# CWP DNS Lookup

> Look up every DNS record type for a domain in one go. A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, NS, SOA and CAA, with TTLs, straight from your browser.

Source: https://cwp.sg/tools/dns-lookup/  
Last verified: 2026-08-04

**In short:** CWP DNS Lookup is a free browser-based tool at https://cwp.sg/tools/dns-lookup/ — no signup, no rate limit, and lookups go straight from your browser to public resolvers, so CWP never sees them.

## What each record does

| Type | What it holds | Why you'd check it |
|---|---|---|
| `A` | An IPv4 address | Which server the domain points at |
| `AAAA` | An IPv6 address | The same, over IPv6 |
| `CNAME` | Another hostname | Aliases one name to another |
| `MX` | Mail servers with priorities | Where email is delivered |
| `TXT` | Free text | SPF, DKIM, domain verification |
| `NS` | The zone's nameservers | **Which provider actually controls DNS** |
| `SOA` | Zone metadata | Serial number, negative-cache TTL |
| `CAA` | Permitted certificate authorities | Who may issue TLS certificates |

## Start with NS

When something is wrong, check `NS` before anything else.

The nameservers tell you which provider is authoritative for the domain. If they don't match the company whose control panel you've been editing records in, then nothing you save there is ever consulted. That single mismatch is behind most "I changed the record and nothing happened" reports.

## Reading a CNAME chain

If you ask for an `A` record and get a `CNAME` back first, that's normal. The resolver followed an alias and returned the whole chain. What matters is the address at the end of it.

One rule catches people out: **you cannot put a `CNAME` on a root domain.** The spec doesn't allow a `CNAME` to sit alongside the `NS` and `SOA` records that must exist there. Some providers offer `ALIAS` or `ANAME` to work around it. Otherwise use an `A` record at the root and a `CNAME` on `www`.

## An empty result isn't always a problem

Most domains have no `CAA` record, and plenty have no `AAAA`. Absence is only meaningful for records you expect: no `MX` means mail can't be delivered, and no `NS` means the domain isn't delegated at all.

If you're mid-migration and want to know whether a change has reached the wider internet rather than just one resolver, use the [propagation checker](/tools/dns-propagation-checker/) instead — it asks several independent resolvers and compares them.

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