nslookup Cheat Sheet
Query DNS from the classic tool — A/AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, reverse lookups, and the server index that talks to any resolver.
Basic Queries
9nslookup example.comA record and the resolver used
nslookup example.com 1.1.1.1Query a specific resolver
nslookup -type=A example.comA records only
nslookup -type=AAAA example.comIPv6 records
nslookup -type=CNAME www.example.comCNAME lookup
nslookup -type=MX example.comMail exchange records
nslookup -type=NS example.comNameservers for the domain
nslookup -type=TXT example.comTXT records (SPF, DKIM, verify)
nslookup -type=SOA example.comStart-of-authority record
Reverse Lookups
4nslookup 8.8.8.8PTR record for an IP
nslookup 8.8.8.8 1.1.1.1Reverse via a chosen resolver
nslookup -type=PTR 8.8.8.8Explicit PTR query
nslookup -type=PTR 2606:4700:4700::1111Reverse lookup of an IPv6 address
Interactive Mode
8nslookupStart interactive mode
server 1.1.1.1Switch resolver inside the session
set type=ANYSwitch record type while iterating
set debugVerbose packet-level output
set d2Full debug on every query
set retry=3Retries per query
set timeout=5Seconds to wait per attempt
exitLeave interactive mode
Resolvers & Options
5nslookup example.com -port=53Query a non-standard DNS port
nslookup -vc example.comForce TCP instead of UDP
nslookup example.com 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4Try resolvers in order
cat /etc/resolv.confWhat the system uses by default
nslookup example.com 127.0.0.1 -port=5353Query a local DNS cache
Bulk & Scripting
4for d in $(cat domains.txt); do nslookup $d | tail -n +4; doneLoop over a list of domains
nslookup example.com | grep AddressPull the answer addresses
echo 'example.com' | nslookupPipe a query via stdin
nslookup -type=TXT _dmarc.example.comInspect a DMARC record