc stands for "virtual circuit."

+yaml, +noyaml
When enabled, this option prints the responses (and, if +qr is
in use, also the outgoing queries) in a detailed YAML format.

+zflag, +nozflag
This option sets [or does not set] the last unassigned DNS
header flag in a DNS query. This flag is off by default.

MULTIPLE QUERIES

The BIND 9 implementation of dig supports specifying multiple queries
on the command line (in addition to supporting the -f batch file
option). Each of those queries can be supplied with its own set of
flags, options, and query options.

In this case, each query argument represents an individual query in
the command-line syntax described above. Each consists of any of the
standard options and flags, the name to be looked up, an optional
query type and class, and any query options that should be applied to
that query.

A global set of query options, which should be applied to all
queries, can also be supplied. These global query options must
precede the first tuple of name, class, type, options, flags, and
query options supplied on the command line. Any global query options
(except +cmd and +short options) can be overridden by a
query-specific set of query options. For example:

dig +qr www.isc.org any -x 127.0.0.1 isc.org ns +noqr

shows how dig can be used from the command line to make three
lookups: an ANY query for www.isc.org, a reverse lookup of 127.0.0.1,
and a query for the NS records of isc.org. A global query option of
+qr is applied, so that dig shows the initial query it made for each
lookup. The final query has a local query option of +noqr which means
that dig does not print the initial query when it looks up the NS
records for isc.org.

IDN SUPPORT

If dig has been built with IDN (internationalized domain name)
support, it can accept and display non-ASCII domain names. dig
appropriately converts character encoding of a domain name before
sending a request to a DNS server or displaying a reply from the
server. To turn off IDN support, use the parameters +idnin and
+idnout, or define the IDN_DISABLE environment variable.

RETURN CODES

dig return codes are:

0 DNS response received, including NXDOMAIN status

1 Usage error

8 Couldn't open batch file

9 No reply from server

10 Internal error

FILES

/etc/resolv.conf

${HOME}/.digrc

SEE ALSO

delv(1), host(1), named(8), dnssec-keygen(8), RFC 1035.

BUGS

There are probably too many query options.

AUTHOR

Internet Systems Consortium

COPYRIGHT

2025, Internet Systems Consortium

9.18.34 2025-02-11 DIG(1)