get all dns records for a domain

Website’s actin’ funky. Emails vanishin’ like socks in a laundromat. SSL cert’s throwin’ a tantrum—and nobody’s confessin’ *why*. Honey, that’s when you stop guessin’ and start *diggin’*. Literally. As in: dig. ‘Cause if you wanna get all dns records for a domain, you ain’t sendin’ carrier pigeons—you’re pullin’ up the floorboards and checkin’ the wiring. DNS is the nervous system of the web, and those records? They’re the synapses firin’ (or misfirin’). Skip this step, and you’re just rearrangin’ deck chairs on the *Titanic*—while it’s still docked. Let’s fix that.

Good news: you don’t need a PhD in network sorcery—or a corporate badge—to get all dns records for a domain. In fact, half the tools we use fit in our back pocket (read: terminal window). Here’s the quick’n’dirty stack:

• dig — the Swiss Army knife (Unix/macOS/Linux)
• nslookup — Windows’ old-but-gold standby
• host — clean, simple, no-nonsense
• Online GUIs — DNSLookup.io, MXToolbox, ViewDNS.info (for when you’re on a library laptop and forgot your SSH key)

Try this in your terminal right now (we’ll wait): dig any example.com +short Boom. You just peeked behind the curtain. Is it *everything*? Nah—modern resolvers often ignore ANY for security (more on that later). But it’s a damn fine start. And yeah—get all dns records for a domain ain’t about one command. It’s about knowin’ *which* command for *which* record, and when to switch tools mid-ride.

Before you go huntin’, know your critters. Not all DNS records wear name tags—but here’s the lineup you’ll bump into when you get all dns records for a domain:

Pro tip? Run these *one by one*. Bulk ANY queries get throttled or blocked (Google Public DNS flat-out ignores ‘em post-2019). Smart admins spread queries like butter on warm cornbread—thin, even, no clumps.

Here’s the kicker: **there’s no single command to list *all* CNAMEs** in a zone—unless you’ve got zone transfer rights (and 99.9% of the time, you don’t. And shouldn’t.). So how *do* we get all dns records for a domain—especially the sneaky CNAMEs?

Three (Realistic) Paths to CNAME Enlightenment

1. Targeted Guesswork — Try common subdomains: dig CNAME www.yourdomain.comdig CNAME mail.yourdomain.comdig CNAME cdn.yourdomain.comdig CNAME shop.yourdomain.com …you get the idea. Works surprisingly well for small biz setups.

2. Subdomain Enumeration — Use tools like subfinder or amass to *discover* subdomains first, *then* check each for CNAMEs. Slow? Yep. Thorough? Absolutely.

3. Zone Walk (Rare & Risky) — If NSEC records are exposed (common in DNSSEC-enabled zones), tools like ldns-walk can reconstruct the zone. But—big but—this is *aggressive*, often violates ToS, and may trigger alerts. Don’t do it on domains you don’t own. Just… don’t.

Bottom line? For most folks, get all dns records for a domain means “get *the ones I care about*”—not every theoretical record. Prioritize. Be methodical. And never assume www is the only alias.

Ah, the export itch. We feel it too—especially when migratin’ hosts or doin’ audits. But here’s the reality check: unless you’re the *zone owner* with access to the DNS provider’s dashboard or BIND zone file, you **can’t reliably export *all* records**. Public DNS just ain’t built for bulk dumps (thank goodness—imagine the spam bots’ field day).

Still—here’s what *you can* do:

• Provider Dashboards — Cloudflare, Route 53, and Namecheap all offer “Export Zone” (usually CSV or BIND format). That’s your *golden ticket*—if you’re logged in.
• Scripted Collection — Bash/Python loop + dig can build a partial list. Example:

  for type in A AAAA CNAME MX TXT NS SOA; do
    echo "=== $type RECORDS ==="
    dig +short $type yourdomain.com
  done > dns_export.txt

  (Note: misses wildcard, SRV, and obscure records—but covers 90% of use cases.)
• Online Tools with Export — SecurityTrails and DNSDumpster offer (limited) historical + current exports—for a fee (starts around 29 USD/mo).

And remember—even if you get all dns records for a domain today, DNS is *ephemeral*. Records change. TTLs expire. What’s true at 10 a.m. might be fiction by lunch. Always timestamp your exports. Always.

Somethin’ broke. Git logs are clean. No deploys. But the DNS? *That* feels… different. Enter: DNS history. Not real-time—but *incredibly* useful for forensics.

Top services (free & paid tiers):

• SecurityTrails — Keeps ~2 years of historical A, MX, TXT. Free tier: 50 lookups/mo.
• DNSDumpster — Free current + limited history (7–30 days, depending on domain popularity).
• ViewDNS.info — “DNS History” tab—surprisingly deep for a free tool.
• WhoisXML API — Paid, but offers raw zone history exports (great for SOC teams).

Pro move? Set up weekly DNS snapshots via cron job: dig any yourdomain.com @8.8.8.8 +noall +answer >> dns_history_$(date +%Y%m%d).log Yeah, it’s janky. But when the blamestorm hits? You’ll be the hero with logs. That’s the real power behind learnin’ how to get all dns records for a domain—not just *now*, but *then*.

Let’s say you just updated your A record. Ran dig @localhost—looks good. But your phone still shows the old IP. Why? Caching, darlin’. And it’s layered like a 7-layer dip:

1. OS Resolver Cache (macOS: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache)
2. Router/ISP Cache (outta your control—wait or use 1.1.1.1)
3. Public Resolver TTL** (Google’s 8.8.8.8 honors record TTLs—usually)
4. Authoritative Nameserver’s MINIMUM (SOA) — affects negative caching

So when you get all dns records for a domain, always specify the resolver: → dig @ns1.yourhost.com = *authoritative* (truth) → dig @8.8.8.8 = *public view* (what most users see) → dig @localhost = *your machine’s belief* (often outdated)

And if TTL was 86400 (24 hrs)? Yeah—some folks’ll see old data for a full day. No tool fixes impatience. Only time—and maybe a strong cup of coffee.