---
title: How to Use the DIG Command
description: The DIG command is a tool for querying DNS nameservers for information about host addresses, mail exchange servers, nameservers, and other related information. This tool can be used from any Linux/Unix or macOS operating system. The most typical use of…
url: "https://kb.tarweig.com/en/docs/dig-command/"
updated: "2026-10-10"
category: Getting Started
---

# How to Use the DIG Command

The DIG command is a tool for querying DNS nameservers for information about host addresses, mail exchange servers, nameservers, and other related information. This tool can be used from any Linux/Unix or macOS operating system.

The most typical use of the dig command is to simply query a single host.

In this KB article, we’ll explain how to read the output of the dig command and how to use the command.

## How to use the DIG command

### What can I learn using the dig command?

dig will let you perform any valid DNS query, the most common of which are:

- A (the IP address)
- TXT (text annotations)
- MX (mail exchanges)
- NS (nameservers)

### Run the Command

1. First, open your SSH client and open a connection to your hosting account or any system where you have a console/command line in which you can input commands. If you aren’t familiar with connecting to your hosting account with SSH, click [here](https://chemicloud.com/kb/article/log-account-via-ssh/) to review our Knowledgebase Article on the subject.
2. Once you have your connection open, enter the command as:

dig domain.tld where domain.tld is the domain and extension you’re querying.

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### Examine the Output

```
[yourcpusercc@rs2-dal ~]$ dig cchostingdemos.com

; <<>> DiG 9.11.4-P2-RedHat-9.11.4-26.P2.el7_9.4 <<>> cchostingdemos.com
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 52628
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4096
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;cchostingdemos.com. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
cchostingdemos.com. 300 IN A 104.21.69.5
cchostingdemos.com. 300 IN A 172.67.202.37

;; Query time: 7 msec
;; SERVER: 198.58.107.5#53(198.58.107.5)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 06 22:21:26 EDT 2021
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 79
```

The opening section of the output tells us a little bit about itself:

```
; <<>> DiG 9.11.4-P2-RedHat-9.11.4-26.P2.el7_9.4 <<>> cchostingdemos.com
```

 

The Got answer section tells us some technical details about the answer received from the DNS Server.

```
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 52628
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1
```

The Question section serves to remind us of our query. The default query is for an Internet address (A).

```
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;cchostingdemos.com. IN A
```

The answer section is where the answer to our query is given.

```
;; ANSWER SECTION:
cchostingdemos.com. 300 IN A 104.21.69.5
cchostingdemos.com. 300 IN A 172.67.202.37
```

The final section of the default output contains statistics about the query.

```
;; Query time: 7 msec
;; SERVER: 198.58.107.5#53(198.58.107.5)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 06 22:21:26 EDT 2021
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 79
```

### Quick dig commands you should know

- A quick way to get just the answer and not the fluff around it is to run:

```
dig domain.tld +short
```

- Use this command to get the addresses for a domain:

```
dig domain.tld A +noall +answer
```

- Use this command to get a list of all of the mail servers for a domain:

```
dig domain.tld MX +noall +answer
```

- Use this command to get a list of authoritative DNS servers for a domain:

```
dig domain.tld NS +noall +answer
```

- Use this command to get a list of all of the above in one convenient set of results:

```
dig domain.tld ANY +noall +answer
```

- Use this command to query A record of a domain using a specific nameserver:

```
dig A domain.tld @ns1.chemicloud.com +short
```

- Use the following to trace the path taken:

```
dig domain.tld +trace
```

That’s a wrap! Now you know how to master the DIG command using your terminal.