DNST-NOTIFY(1)

📦 version 0.2.0, in nixpkgs unstable

💌 DNST-NOTIFY(1) — the dnst girlies' guide 💌

okay so this is dnst-notify(1), part of the dnst manual, and bestie let me tell you it is so useful. sit down, hydrate, let's go 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

dnst-notify — send a NOTIFY message to a list of name servers. that's it, that's the whole vibe 🦋

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

dnst notify [OPTIONS] -z <ZONE> <SERVERS>...

like, one command, servers at the end, options up front. we love a clean signature 💅

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so dnst notify literally sends a NOTIFY message to the name servers you point it at.

what's it telling them? that an updated zone is available at the primaries. that's the whole point, no cap. and it's got range:

  • it can perform TSIG signatures ✅
  • it can add a SOA serial number of the updated zone ✅

and here's the cute bit — if a server already has that serial number, it will disregard the message. like, respectfully, already knew that 🫥💀

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • <SERVERS>... — one or more name servers that NOTIFY messages will be sent to, by default on port 53. you can drop as many as you want, it's a whole list.

each name server can be specified as a domain name or an IP address. either works, we're flexible 🌈

👑 OPTIONS 👑

okay this is the part where I need you to focus because there are a lot of little knobs and I want you to know every single one ⭐

  • -z <ZONE> — the zone to send the NOTIFY for. Mandatory. like genuinely, you cannot skip this one, it's not vibing on default 🚨
  • -I <ADDRESS> — source IP to send the message from. ✨
  • -I <ADDRESS> — source IP to send the message from. 👀 yes bestie, it's listed twice in the page. I'm not making that up, I'm not "fixing" it, I'm delivering it to you exactly as it is. iconic behaviour honestly 💅
  • -s <SOA VERSION> — SOA version number to include in the NOTIFY message. 🍓
  • -y, --tsig <NAME:KEY[:ALGO]> — a base64 TSIG key and optional algorithm to use for the NOTIFY message. the algorithm defaults to hmac-sha512. so if you're not specific about your algo, that's the one you get, no discussion 🎀
  • -p, --port <PORT> — destination port to send the UDP packet to. defaults to 53. 🦋
  • -d, --debug — print debug information. turn this on when things are being weird and you need to see the receipts 🔍
  • -r, --retries <RETRIES> — max number of retries. defaults to 15. so it will keep trying, fifteen whole times, that's commitment 🫶
  • -h, --help — print the help text. short summary with -h, long help with --help. yes there are two flavours, pick your energy 💖

😭 AUTHOR 😭

NLnet Labs 💜

2024–2026, NLnet Labs

quick reminder bestie: -z <ZONE> is the one thing you cannot leave out, and if a server already has that SOA serial number it will just straight up ignore your NOTIFY. not being rude, just built different 🙈

okay that's the page!! this was dnst version 0.2.0-alpha2, dated May 15, 2026, made with love by NLnet Labs — go notify somebody, you're gonna slay 🧚💅🔥

📦 where this page comes from