dig - DNS lookup utility
Domain Information Groper (gatherer)

Simple usage: dig any hostname

dig [gobal opts] hostname […] [-t type] ANY A AAAA MX NS SOA HINFO AXF TXT SIG SSHFP PRT RRSIG OPT [type] [queryopt …] [-x addr] lookup this IP address[@server] [-p port#] [-c class] [class] [-y [hmac:]tname:key] [-f digCommandFile] [-4] [-6] [-q name] sets query name [-b sourceAddress] [-k keyFile]

dig [global-queryopt...] [query...]

Note that the completness of the response will vary from server to server and query to query!!
To get the truth
direct the query to the first NS(name server)
dig @`dig NS hostname +short|head -1` hostname -t ANY

> dig NS pppg.org ask any server ;; ANSWER SECTION: pppg.org. 3600 IN NS ns64.domaincontrol.com. pppg.org. 3600 IN NS ns63.domaincontrol.com.
> dig @ns63.DOMAINCONTROL.COM ANY pppg.org ask the host's server pppg.org. 86400 3600^† IN SOA ns63.domaincontrol.com. dns.omax.net. 2011013007^† 28800^† 7200^† 604800^† 86400^† pppg.org. 3600 IN A 64.202.189.170 pppg.org. 3600 IN NS ns63.domaincontrol.com. pppg.org. 3600 IN NS ns64.domaincontrol.com. pppg.org. 3600 IN MX 0 smtp.secureserver.net. pppg.org. 3600 IN MX 10 mailstore1.secureserver.net. ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION: ns64.domaincontrol.com. 2897 IN A 208.109.255.42 ns63.domaincontrol.com. 597 IN A 216.69.185.42 smtp.secureserver.net. 208 IN A 72.167.238.201
Batch mode of operation from a file or use multiple lookups from the command line.

By default uses servers in /etc/resolv.conf (which may have come from DHCP server)

User defaults are in ${HOME}/.digrc and are applied before the command line arguments.

Output is in a form suitable for use in named.conf
with commentary information prefixed with ; which will be treated as comments.

hostname resource record(s) to be looked up.
server name or IP address of the Name Server to query.
Defaults are taken from /etc/resolv.conf
Server hostname is permitted. IPv4 address in dotted-decimal notation or IPv6 in colon-delimited notation.

-t type type … ANY A AAAA MX NS SOA HINFO AXF TXT SIG SSHFP PRT RRSIG OPT
Default: A (not ANY aka all).
ANY show all records( ANY does not include SRV)
TXT may contain information including Sender Policy Framework to prevent sender address forgery
example: v=spf1 a mx ip4:67.228.235.89 ?all
or any arbitrary data
SRV query must be of form _service._protocol.host for example: with LDAP, Kerbos, SIP wikipedia
AAAA IPv6 address
SSHFP secure Shell key for verification see ssh,ssh-keygen
AXFR requests a zone transfer.
IXFR=nnnnnnnn. incremental zone transfer
contains the changes made to the zone since the serial number in the zone's SOA record was nnnnnnnn.
Frequently the serial number used is in the form; yyyymmddNN where NN is incremented each time the conf is changed in a given day. see BIND . IETF rfc1995bis
@ server Ask a specific DNS server dig @dns2.midphase.com cccu.us
-x iii.iii.iii.iii reverse lookup; maps addresses to names
YouGetSignal tool (Data base of DNS, retrieves all domains at IP x.x.x.x)
like 216.40.47.26.in-addr.arpa and sets query type to PTR and class to IN(??) .
By default, IPv6 addresses are looked up using nibble format under the IP6.ARPA domain.
-f filename read requests from filename . Using the same format as a command.
-q name sets the query name to distingish the name from other arguments.
-c class Default IN internet. HS Hesiod or CH Chaosnet
-4
-6 use IPv4 query transport.
use IPv6
-b address[#port] sets the source IP address or O.O.O.O or xx:xx:xx:xx.
-p port Default 53.
-k keyfile Sign DNS queries and responses using transaction signatures (TSIG)
-y hmac tname key TSIG
hmac type of TSIG, default HMAC^†-MD5 alternate:-SHDA1
tname the name of the key
key base-64 encoded string
(typically generated by dnssec-keygen(8)).
Note: The key is visible from ps or the shell's history file.
When using TSIG authentication the name server needs to know the key and algorithm that is being used. In BIND, this is done by providing appropriate key and server statements in named.conf.
-i x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x use the older RFC1886 method using the IP6.INT domain
Bit string labels (RFC2874) are not attempted.
-h help

