CNAME Lookup
Find out whether a hostname is an alias (CNAME) and which canonical name it points to.
- Runs on our servers
- Free to use
About this tool
CNAME records chain one hostname to another and are the backbone of CDN, SaaS and e-mail-provider setups, so a wrong or missing alias quietly breaks a site or a verification. The CNAME Lookup runs dig CNAME from our servers and shows the canonical name, the TTL and the raw answer, so you can confirm where an alias really points.
Follow the chain to the address with the DiG DNS Lookup or check every record type at once with this tool.
This is what a result looks like (trimmed):
$ dig www.example.com CNAME
;; ANSWER SECTION:
www.example.com. 300 IN CNAME example.com.How to use it — quick steps
- 01
Enter the domain or hostname
Type or paste the domain or hostname in the field above, for example example.com. Use Ctrl + V to paste.
- 02
Press "Lookup CNAME records"
Press "Lookup CNAME records" or Ctrl + Enter. It takes a few seconds. Blocks can be copied or downloaded.
- 03
Read the result
It appears in the dark panel under the form in a few seconds. Every block has [copy] and other actions.
Key features of this tool
Live answer
The query is sent to a public resolver from our servers, so you see the records the world sees, not a cached copy from your ISP.
Parsed and raw
Records are listed in a clean table and the full dig output is available below it, so you can easily copy it if needed.
TTL included
Each record shows its time-to-live (TTL), so you know how long DNS caches may keep the old value before refreshing it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a CNAME record?
An alias: it says "this name is really that name". www.example.com → example.com, or shop.example.com → shops.myplatform.net. Resolvers follow the chain until they reach A/AAAA records.
Why can't I put a CNAME on my root domain?
A name with a CNAME may not have any other records, and the root (apex) must have SOA and NS records. Use ALIAS/ANAME records offered by your DNS provider or an A record instead.
The lookup shows no CNAME but the site works
The name has A or AAAA records directly, which is the normal setup. CNAME is only one way to point a name at a host.