PDNS_SERVER(1)

📦
version 5.0.7 · 12 versions
, in alpine 3.24, epel 10, epel 9, fedora 43, fedora 44

💖 PDNS_SERVER(1) — the PowerDNS Authoritative Server, bestie edition 💖

okay so this is pdns_server(1), from the PowerDNS Authoritative Server manual. yeah. the whole vibe. pull up a chair, we're doing DNS today 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

pdns_server — The PowerDNS Authoritative Nameserver 👑

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

pdns_server [OPTION]

that's it. that's the whole thing. one binary, a million possibilities, main character energy fr 💅

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

The PowerDNS Authoritative Server is a versatile nameserver, and when I say versatile I mean it supports a large number of backends 😭✨

and those backends? they can be:

  • plain zone files (the classic, the humble, the icon)
  • or something more dynamic in nature 🌀

ngl if you want the full lore, please see the online documentation for more information. this manpage is giving appetizer, the docs are giving the whole meal 🍓

💅 OPTIONS 💅

See the online documentation for all options. The most important ones are:

she's not gonna list every single one, but here are the VIPs, the ones that actually matter:

  • --daemon — tells you whether the server should run in the background as a real daemon, or just hang out in the foreground like a normal little process 🫶
  • --guardian — runs pdns_server inside a guardian 👑 this guardian monitors the performance of the inner pdns_server instance. and plot twist: it's also this guardian that pdns_control talks to. so like, the guardian is the social butterfly of the operation 💀
  • --control-console — runs the server in a special monitor mode 🔍 this enables detailed logging and exposes the raw control socket. raw. unhinged. exposed. we love that for it ✨
  • --loglevel=<LEVEL> — sets the logging level. you know, how chatty she is 📢
  • --config — shows the current configuration. and there are three optional values, so pick your fighter:
    • --config=default — shows the default configuration. the factory settings. the blueprint 🎀
    • --config=diff — shows modified options in the current configuration. basically the "what did you change bestie" report 🙈
    • --config=check — parses the current configuration, with error checking. this one is the vibe check for your config file, and honestly? it will find your typos. it always does 😭
  • --help — displays the list of all the available options. when in doubt, ask for help, that's growth 🌱

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

go read them. iykyk 💜

🌈 AUTHOR 🌈

PowerDNS.COM BV

PowerDNS.COM BV

and that's the page, bestie!! 🎀 this little gem is from the PowerDNS Authoritative Server manual, dated Aug 05, 2026, and it's all brought to you by PowerDNS.COM BV. slay, stay authoritative, and don't forget to --config=check before you ship anything 💖✨🦋

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