Options affecting Output

Keywords are preceded by a plus (+) and an optional no.

Supressing some output is useful when comparing queries that are expected to be the same.
For example since ttl keeps changing and stats includes the current time, including them will result in differences which are not significant.
Simularly outputting version identification can be supressed using +nocmd

+[no]all Set or clear all output flags.
> /usr/bin/dig canalrace.org +all
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 50353
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;canalrace.org. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
canalrace.org. 12710 IN A 174.127.119.33

;; Query time: 20 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.1#53(192.168.1.1)
;; WHEN: Tue Mar 14 15:48:31 2017
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 47
As +noall turns off everything it should be followed by another keyword.
+nocomments nocomments supress lines like:
;; Got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 50353 ;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: ;; QUESTION SECTION:
;; ANSWER SECTION:

+short as cut -f 5- implies nocomments
> /usr/bin/dig +short -t any canalrace.org
ns14.midphase.com. hostmaster.midphase.com. 2015101800 86400 7200 604800 600
ns15.midphase.com.
ns16.midphase.com.
ns14.midphase.com.
"v=spf1 +a +mx +ip4:209.236.71.17 +ip4:174.127.119.33 ~all"
0 canalrace.org.
174.127.119.33

+nocmd

dig version and options.
Use as a global option.
; <<>> DiG 9.3.4-P1 <<>> ;; global options: printcmd

+qr query as it is reqeusted. Default: noqr
;; Sending:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 62753
;; flags: rd; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 0

+noquestion
dig @dns1.midphase.com cccu.us +noall +question ;cccu.us. IN A
+noanswer
dig @dns1.midphase.com cccu.us +noall +answer ;; ANSWER SECTION: cccu.us. 14407 IN A 174.127.119.33
+noadditional
dig @dns1.midphase.com cccu.us +noall +addi ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION: dns1.midphase.com. 86400 IN A 67.213.216.225 dns2.midphase.com. 86400 IN A 69.4.235.113
+noauthority
dig @dns1.midphase.com cccu.us +noall +auth ;; AUTHORITY SECTION: cccu.us. 86400 IN NS dns2.midphase.com. cccu.us. 86400 IN NS dns1.midphase.com.

+nostats Performance of responding server
;; Query time: 2 msec ;; SERVER: 10.0.80.11#53(10.0.80.11) ;; WHEN: Fri Nov 13 22:42:39 2009 ;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 294

+identify IP address and port that supplied the answer when short is enabled.
Default: noid
67.228.235.89 from server 10.0.80.11 in 1 ms.

+nocl nocl supresses column 3 (usually IN)
+nomultiline records like the SOA in verbose multi-line format with human-readable comments.

119.127.174.in-addr.arpa. 10788 IN SOA dns1.midphase.com. hostmaster.midphase.com. ( 2010091964 ; serial 86400 ; refresh (1 day) 7200 ; retry (2 hours) 3600000 ; expire (5 weeks 6 days 16 hours) 86400 ; minimum (1 day) )
nomultiline uses [tab] to seperate fields Multiline uses spaces.

119.127.174.in-addr.arpa. 10800 IN SOA dns1.midphase.com. hostmaster.midphase.com. 2010091964 86400 7200 3600000 86400^†
Default output each record on a single line, to facilitate parsing.

