05/04/2017 Linux and Unix dig Command Examples
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LinuxandUnixdigCommandExamples
byVIVEKGITEonJANUARY12,2012lastupdatedJANUARY18,2016
inCOMMANDS,FREEBSD,LINUX,MACOSX,UNIX
I
amanewLinux/Unixcommandlineuser.HowdoIusedig
commandlineutilitytoqueryDNS(DomainNameSystem)
serversonLinuxandUnixlikeoperatingsystems?HowdoIusedig
commandtofindtheIPaddressofahostnameorhostNameofan
IPaddress?
ThedigcommandisprimarilyusedtoqueryDNS digcommanddetails
servers.Itisausefultoolfornetwork
Description QueryDNS
troubleshooting.Itispopularduetoitsflexibility,
Category NetworkUtilities
simpletouse,andcrystalclearoutputoverhost
command.Thedigcommandfundamentallyusedfor Difficulty Intermediate
thefollowingpurposes: Rootprivileges No
Estimatedcompletiontime 20m
Contents
Syntax
DNSrecordtypes
Examples
Understandingdigoutput
Queryanameserver
Specifyingthequerytype
ShowtheSOAfordomain/zonename
ReverseDNSlookup
Getalongorshortanswer
Readhostnamesfromafile
Debugtip:Tracednspath
1.PerformsDNSlookups.
FindOutTTL
2.Findhostaddresses,IPaddress,mail
SetIPv4orIPv6querytransport
exchanges(MX),CNAMEs,nameservers,and
more. mode
Options
3.VerifyISPDNSserverandInternetconnectivity.
Video
4.Verifyspamandblacklistingrecords.
Seealso
Purpose
UsedigcommandforDNSlookupandtoqueryDNSnameserversforvarious
resourcerecord.
Syntax
Thebasicsyntax:
dig Hostname
dig DomaiNameHere
dig @DNS-server-name Hostname
dig @DNS-server-name IPAddress
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dig @DNS-server-name Hostname|IPAddress type
Where:
1.DNS-server-nameThenameorIPaddressofthenameservertoquery(suchas
8.8.8.8orns1.cyberciti.biz).IfnoDNSservernameisprovided,thedigcommandwill
usethe/etc/resolv.conffileandusenameserverslistedthere.
2.Hostname|IPAddressThenameoftheresourcerecordthatistobelookedup
usingDNSservername.
3.typeSetthetypeofquerysuchasA,MX,NSandmore.
ListofDNSrecordtypes
Beforeyouusethedigcommandyoushouldawareofcommontypesofresourcerecords
oftheDNS.Herearemostcommonresourcerecords:
Type Purpose Examples
A IPv4IPaddress 192.168.1.5or75.126.153.206
AAAA IPv6IPaddress 2607:f0d0:1002:51::4
s0.cyberciti.orgisanalias
CNAMECanonicalnamerecord(Alias) for
d2m4hyssawyie7.cloudfront.net
smtp.cyberciti.bizor
MX Emailserverhostnames
mx1.nixcraft.com
ns1.cyberciti.bizorns-
NS Name(DNS)servernames
243.awsdns-30.com
Pointertoacanonicalname.
PTR Mostlyusedforimplementingreverse 82.236.125.74.in-addr.arpa
DNSlookups
AuthoritativeinformationaboutaDNS
SOA seebelow
zone
TXT Textrecord seebelow
Bydefault,digcommandlooksforArecordsonly.
digcommandexamples
TofindtheIPaddressofthehostwww.cyberciti.biz,type:
dig www.cyberciti.biz
Sampleoutputs:
Fig.01:Thedefaultdigcommandoutput
Understandingdigcommandoutput
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Theaboveissimplequeryforasinglehostcalledwww.cyberciti.biz.Thedigcommand
displayslotsofinformation.Letustrytounderstandthedefaultdigcommandoutput:
1.Thequestionssectiondisplaysquerytype.BydefaultqueryisforA(Internet
address).Inthisexample,IamusingdigcommandtofindoutanIPaddressof
www.cyberciti.biz.
2.Next,yougettheanswertoyourqueryinanswersectiontheaddressof
www.cyberciti.bizis75.126.153.206.
