dns-checker-cli

A fast, zero-config CLI tool for looking up DNS records of any domain. Queries all common record types in parallel and displays the results in a readable, color-coded table -- or as JSON for scripting.

Install

npm install -g dns-checker-cli

Or run it directly without installing:

npx dns-checker-cli example.com

Usage

dns-checker <domain> [options]

Options

| Flag | Description | | --- | --- | | -t, --type <types> | Comma-separated record types to query (e.g. A,MX,TXT) | | -j, --json | Output results as JSON | | -s, --short | Compact output — skip record types with no results | | -V, --version | Show version number | | -h, --help | Show help |

Examples

Look up all DNS records for a domain:

dns-checker example.com

Query only specific record types:

dns-checker example.com --type A,MX,NS

Get JSON output (useful for piping into jq or other tools):

dns-checker example.com --json

Skip empty record types for a cleaner overview:

dns-checker example.com --short

Combine flags:

dns-checker example.com -t A,AAAA,MX -s

Supported Record Types

| Type | Description | | --- | --- | | A | IPv4 addresses | | AAAA | IPv6 addresses | | CNAME | Canonical name (alias) | | MX | Mail exchange servers (sorted by priority) | | NS | Name servers | | TXT | Text records (SPF, DKIM, domain verification, etc.) | | SOA | Start of authority | | CAA | Certificate authority authorization | | SRV | Service locator records |

By default, all types are queried. Use --type to limit the query to specific types.

JSON Output

When using --json, the output structure is:

{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "results": [
    {
      "type": "A",
      "records": ["93.184.216.34"]
    },
    {
      "type": "MX",
      "records": ["10 mail.example.com"]
    }
  ]
}

Records that failed to resolve will include an error field:

{
  "type": "SRV",
  "records": [],
  "error": "querySrv ENODATA example.com"
}

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run dev -- example.com

# Build for distribution
npm run build

# Lint
npm run lint

Project Structure

src/
├── index.ts       # CLI entry point (argument parsing, orchestration)
├── dns.ts         # DNS resolution logic (parallel queries via node:dns)
├── formatter.ts   # Output formatting (table and JSON)
└── types.ts       # Shared type definitions

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18

License

MIT