QUERY OPTIONS

Some of these set or reset flag bits in the query header

keywords are preceded by a plus (+).
keywords which set or reset an option and may be preceded by no.
keywords which assign values to options (like the timeout interval), have the form keyword=value.

+nonssearch determines authoritative Name Servers for the zone and SOA
+nodomain=somename Set the search list to contain the single domain somename, as if specified in a domain directive in /etc/resolv.conf, and
enable search list processing as if search were given.
+nosearch Use the search list in searchlist or domain directive in resolv.conf . not used by default.
+noshowsearch show intermediate results.
+notrace Toggle tracing of the delegation path from the root name servers .
Initaly disabled.
> dig -t any +showsearch +trace real-world-systems.com ; << DiG 9.6.0-APPLE-P2 << -t any +showsearch +trace real-world-systems.com ;; global options: +cmd . 3600 IN NS FWDR-12.FWDR-0.FWDR-250.FWDR-71. . 3600 IN NS FWDR-12.FWDR-161.FWDR-237.FWDR-68. ;; Received 203 bytes from 192.168.1.1#53(192.168.1.1) in 8 ms com. 77665 IN NS g.gtld-servers.net. com. 77665 IN NS h.gtld-servers.net. … com. 77665 IN NS a.gtld-servers.net. ;; Received 472 bytes from 68.237.161.12#53(FWDR-12.FWDR-161.FWDR-237.FWDR-68) in 19 ms real-world-systems.com. 172800 IN NS ns3.midphase.com. real-world-systems.com. 172800 IN NS ns4.midphase.com. ;; Received 117 bytes from 192.26.92.30#53(c.gtld-servers.net) in 10 ms real-world-systems.com. 600 IN TXT "v=spf1 ip4:174.36.146.71 a mx ip4:206.46.173.1/24 ?all" real-world-systems.com. 600 IN MX 0 real-world-systems.com. real-world-systems.com. 600 IN SOA dns1.midphase.com. dnsadmin.business3.midphase.com. 2011022107 14400 7200 3600000 86400 real-world-systems.com. 600 IN NS dns1.midphase.com. real-world-systems.com. 600 IN NS dns2.midphase.com. real-world-systems.com. 600 IN A 174.127.70.94 ;; Received 289 bytes from 67.213.216.225#53(ns3.midphase.com) in 16 ms

+norecurse Toggle RD (recursion desired) . Initally set.
Recursion is disabled when nssearch or trace are used.
+noaaonly Sets aa
+noaaflag +noaaonly.

+time=s Timeout. min 1 second. Default: 15 seconds!
DNS response from local router may be in the range of .01-.20 for a cached entry, .3 for uncached .com
+tries=T for UDP queries. Default: 3.
+retry=r retry UDP Default: 2. does not include the initial query.
+ndots=D the number of dots in name for it to be absolute.
Default: 1 or ndots statement in /etc/resolv.conf.
Names with fewer dots are relative and will be searched for in the domains listed in the search or domain directive in /etc/resolv.conf.
+edns=# EDNS version to query with. 0 - 255.
Setting the EDNS version causes an EDNS query to be sent.
noedns clears the EDNS version.
+nodnssec Requests DNSSEC records (DO)
Heavy options used when there's a real problem
(not for the faint hearted)
+nofail Do not try the next server if SERVFAIL is received. Default: fail.
+tcp Use TCP when querying name servers.
Default UDP, except for AXFR or IXFR .
+bufsize=bytes UDP message buffer size advertised using EDNS0 0-65535.
Values other than zero causes an EDNS query to be sent.
+nocdflag Checking Disabled. requests the server not to perform DNSSEC validation of responses.
+vc aka tcp "virtual circuit"
+nobesteffort output the contents of messages which are malformed. Default don't.
+noignore Ignore truncation in UDP responses. Default: retry with TCP query
+sigchase Chase DNSSEC signature chains. Requires dig be compiled with -DDIG_SIGCHSE.
trusted-key=xxxx Specifies a file containing trusted keys to be used with sigchase. Each DNSKEY record must be on its own line.
If not specified dig will look for /etc/trusted-key.key then trusted-key.key in the current directory. Requires dig be compiled with -DDIG_SIGCHASE.
+notopdown When chasing DNSSEC signature chains perform a top down validation.
Requires dig be compiled with -DDIG_SIGCHASE.
adflag AD (authentic data) meaningful in responses, not in queries
defname Deprecated, treated as a synonym for search