3.Thefinalsectionofthedigcommandcontainsstatistics(statssection)aboutthe
querysuchasnameservernames,querytimeandmore.
HowdoIqueryadifferentnameserversuchasns1.example.com?
Typethefollowingcommand:
dig @ns1.example.com Hostname
dig @ns1.example.com IPAddress
dig @ns1.yahoo.com yahoo.com
dig @ns-1287.awsdns-32.org www.cyberciti.biz
Sampleoutputs(note205.251.197.7inthestatssection):
; <<>> DiG 9.8.3-P1 <<>> @ns-1287.awsdns-32.org www.cyberciti.biz
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: REFUSED, id: 24233
;; flags: qr rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0
;; WARNING: recursion requested but not available
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;www.cyberciti.biz. IN A
;; Query time: 61 msec
;; SERVER: 205.251.197.7#53(205.251.197.7)
;; WHEN: Mon Jan 13 17:25:10 2014
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 35
HowdoIselecttheDNSquerytype?
digwillletyouquerytypes.Thebasicsyntaxis:
dig Hostname|IPAddress type
dig @ns-server-here Hostname|IPAddress type
dig Hostname|IPAddress type
dig [+options] @ns-server-here Hostname|IPAddress type
Herearemostcommonexamplesofdnslookups.
FindtheIPaddress(A)ofaHostname
dig www.cyberciti.biz A
dig @ns-1075.awsdns-06.org www.cyberciti.biz A
dig +short www.cyberciti.biz A
Sampleoutputs:
75.126.153.206
FindthehostnameofanIPaddress
dig 74.125.236.167
FindtheMX(mailexchanges)ofadomain/hostname
dig cyberciti.biz MX
dig @ns-1075.awsdns-06.org cyberciti.biz MX
dig +short cyberciti.biz MX
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Sampleoutputs:
1 aspmx.l.google.com.
10 aspmx2.googlemail.com.
10 aspmx3.googlemail.com.
5 alt1.aspmx.l.google.com.
5 alt2.aspmx.l.google.com.
FindtheNS(nameservers)ofadomainname
dig cyberciti.biz NS
dig @ns-1075.awsdns-06.org cyberciti.biz NS
dig +short cyberciti.biz NS
Sampleoutputs:
ns-1075.awsdns-06.org.
ns-1947.awsdns-51.co.uk.
ns-243.awsdns-30.com.
ns-866.awsdns-44.net.
FindtheTXT(textannotations)ofadomainname
dig google.com TXT
dig +short google.com TXT
dig @8.8.8.8 google.com TXT
Sampleoutputs:
; <<>> DiG 9.8.3-P1 <<>> google.com TXT
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 24961
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;google.com. IN TXT
;; ANSWER SECTION:
google.com. 3590 IN TXT "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ip4:216.73.93.70/31 ip4:216.73.93.72/31 ~al
;; Query time: 29 msec
;; SERVER: 8.8.8.8#53(8.8.8.8)
;; WHEN: Mon Jan 13 17:41:00 2014
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 116
ANYqueryi.e.tryallqueriestogetasmuchasinformationpossible
YoucanalsotryANYqueryasfollows:
dig cyberciti.biz ANY
dig +short cyberciti.biz ANY
dig @8.8.8.8 cyberciti.biz ANY
Sampleoutputs:
; <<>> DiG 9.8.3-P1 <<>> @8.8.8.8 cyberciti.biz ANY
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 54232
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 12, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;cyberciti.biz. IN ANY
;; ANSWER SECTION:
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cyberciti.biz. 236 IN A 75.126.153.206
cyberciti.biz. 21536 IN NS ns-1075.awsdns-06.org.
cyberciti.biz. 21536 IN NS ns-1947.awsdns-51.co.uk.
cyberciti.biz. 21536 IN NS ns-243.awsdns-30.com.
cyberciti.biz. 21536 IN NS ns-866.awsdns-44.net.
cyberciti.biz. 836 IN SOA ns-1075.awsdns-06.org. awsdns-hostmaster.amazon.com.
cyberciti.biz. 3536 IN MX 1 aspmx.l.google.com.
