dnsviz-query(1)

💖 dnsviz-query(1) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the General Commands Manual entry for dnsviz-query — she's a little DNS detective and she's about to tell you everything. pull up a chair, grab a boba, let's go 🧋✨

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✨ NAME ✨

dnsviz-query — assess a DNS query 💅

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

dnsviz query [ @server ] [ -b address ] [ -c class ] [ -q name ] [ -t
type ] [ -x addr ] [ -4 ] [ -6 ] [ name ] [ type ] [ class ] [
queryopt... ]

dnsviz query [ -h ]

dnsviz query [ global-queryopt... ] [ query... ]

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so what she does is: you hand her names and types on the command line, she fires off queries for them at DNS servers, processes the output, and presents it to you. that's the whole vibe. 🫶

here's the tea though: dnsviz-query adopts a subset of the command-line options used by ISC's dig(1), but underneath she's using dnsviz-probe(1) and dnsviz-print(1) to actually issue queries and assess the results. she's meant to be a shortcut — a lil fast lane for quickly assessing DNS queries and diagnosing problems — by invoking dnsviz-probe(1) and dnsviz-print(1) with their most commonly used options and with a usage that's familiar, similar to (but not equal to) dig(1). iykyk 😌

but if you want a more detailed analysis — like, the kind that reveals the actual nature of errors — the user should go straight to dnsviz-probe(1), dnsviz-grok(1), dnsviz-print(1), and dnsviz-graph(1) directly. those are the big sisters fr fr.

by default, diagnostic queries are sent to recursive servers. and if no servers are specified with @, then the first server in /etc/resolv.conf is selected. ⚠️ note that unlike dig(1), dnsviz-query(1) only tries one server. one. single. server. no backup bestie, no second chances.

if +trace is used, the behavior changes — the root authoritative servers are first queried, and referrals are followed downwards to the name(s) in question. like following a trail of breadcrumbs down the DNS tree 🌈

and to simplify usage, there's a default root trusted key if none is specified on the command line with +trusted-key. so convenient, she ate 💅

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💜 OPTIONS 💜

• -x address — specify an IPv4 or IPv6 address for a reverse DNS (i.e., PTR) lookup. 🔄
• -b address — specify a source IPv4 or IPv6 address for queries, rather than detecting it. you can use this option more than once to supply both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address. 🫶

using this option is sometimes necessary when you're on a dual-homed machine and it's desirable to use the non-default interface for queries.

• -q name — specify a query name.
• -t type — specify a query type.
• -c class — specify a query class (currently, only IN is supported; all other classes are ignored 🙈).
• -4 — use IPv4 only. if this is specified, then queries over IPv6 are not attempted — unless -6 is also specified.
• -6 — use IPv6 only. if this is specified, then queries over IPv4 are not attempted — unless -4 is also specified.

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🎀 QUERY OPTIONS 🎀

• +[no]trace — query authoritative servers, beginning at the DNS root, and follow referrals downwards. the default is to query a recursive server instead. 🌳
• +trusted-key=filename — specify a file that contains trusted keys for processing diagnostic queries.

the format of this file is master zone file format, and it should contain DNSKEY records that correspond to one more trusted keys for one or more DNS zones. 🔑

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🔥 EXIT CODES 🔥

the exit codes are:

• 0 — program terminated normally. slay, everything's fine ✨
• 1 — program execution was interrupted, or an unknown error occurred. 💀

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

dnsviz(1), dnsviz-probe(1), dnsviz-grok(1), dnsviz-graph(1), dnsviz-print(1)

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and that's the whole page bestie!! 💖 this version is 0.11.1, dated 21 April 2025 — go forth and diagnose, you absolute icon 👑✨🦋