`+nonssearch`	determines authoritative Name Servers for the zone and SOA
`+nodomain=somename`	Set the search list to contain the single domain `somename`, as if specified in a domain directive in `/etc/resolv.conf,` and enable search list processing as if `search` were given.
`+nosearch`	Use the search list in `searchlist` or `domain` directive in `resolv.conf` . not used by default.
`+noshowsearch`	show intermediate results.
`+notrace`	Toggle tracing of the delegation path from the root name servers . Initaly disabled. > dig -t any +showsearch +trace real-world-systems.com ; << DiG 9.6.0-APPLE-P2 << -t any +showsearch +trace real-world-systems.com ;; global options: +cmd . 3600 IN NS FWDR-12.FWDR-0.FWDR-250.FWDR-71. . 3600 IN NS FWDR-12.FWDR-161.FWDR-237.FWDR-68. ;; Received 203 bytes from 192.168.1.1#53(192.168.1.1) in 8 ms com. 77665 IN NS g.gtld-servers.net. com. 77665 IN NS h.gtld-servers.net. … com. 77665 IN NS a.gtld-servers.net. ;; Received 472 bytes from 68.237.161.12#53(FWDR-12.FWDR-161.FWDR-237.FWDR-68) in 19 ms real-world-systems.com. 172800 IN NS ns3.midphase.com. real-world-systems.com. 172800 IN NS ns4.midphase.com. ;; Received 117 bytes from 192.26.92.30#53(c.gtld-servers.net) in 10 ms real-world-systems.com. 600 IN TXT "v=spf1 ip4:174.36.146.71 a mx ip4:206.46.173.1/24 ?all" real-world-systems.com. 600 IN MX 0 real-world-systems.com. real-world-systems.com. 600 IN SOA dns1.midphase.com. dnsadmin.business3.midphase.com. 2011022107 14400 7200 3600000 86400 real-world-systems.com. 600 IN NS dns1.midphase.com. real-world-systems.com. 600 IN NS dns2.midphase.com. real-world-systems.com. 600 IN A 174.127.70.94 ;; Received 289 bytes from 67.213.216.225#53(ns3.midphase.com) in 16 ms
`+norecurse`	Toggle `RD` (recursion desired) . Initally set. Recursion is disabled when `nssearch` or `trace` are used.
`+noaaonly`	Sets `aa`
`+noaaflag`	`+noaaonly`.