cyberciti.biz. 3536 IN MX 10 aspmx2.googlemail.com.
cyberciti.biz. 3536 IN MX 10 aspmx3.googlemail.com.
cyberciti.biz. 3536 IN MX 5 alt1.aspmx.l.google.com.
cyberciti.biz. 3536 IN MX 5 alt2.aspmx.l.google.com.
cyberciti.biz. 21536 IN AAAA 2607:f0d0:1002:51::4
;; Query time: 31 msec
;; SERVER: 8.8.8.8#53(8.8.8.8)
;; WHEN: Mon Jan 13 17:43:28 2014
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 406
ShowtheSOArecordsforDNSzonename
Thesyntaxis:
dig cyberciti.biz SOA
dig @8.8.8.8 cyberciti.biz SOA
Sampleoutputs:
; <<>> DiG 9.8.3-P1 <<>> @8.8.8.8 cyberciti.biz SOA
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 35
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;cyberciti.biz. IN SOA
;; ANSWER SECTION:
cyberciti.biz. 894 IN SOA ns-1075.awsdns-06.org. awsdns-hostmaster.amazon.com.
;; Query time: 28 msec
;; SERVER: 8.8.8.8#53(8.8.8.8)
;; WHEN: Mon Jan 13 17:44:29 2014
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 116
ORtry:
dig cyberciti.biz +nssearch
Sampleoutputs:
SOA ns-1075.awsdns-06.org. awsdns-hostmaster.amazon.com. 1 7200 900 1209600 86400 from server
SOA ns-1075.awsdns-06.org. awsdns-hostmaster.amazon.com. 1 7200 900 1209600 86400 from server
SOA ns-1075.awsdns-06.org. awsdns-hostmaster.amazon.com. 1 7200 900 1209600 86400 from server
SOA ns-1075.awsdns-06.org. awsdns-hostmaster.amazon.com. 1 7200 900 1209600 86400 from server
HowdoIperformareverseDNSlookups?
Tomapaddressestonames(reverselookups),passthe-xoptionasfollows:
dig -x ip-address-here
dig @ns-name-server -x ip-address-here
dig -x 75.126.153.206
dig +short -x 75.126.153.206
Sampleoutputs:
www.cyberciti.biz.
HowdoIgetalongorshortanswer?
Togetashortanswerpassthe+shortoptionasfollows:
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dig +short query
dig +short cyberciti.biz NS
dig @8.8.8.8 +short cyberciti.biz NS
Bydefaultdigshowsalonganswer.Youcanpassthefollowingadditionaloptionstogeta
finedtunedanswer:
dig +multiline +noall +answer +nocmd cyberciti.biz ANY
Sampleoutputs:
Fig.02:Gettingalongansusefulansweraboutadomainname
Batchmode:Readhostnamesfromafile
Firstcreateatextfileasfollowwithnumberofqueries,oneperlineusingcatcommand:
cat > lookup.txt
+short yahoo.com mx
+short google.com mx
+short cyberciti.biz mx
Passthe-f lookup.txtoptionmakesdigoperateinbatchmode:
dig -f /path/to/lookup.txt
dig -f lookup.txt
Sampleoutputs:
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Fig.03:Doingabulk/batchdnslookupsusingdigcommand
Debugtip:Tracednspath
Youcanforcedigtofollowthedelegationpathfromtherootnameserversforthename
beinglookedup.Thesyntaxis:
dig +trace cyberciti.biz
dig +short +trace cyberciti.biz
dig +short +trace s0.cyberciti.org
Sampleoutputs:
Fig.04:Tracingofthedelegationpathfromtherootnameservers
FindoutTTL(TimetoLive)valueforDNSrecords
Timetolive(TTL)isamechanismthatlimitsthelifetimeofdnsrecordsintheDomain
NameSystem(DNS).ItissetbyanauthoritativeDNSserverforparticularresourcerecord.
TheTTLissetinsecondsanditisusedbycaching(recursive)dnsservertospeedupdns
nameresolution.ThesyntaxisasfollowstofindoutTTL:
dig +nocmd +noall +answer +ttlid a example.com
dig +nocmd +noall +answer +ttlid A www.cyberciti.biz
Sampleoutputs:
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Fig.05:FindingTTLvalueusingdigcommand
SetIPv4orIPv6querytransportmode
Passthe-4optionforcesdigtoonlyuseIPv4querytransport:
dig -4 query ...
