DNSTAP-READ(1)

💅 DNSTAP-READ 💅

okay so bestie, welcome to dnstap-read, a little icon from the BIND 9 fam 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

dnstap-read — print dnstap data in human-readable form 🦋 (yes, it makes the cryptic stuff make sense, you're welcome)

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

dnstap-read [-m] [-p] [-x] [-y] {file}

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so here's the vibe: dnstap-read reads dnstap data from a file you specify, and prints it out in a human-readable format. That's literally it, and it ate 💅

By default, the dnstap data gets printed in a short summary format — cute, snappy, gets the point across. But the moment you add the -y option? Boom, you get a longer and more detailed YAML format. It's giving "tell me everything" energy 🔥

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⭐ OPTIONS ⭐

• -m — this one indicates trace memory allocations, and it's used for debugging memory leaks 🧚 (yes, the leak-hunting option, we love a detective moment)
• -p — prints the text form of the DNS message that was encapsulated in the dnstap frame, after printing the dnstap data 👑
• -t — prints long timestamps with millisecond precision ⏱️ (because sometimes you really do need to know exactly when, down to the millisecond, no cap)
• -x — prints a hex dump of the wire form of the DNS message that was encapsulated in the dnstap frame, after printing the dnstap data 🔥 (hex dump girlies rise)
• -y — prints dnstap data in a detailed YAML format 🌈 (the long-form, main character version of the output)

real talk: -t shows up in the options list but not in the synopsis line above — that's just how it is, we don't make the rules, we just report them 💀

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🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

named(8), rndc(8), and the BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual 📚 (iykyk, go read the manual bestie)

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🫶 AUTHOR 🫶

Internet Systems Consortium — iconic, honestly 💜

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🎀 COPYRIGHT 🎀

2026, Internet Systems Consortium — periodt.

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🌸 thanks for reading, mwah 💖 — this lil rewrite brought to you by BIND 9 version 9.20.29, dated 2026-09-11, and the manual page DNSTAP-READ(1) ✨🦋💅