`+time=s`	Timeout. min 1 second. Default: 15 seconds! DNS response from local router may be in the range of .01-.20 for a cached entry, .3 for uncached `.com`
`+tries=T`	for UDP queries. Default: 3.
`+retry=r`	retry UDP Default: 2. does not include the initial query.
`+ndots=D`	the number of dots in name for it to be absolute. Default: 1 or `ndots` statement in `/etc/resolv.conf`. Names with fewer dots are relative and will be searched for in the domains listed in the search or domain directive in `/etc/resolv.conf`.
`+edns=#`	EDNS version to query with. 0 - 255. Setting the EDNS version causes an EDNS query to be sent. `noedns` clears the EDNS version.
`+nodnssec`	Requests DNSSEC records (DO)
Heavy options used when there's a real problem (not for the faint hearted)
`+nofail`	Do not try the next server if `SERVFAIL` is received. Default: fail.
`+tcp`	Use TCP when querying name servers. Default UDP, except for `AXFR` or `IXFR` .
`+bufsize=bytes`	UDP message buffer size advertised using `EDNS0` 0-65535. Values other than zero causes an `EDNS` query to be sent.
`+nocdflag`	Checking Disabled. requests the server not to perform `DNSSEC` validation of responses.
`+vc`	aka `tcp` "virtual circuit"
`+nobesteffort`	output the contents of messages which are malformed. Default don't.
`+noignore`	Ignore truncation in UDP responses. Default: retry with TCP query
`+sigchase`	Chase DNSSEC signature chains. Requires dig be compiled with `-DDIG_SIGCHSE`.
`trusted-key=xxxx`	Specifies a file containing trusted keys to be used with `sigchase`. Each DNSKEY record must be on its own line. If not specified dig will look for `/etc/trusted-key.key` then `trusted-key`.key in the current directory. Requires dig be compiled with `-DDIG_SIGCHASE`.
`+notopdown`	When chasing DNSSEC signature chains perform a top down validation. Requires dig be compiled with `-DDIG_SIGCHASE`.
`adflag`	AD (authentic data) meaningful in responses, not in queries
`defname`	Deprecated, treated as a synonym for `search`

Multiple Queries

In addition to supporting -f file, specifying multiple queries on the command line is permited, each can be supplied with its own set of flags, options and query options.

Each query argument represents an individual query in the command-line syntax, consisting of any of the standard options and flags, the name to be looked up, an optional query type and class and any query options applied to that query.

Global query options, applied to all queries,
precede the first hostname, class, type, options, flags, and query options can be overridden by a query-specific set of query options. For example:

dig +qr www.isc.org any -x 127.0.0.1 isc.org ns +noqr

Global query option +qr is applied, so the initial query it made for each lookup.
an ANY query for www.isc.org,
a reverse lookup of 127.0.0.1 and
a query for the NS records of isc.org.
a local query option of +noqr not output the initial query when it looks up isc.org.

IDN SUPPORT

Built with Internationalized Domain Name support, accepts and outputs non-ASCII domain names.
Disabled by defining the IDN_DISABLE environment variable.

tip: The IN and CH class names overlap with the IN and CH top level domains names.

FILES

/etc/resolv.conf

${HOME}/.digrc

See host, named, dnssec-keygen, RFC1035.

Help

 dig [@global-server] [domain] [q-type] [q-class] {q-opt}
            {global-d-opt} host [@local-server] {local-d-opt}
                         [ host [@local-server] {local-d-opt} …

Where:  
domain    is in the Domain Name System
q-class  one of: in, hs, ch,… default: in
q-type   one of: any, a, mx, ns, soa, hinfo, axf, txt,… default:a
                 Use ixfr=version for type ixfr
q-opt  :
-q name  -t type   -c class      
-f filename         batch mode
-x dot-notation     shortcut for in-addr lookups
-i                  IP6.INT reverse IPv6 lookups
-b address#port  bind to source address/port
-p port          
-4 -6         use IPv4/IPv6 query transport only

d-opt    is of the form +keyword=value, where keyword is:
vc    tcp            TCP mode aka Virtual Circuit

+time=###       timeout 5 sec.
+tries=###      UDP attempts 3        +retry=### UDP retries 2
+domain=###     default domainname
+bufsize=###    EDNS0 Max UDP packet size
+ndots=###         
+edns=###         
search         Set whether to use searchlist
showsearch     Search with intermediate results
defname  
recurse   
ignore         Don't revert to TCP for TC responses
fail           Don't try next server on SERVFAIL
besteffort     Try to parse even illegal messages

all            Set or clear all output flags
aaonly         Set AA flag in query aaflag
adflag         Set AD       
cdflag         Set CD 

cmd            output command line
qr             output question before sending 
cl             output class 

comments       question     answer       
authority      additional   stats      

short          ttlid  (ommits type=txt)
nssearch       Search all authoritative nameservers
identify       ID responders in short answers
trace          Trace delegation down from root
multiline      output records in an expanded format

dnssec         Request DNSSEC records
-k keyfile          specify tsig key file
-y [hmac:]name:key  (specify named base64 tsig key)

global d-opts and servers (before host name) affect all queries.
local  d-opts and servers (after host name)  affect only that lookup.




