Resolvectl Command Examples (with examples)

Show DNS settings

The resolvectl status command can be used to display the current DNS settings on the system.

resolvectl status

Motivation: This command can be useful when troubleshooting network connectivity issues or verifying the DNS configuration on a system.

Explanation: This command retrieves and displays the current DNS settings, including the DNS server addresses and search domains.

Example Output:

Global
          Scope: global
       DNSSEC: no
     DNSSEC NTA: 10.in-addr.arpa
                 16.172.in-addr.arpa
                 168.192.in-addr.arpa
                 18.19.20.21.in-addr.arpa
                 32.172.in-addr.arpa
                 101.200.100.10.in-addr.arpa

Resolve the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for one or more domains

The resolvectl query command can be used to resolve the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses for one or more domains.

resolvectl query domain1 domain2 ...

Motivation: This command allows you to quickly check the IP addresses associated with a domain name, which can be helpful for network troubleshooting or verifying DNS records.

Explanation: This command queries the DNS resolver for the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses associated with the specified domains.

Example Output:

domain1:
          192.168.0.1
          2001:db8:1234::1

domain2:
          172.16.0.1
          2001:db8:5678::1

Retrieve the domain of a specified IP address

The resolvectl query command can also be used to retrieve the domain associated with a specified IP address.

resolvectl query ip_address

Motivation: This command can be useful for reverse DNS lookup, where you have an IP address and want to find the corresponding domain name.

Explanation: This command queries the DNS resolver for the domain associated with the specified IP address.

Example Output:

172.16.0.1:
          domain1.example.com

Flush all local DNS caches

The resolvectl flush-caches command is used to flush all local DNS caches.

resolvectl flush-caches

Motivation: Flushing DNS caches can be helpful when troubleshooting DNS-related issues, as it forces the system to retrieve updated DNS information.

Explanation: This command clears the local DNS caches, including the resolver cache and negative cache.

Example Output:

Caches cleared successfully.

Display DNS statistics

The resolvectl statistics command is used to display DNS statistics.

resolvectl statistics

Motivation: This command provides information about the DNS resolver, including transaction counts, cache usage, and DNSSEC validation statistics.

Explanation: This command retrieves and displays various statistics related to the DNS resolver on the system.

Example Output:

Statistics:
          Transactions: 501
          Cache entries: 250
          DNSSEC verdicts: Secure: 250, Insecure: 120

Retrieve an MX record of a domain

The resolvectl query command can be used to retrieve the MX (Mail Exchanger) record of a domain.

resolvectl --legend=no --type=MX query domain

Motivation: This command can be used to check the mail server configuration of a domain.

Explanation: This command queries the DNS resolver for the MX record of the specified domain.

Example Output:

domain:
          10 mail.domain.com

Resolve an SRV record

The resolvectl service command is used to resolve an SRV (Service) record.

resolvectl service _service._protocol name

Motivation: This command can be useful when verifying the service discovery mechanism of a network application.

Explanation: This command resolves the specified SRV record for the given service and protocol.

Example Output:

_service._protocol:
          Priority: 0
          Weight: 1
          Port: 5269
          Target: xmpp-server.domain.com

Retrieve a TLS key

The resolvectl tlsa command is used to retrieve a TLSA (Transport Layer Security Authentication) key.

resolvectl tlsa tcp domain:443

Motivation: This command can be used to obtain the TLSA record for a specific TLS secured service.

Explanation: This command retrieves the TLSA record for the specified domain and port (protocol is optional, default is TCP).

Example Output:

70 00 01 41d56a3b6715...