Sending queries

To send DNS queries, just pass in the domain you want to query as a command-line argument.

By default, dog will request A records.

Specifying record types #

You can request other types of record, such as MX or AAAA, by including an all-caps argument.

Specifying nameservers #

You can specify which DNS server the request should be sent to by prefixing an argument with the “@” character.

Specifying classes #

The DNS protocol actually has support for different classes of networked computers. By default, DNS requests are queried with the IN (Internet) class, but there’s also CH (Chaosnet), an early network, and HS (Hesiod), an alternate naming system.

To use any of these three, pass them as command-line arguments. There are no record types called IN, HS, or CH, so this is unambiguous.

Long-form arguments #

This command-line syntax was picked because it’s easy to type on a whim. However, if you’re using dog as part of an automated script, or you want to be less ambiguous, there are long-form versions of the above:

• The -q or --query options specify domains to query.
• The -t or --type options specify record types.
• The -c or --class options specify DNS classes.
• The -n or --nameserver options specify DNS servers to send requests to.