 

 8/16/17 (notice OPT PSEDUOSECTION)
>usr/bin/dig $RWS -t any
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 13645
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 7, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 4

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4000
;; ANSWER SECTION:
Real-World-Systems.com. 600 IN  SOA ns14.midphase.com. domainmaster.uk2group.com. 2016120500 14400 7200 3600000 600
Real-World-Systems.com. 14400   IN  TXT "v=spf1 +a +mx +ip4:209.236.71.17 +ip4:174.127.119.33 ~all"
Real-World-Systems.com. 86400   IN  NS  ns16.midphase.com.
Real-World-Systems.com. 86400   IN  NS  ns14.midphase.com.
Real-World-Systems.com. 86400   IN  NS  ns15.midphase.com.
Real-World-Systems.com. 14400   IN  MX  0 spamalizer.midphase.com.
Real-World-Systems.com. 14407   IN  A   174.127.119.33

;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
ns14.midphase.com.  886 IN  A   69.36.163.232
ns15.midphase.com.  12625   IN  A   69.36.161.36
ns16.midphase.com.  10893   IN  A   69.36.161.37

;; Query time: 187 msec
;; SERVER: 192.168.1.1#53(192.168.1.1)
;; WHEN: Wed Aug 16 15:28:16 EDT 2017
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 336



dig +noall +answer -t any real-world-systems.com
real-world-systems.com. 14114   IN  TXT     "v=spf1 a mx ip4:67.228.235.89 ?all"
real-world-systems.com. 13835   IN  A       67.228.235.89
real-world-systems.com. 13835   IN  MX      0 real-world-systems.com.
real-world-systems.com. 53938   IN  NS      dns2.midphase.com.
real-world-systems.com. 53938   IN  NS      dns1.midphase.com.

+++ 2/15/12   from  MI424WR router  (repeated queries returns only A record or A,TXT,INx2,SOA and MX records go figure

dig +noall +answer -t any real-world-systems.com
real-world-systems.com. 600 IN  TXT "v=spf1 ip4:209.236.71.17 ip4:174.36.146.71 a mx ip4:206.46.173.1/24 ?all"
real-world-systems.com. 600 IN  A   174.127.119.33
real-world-systems.com. 86400   IN  NS  dns2.midphase.com.
real-world-systems.com. 86400   IN  NS  dns1.midphase.com.
real-world-systems.com. 600 IN  SOA dns1.midphase.com. cpanel-admin.midphase.com. 2012021503 14400 7200 3600000 86400
real-world-systems.com. 600 IN  MX  0 real-world-systems.com.


 dig +noall +answer -t any real-world-systems.com
real-world-systems.com. 2981    IN  TXT "v=spf1 ip4:209.236.71.17 ip4:174.36.146.71 a mx ip4:206.46.173.1/24 ?all"
real-world-systems.com. 76534   IN  NS  dns1.midphase.com.
real-world-systems.com. 76534   IN  NS  dns2.midphase.com.

compare pppg

compare gardenStateAudubonCouncil

cccu.us.        86367   IN  RRSIG   NSEC 5 2 86400 20110219155930 20110120152137 4787 US. 
   FVbkawbzpPd5cKbvj24QSZJ1hDVawkohCA3+65kIVhZBp5EVqa6U0hjl 
   +oP3ZMTYCM0v38ezLOKuKBZR0+rRS6UUaN+TWC77EoGY85LGe+o9Sz4x 
   BXULGzhPzobdw1Rk1FrDLdo/MYNMjAe5946JXozyxVXJiqZJt+VGa9KC LpU=
cccu.us.        86367   IN  NSEC    CCCUN.us. NS RRSIG NSEC

