dnsmx(1)

📦 version 1.05, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 dnsmx — the MX record girlie 💖

ok so bestie, welcome to dnsmx, a lil general-commands-manual babe (section 1, iykyk) that does exactly one thing and does it flawlessly: it tells you the MX records of a domain. that's it. that's the whole personality. 🎀

✨ NAME ✨

dnsmx — prints the MX records of fqdn 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

dnsmx fqdn

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

okay so here's the tea. dnsmx prints the MX records of fqdn. that's the mission. that's the whole vibe. mail exchange records, served fresh, no cap. 📬✨

but here's the part that's lowkey iconic — if there are no MX records at all? dnsmx doesn't just leave you hanging. it prints an artificial MX record instead, simulating the behavior of MTAs. like, it's giving "i got you bestie, i'll fill in the blanks the way the mail servers would." 🫶

🧚 fqdn means fully qualified domain name btw, so like example.com not just example. you knew that tho. 💜

🚦 exit status tea 🚦

  • Normally, dnsmx exits 0. slay. everything's fine. go about your day. ✅
  • But if dnsmx encounters a temporary problem that prevents it from determining the list of MX records, it prints an error message and exits 111. not the vibe. 😭
⚠️ heads up: that 111 is specifically for temporary problems that stop it from figuring out the MX list. so if you see 111, it's a "try again later" situation, not a "this domain is fake" situation. 💀

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

your new besties in the djbdns friend group 🫶✨:

and the sacred texts, the origin story, the main character's lore drop 🌈:

and that's the whole page, bestie!! this one came to you straight outta the djbdns universe, filed under the General Commands Manual as dnsmx(1) — no date on the footer, just pure timeless energy, periodt. 💖✨ mwah, go look up some MX records, you got this. 🎀🦋💅

📦 where this page comes from