Passthe-6optionforcesdigtoonlyuseIPv6querytransport:
dig -6 query ..
digcommandoptions
HereisthesummaryofallimportantoptionsofthedigcommandonLinuxorUnixlike
operatingsystems:
Commandlineoption Usage
-x dot-notation shortcutforreverselookups
-i useIP6.INTforIPv6reverselookups
-f filename Batchmode
-b address[#port] Bindtosourceaddress/port
-p port Specifyportnumber
-q name Specifyqueryname
-t type Specifyquerytype
-c class Specifyqueryclass
-k keyfile Specifytsigkeyfile
-y [hmac:]name:keySpecifynamedbase64tsigkey
-4 UseIPv4querytransportonly
-6 UseIPv6querytransportonly
-m Enablememoryusagedebugging
digcommandqueryoptions
digcommandhasanumberofqueryoptions.Eachqueryoptionisidentifiedbyakeyword
precededbyaplussign(+).Somekeywordssetorresetanoption.Thesemaybe
precededbythestringnotonegatethemeaningofthatkeyword.Otherkeywordsassign
valuestooptionslikethetimeoutinterval.Theyhavetheform+keyword=value.The
queryoptionsare:
Option Usage
+[no]vc TCPmode
+[no]tcp TCPmode,alternatesyntax
+time=### Setquerytimeout[5]
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+tries=### SetnumberofUDPattempts[3]
+retry=### SetnumberofUDPretries[2]
+domain=### Setdefaultdomainname
+bufsize=### SetEDNS0MaxUDPpacketsize
+ndots=### SetNDOTSvalue
+edns=### SetEDNSversion
+[no]search Setwhethertousesearchlist
+[no]showsearch Searchwithintermediateresults
+[no]defname Ditto
+[no]recurse Recursivemode
+[no]ignore DontreverttoTCPforTCresponses.
+[no]fail DonttrynextserveronSERVFAIL
+[no]besteffort Trytoparseevenillegalmessages
+[no]aaonly SetAAflaginquery+[no]aaflag
+[no]adflag SetADflaginquery
+[no]cdflag SetCDflaginquery
+[no]cl Controldisplayofclassinrecords
+[no]cmd Controldisplayofcommandline
+[no]comments Controldisplayofcommentlines
+[no]question Controldisplayofquestion
+[no]answer Controldisplayofanswer
+[no]authority Controldisplayofauthority
+[no]additional Controldisplayofadditional
+[no]stats Controldisplayofstatistics
+[no]short Disableeverythingexceptshortformofanswer
+[no]ttlid Controldisplayofttlsinrecords
+[no]all Setorclearalldisplayflags
+[no]qr Printquestionbeforesending
+[no]nssearch Searchallauthoritativenameservers
+[no]identify IDrespondersinshortanswers
+[no]trace Tracedelegationdownfromroot
+[no]dnssec RequestDNSSECrecords
+[no]nsid RequestNameServerID
+[no]multiline Printrecordsinanexpandedformat
+[no]onesoa AXFRprintsonlyonesoarecord
Relatedmedia
Thistutorialsisalsoavailableinaquickvideoformat:
Seealso
dig(1)commandmanpage
ResourceRecord(RR)TYPEs
Category ListofUnixandLinuxcommands
FileManagement cat
NetworkUtilities dighostip
PackageManager apt
ProcessesManagement bgchrootdisownfgjobskillkillallpwdxtimepidofpstree
Searching whereiswhich
UserInformation groupsidlastlastcommlognameuserswwhowhoamilidmembers
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{3commentsaddone}
Anonymous August13,2015,9:03am
Wow,niceandcompletetutorialCongratulations!
REPLY LINK
Tom January18,2016,10:39am
ThisisawesometutorialandworkedlikeacharmonmyOSX.
REPLY LINK
Dinesh March21,2016,2:51am
Wowsuperbandonthepointdescription.Veryhelpful.
REPLY LINK
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