Sample `/etc/resolve.conf`

domain Germans
nameserver 192.168.1.1
nameserver 71.250.0.12

Errors

Return codes: 0 Even if a NXDOMAIN or SERVFAIL returns!
So you should :

> dig -x 142.176.85.230|tee /tmp/$$ ;grep NOERROR /tmp/$$

echo $? will outoput 1 since that IP address reports NXDOMAIN

1 Invalid option, Usage Error
10 is not a legal name (empty label); for example is address specified has training dot ex:142.12.13.13.
8 Couldn't open batch file
9 No reply from server, ;; connection timed out; no servers could be reached
Try dig @8.8.8.8 &hellip ( google-public-dns-a.google.com )

http://internetsupervision.com/scripts/urlcheck/check.aspx?lan=en-US&checkurl=real-world-systems.com&email=

See

Extension mechanisms for DNS

`hostname`	resource record(s) to be looked up.
`server`	name or IP address of the Name Server to query. Defaults are taken from `/etc/resolv.conf` Server `hostname` is permitted. IPv4 address in dotted-decimal notation or IPv6 in colon-delimited notation.

`-t type type …`	`ANY A AAAA MX NS SOA HINFO AXF TXT SIG SSHFP PRT RRSIG OPT` Default: `A` (not ANY aka all). `ANY` show all records( `ANY` does not include `SRV`) `TXT` may contain information including Sender Policy Framework to prevent sender address forgery example: `v=spf1 a mx ip4:67.228.235.89 ?all` or any arbitrary data `SRV` query must be of form `_service._protocol.host` for example: with LDAP, Kerbos, SIP wikipedia `AAAA` IPv6 address `SSHFP` secure Shell key for verification see ssh,ssh-keygen `AXFR` requests a zone transfer. `IXFR=nnnnnnnn`. incremental zone transfer contains the changes made to the zone since the serial number in the zone's `SOA` record was `nnnnnnnn`. Frequently the serial number used is in the form; `yyyymmddNN` where NN is incremented each time the conf is changed in a given day. see BIND . IETF rfc1995bis
`@ server`	Ask a specific DNS server `dig @dns2.midphase.com cccu.us`
`-x iii.iii.iii.iii`	reverse lookup; maps addresses to names YouGetSignal tool (Data base of DNS, retrieves all domains at IP x.x.x.x) like 216.40.47.26.in-addr.arpa and sets query type to `PTR` and class to `IN`(??) . By default, IPv6 addresses are looked up using nibble format under the IP6.ARPA domain.
`-f filename`	read requests from `filename` . Using the same format as a command.
`-q name`	sets the query name to distingish the name from other arguments.
`-c class`	Default `IN` internet. `HS` Hesiod or `CH` Chaosnet
`-4` `-6`	use IPv4 query transport. use IPv6
`-b address[#port]`	sets the `source` IP address or `O.O.O.O or xx:xx:xx:xx.`
`-p port`	Default 53.
`-k keyfile`	Sign DNS queries and responses using transaction signatures (TSIG)
`-y hmac tname key`	TSIG `hmac` type of TSIG, default `HMAC^†-MD5` alternate:`-SHDA1` `tname` the name of the key `key` base-64 encoded string (typically generated by dnssec-keygen(8)). Note: The key is visible from `ps` or the shell's history file. When using `TSIG` authentication the name server needs to know the key and algorithm that is being used. In BIND, this is done by providing appropriate key and server statements in `named.conf.`
`-i x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x`	use the older RFC1886 method using the `IP6.INT` domain Bit string labels (RFC2874) are not attempted.
`-h`	help

dig - DNS lookup utility Domain Information Groper (gatherer)