NAMED-CHECKCONF(8)

📦 version 9.16.50, in centos-stream 9

💅 NAMED-CHECKCONF(8) — the vibe check for your named config

okay so bestie, welcome to named-checkconf, the BIND 9 tool that reads your named configuration file and tells you if the syntax is a slay or a disaster. It's the manual page, it's section 8, and yes we're doing this together. 🫶

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

named-checkconf [-chjlvz] [-p [-x ]] [-t directory] {filename}

like, that's the whole summoning ritual. periodt. 🔥

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

named-checkconf checks the syntax, but not the semantics, of a named configuration file. So it's giving "does this even parse" energy, not "does this actually make sense" energy — important distinction, bestie. 💅

The file gets parsed and checked for syntax errors, and that includes every file it pulls in via includes. If you don't specify a file at all, it just reads /etc/named.conf by default. iconic default behavior honestly.

⚠️ the one where you need to pay attention: files that named reads in separate parser contexts, such as rndc.key and bind.keys, are not automatically read by named-checkconf. So configuration errors in those files may cause named to fail to run, even if named-checkconf was successful. 😭 not the plot twist. However, named-checkconf can be run on these files explicitly — so you can absolutely check them yourself, you just have to point at them. iykyk.

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • -h — prints the usage summary and exits. a little "here's how this works" moment, then it's gone. 👋
  • -j — when loading a zonefile, this option instructs named to read the journal if it exists. journal read = enabled, no cap. 📓
  • -l — lists all the configured zones. each line of output contains the zone name, class (e.g. IN), view, and type (e.g. primary or secondary). it's giving inventory day and honestly we love a tidy list. ✨
  • -c — specifies that only the "core" configuration should be checked. this suppresses the loading of plugin modules, and causes all parameters to plugin statements to be ignored. core only, no plugins, no extra credit. 💅
  • -i — ignores warnings on deprecated options. deprecated options are lowkey in their flop era but this flag is like "not today, warnings." 🙈
  • -p — prints out the named.conf and included files in canonical form, if no errors were detected. see also the -x option, because these two are besties. 🫶
  • -t directory — instructs named to chroot to directory, so that include directives in the configuration file are processed as if run by a similarly chrooted named. same energy, different root. 🧚
  • -v — prints the version of the named-checkconf program and exits. just a little "hi, this is me" moment. 👑
  • -x — when printing the configuration files in canonical form, this option obscures shared secrets by replacing them with strings of question marks (?). this allows the contents of named.conf and related files to be shared — for example, when submitting bug reports — without compromising private data. so you can spill the config tea without spilling the actual secrets, love that for us. 🍓
🚨 important: this option cannot be used without -p. not a suggestion, not a vibe, an actual rule.
  • -z — performs a test load of all zones of type primary found in named.conf. test load, not a real load, we're just checking. 🔍
  • filename — indicates the name of the configuration file to be checked. if not specified, it defaults to /etc/named.conf. the default is the main character here, fr fr. 🎀

⭐ RETURN VALUES ⭐

named-checkconf returns an exit status of 1 if errors were detected, and 0 otherwise.

so like: 0 = she's fine 💖, 1 = she's not fine 😭. that's the whole moodboard.

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read those too, they're the supporting cast and they ate. 👑

💜 AUTHOR 💜

Internet Systems Consortium

2024, Internet Systems Consortium

and that's the whole page, bestie — you're officially caught up on named-checkconf. 🫶✨

cute little sign-off: this was BIND 9, version 9.16.50-RH, dated 2024 — go forth and syntax-check responsibly, mwah 💅🎀

📦 where this page comes from