HOST(1) BIND 9 HOST(1)
NAME
host - DNS lookup utility
SYNOPSIS
host [-aACdlnrsTUwv] [-c class] [-N ndots] [-p port] [-R number] [-t
type] [-W wait] [-m flag] [ [-4] | [-6] ] [-v] [-V] {name} [server]
DESCRIPTION
host is a simple utility for performing DNS lookups. It is normally
used to convert names to IP addresses and vice versa. When no arguments
or options are given, host prints a short summary of its command-line
arguments and options.
name is the domain name that is to be looked up. It can also be a dot-
ted-decimal IPv4 address or a colon-delimited IPv6 address, in which
case host by default performs a reverse lookup for that address.
server is an optional argument which is either the name or IP address
of the name server that host should query instead of the server or
servers listed in /etc/resolv.conf.
OPTIONS
-4 This option specifies that only IPv4 should be used for query
transport. See also the -6 option.
-6 This option specifies that only IPv6 should be used for query
transport. See also the -4 option.
-a The -a ("all") option is normally equivalent to -v -t ANY. It
also affects the behavior of the -l list zone option.
-A The -A ("almost all") option is equivalent to -a, except that
RRSIG, NSEC, and NSEC3 records are omitted from the output.
-c class
This option specifies the query class, which can be used to
lookup HS (Hesiod) or CH (Chaosnet) class resource records. The
default class is IN (Internet).
-C This option indicates that named should check consistency, mean-
ing that host queries the SOA records for zone name from all the
listed authoritative name servers for that zone. The list of
name servers is defined by the NS records that are found for the
zone.
-d This option prints debugging traces, and is equivalent to the -v
verbose option.
-l This option tells named to list the zone, meaning the host com-
mand performs a zone transfer of zone name and prints out the
NS, PTR, and address records (A/AAAA).
Together, the -l -a options print all records in the zone.
-N ndots
This option specifies the number of dots (ndots) that have to be
in name for it to be considered absolute. The default value is
that defined using the ndots statement in /etc/resolv.conf, or 1
if no ndots statement is present. Names with fewer dots are in-
terpreted as relative names, and are searched for in the domains
listed in the search or domain directive in /etc/resolv.conf.
-p port
This option specifies the port to query on the server. The de-
fault is 53.
-r This option specifies a non-recursive query; setting this option
clears the RD (recursion desired) bit in the query. This means
that the name server receiving the query does not attempt to re-
solve name. The -r option enables host to mimic the behavior of
a name server by making non-recursive queries, and expecting to
receive answers to those queries that can be referrals to other
name servers.
-R number
This option specifies the number of retries for UDP queries. If
number is negative or zero, the number of retries is silently
set to 1. The default value is 1, or the value of the attempts
option in /etc/resolv.conf, if set.
-s This option tells named not to send the query to the next name-
server if any server responds with a SERVFAIL response, which is
the reverse of normal stub resolver behavior.
-t type
This option specifies the query type. The type argument can be
any recognized query type: CNAME, NS, SOA, TXT, DNSKEY, AXFR,
etc.
When no query type is specified, host automatically selects an
appropriate query type. By default, it looks for A, AAAA, and MX
records. If the -C option is given, queries are made for SOA
records. If name is a dotted-decimal IPv4 address or colon-de-
limited IPv6 address, host queries for PTR records.
If a query type of IXFR is chosen, the starting serial number
can be specified by appending an equals sign (=), followed by
the starting serial number, e.g., -t IXFR=12345678.
-T, -U This option specifies TCP or UDP. By default, host uses UDP when
making queries; the -T option makes it use a TCP connection when
querying the name server. TCP is automatically selected for
queries that require it, such as zone transfer (AXFR) requests.
Type ANY queries default to TCP, but can be forced to use UDP
initially via -U.
-m flag
This option sets memory usage debugging: the flag can be record,
usage, or trace. The -m option can be specified more than once
to set multiple flags.
-v This option sets verbose output, and is equivalent to the -d de-
bug option. Verbose output can also be enabled by setting the
debug option in /etc/resolv.conf.
-V This option prints the version number and exits.
-w This option sets "wait forever": the query timeout is set to the
maximum possible. See also the -W option.
-W wait
This options sets the length of the wait timeout, indicating
that named should wait for up to wait seconds for a reply. If
wait is less than 1, the wait interval is set to 1 second.
By default, host waits for 5 seconds for UDP responses and 10
seconds for TCP connections. These defaults can be overridden by
the timeout option in /etc/resolv.conf.
See also the -w option.
IDN SUPPORT
If host has been built with IDN (internationalized domain name) sup-
port, it can accept and display non-ASCII domain names. host appropri-
ately converts character encoding of a domain name before sending a re-
quest to a DNS server or displaying a reply from the server. To turn
off IDN support, define the IDN_DISABLE environment variable. IDN sup-
port is disabled if the variable is set when host runs.
FILES
/etc/resolv.conf
SEE ALSO
dig(1), named(8).
AUTHOR
Internet Systems Consortium
COPYRIGHT
2025, Internet Systems Consortium
9.18.39-0ubuntu0.24.04.2-Ubuntu 2025-08-13 HOST(1)
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