A lookup

A records can be configured by the owner of a domain name. They are used to link IPv4 addresses to a domain name. IPv6 addresses are stored as AAAA records. Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are most commonly used by web browsers like Google Chrome, in order to find the web server that should be contacted to display a website. Strictly speaking, A and AAAA records are not limited to this, but other uses are rare in comparison. Learn more about A records.

A records are configured in DNS. But how can you look up these A records? That depends on the operating system you are using. Windows, Linux and Mac all have a different way of finding A records. The sections below contain instructions for each operating system.

How to lookup A records on Windows

To check the A records for a certain domain name on Windows, follow these steps:

1. Open a command prompt by navigating to Start → 'Type here to search' → 'cmd' → Open.
2. Type nslookup -q=a example.com and hit [enter] to get the A records for example.com.
3. The A records are listed below the Non-authoritative answer heading.

How to lookup A records on Mac OS

To check the A records for a certain domain name on a Mac, follow these steps:

1. Open a terminal by entering [command] + [space] → 'terminal.app' → [enter].
2. Type dig example.com a and hit [enter] to get the A records for example.com.
3. The A records are listed below the ANSWER SECTION heading.

How to lookup A records on Linux

To check the A records for a certain domain name on Linux, follow these steps:

1. Open a terminal by entering [Super] → 'terminal' → [enter].
2. Type dig example.com a and hit [enter] to get the A records for example.com.
3. The A records are listed below the ANSWER SECTION heading.

How to find A records

To check the A records of a domain, follow these steps:

1. Open the A lookup tool.
2. Enter the domain name and hit [enter].
3. The tool will query the A records and shown them at the top of the page.

How to lookup other record types

There are other types of DNS records then just A. The most commonly used DNS record types are A, AAAA, CNAME, NS, TXT, MX and SOA. If you'd like to look up all records of these record types, you can do so with nslookup. Click any of the record types below to find DNS records for that specific record type.

• AAAA lookup — IPv6 address
• AFSDB lookup — AFS database location
• APL lookup — Address prefix list
• AXFR lookup — Authoritative zone transfer
• CAA lookup — Certification authority authorization
• CDNSKEY lookup — Child copy of a DNSKEY
• CDS lookup — Child copy of DS
• CERT lookup — Cryptographic certificate
• CNAME lookup — Canonical name
• CSYNC lookup — Child-to-parent synchronization
• DHCID lookup — DHCP identifier
• DLV lookup — DNSSEC lookaside validation
• DNAME lookup — Delegation name
• DNSKEY lookup — Cryptographic key for DNSSEC
• DS lookup — Delegation signer
• EUI48 lookup — MAC address (EUI-48)
• EUI64 lookup — Mac address (EUI-64)
• HINFO lookup — Host information
• HIP lookup — Host identification protocol
• HTTPS lookup — HTTPS binding
• IPSECKEY lookup — Cryptographic key for IPsec
• IXFR lookup — Incremental zone transfer
• KEY lookup — Cryptographic key for DNSSEC (obsoleted by DNSKEY)
• KX lookup — Key exchange
• LOC lookup — Geographical location
• MX lookup — Mail exchange
• NAPTR lookup — Naming authority pointer
• NS lookup — Name server
• NSEC3 lookup — Next secure (version 3)
• NSEC3PARAM lookup — Parameter for NSEC3
• NSEC lookup — Next secure (obsoleted by NSEC3)
• NXT lookup — DNSSEC key (obsoleted by NSEC)
• OPENPGPKEY lookup — Public key for OpenPGP
• OPT lookup — EDNS option
• PTR lookup — Canonical name pointer
• RP lookup — Responsible person
• RRSIG lookup — Resource record signature for DNSSEC
• SIG lookup — Resource record signature for DNSSEC (obsoleted by RRSIG)
• SMIMEA lookup — S/MIME association
• SOA lookup — Start of authority
• SPF lookup — Sender Policy Framework
• SSHFP lookup — Public key fingerprint for SSH
• SVCB lookup — Service binding
• SRV lookup — Service locator
• TA lookup — Trust authority for DNSSEC
• TKEY lookup — Transaction key
• TLSA lookup — Certificate association for TLS
• TSIG lookup — Transaction signature
• TXT lookup — Human-readable text
• URI lookup — Uniform resource identifier
• ZONEMD lookup — Message digest for DNS zones