dnsip

## Name

dnsip — look up the IP address(es) of a domain name

## Synopsis

`dnsip` {`fqdn`...}

## Description

dnsip looks up A resource records for `fqdn` in the Domain Name System and prints the IP address(es) of `fqdn` on a single line. If `fqdn` does not exist, dnsip prints a blank line. You can list several `fqdn`s; dnsip prints each result on a separate line.

Normally dnsip exits 0. If it encounters a temporary problem that prevents it from determining the list of IP addresses, it prints an error message and exits 111.

dnsip makes all DNS lookups using the locally configured DNS proxy server(s), and performs no name qualification on what is taken to already be a "fully-qualified" domain name (trailing dot or no) `fqdn`. See djbdns-client(5) for how this server is found, and for certain standard domain names that short-circuit DNS lookups to the proxy DNS server(s).

## See also

dnsipq(1)

  a similar tool that also applies name qualification

dnsname(1)

  a tool that looks up the domain name(es) of an IP address

## History

dnsip was originally part of Daniel J. Bernstein's djbdns toolset in 1999.

In the original Bernstein dnsip, the mis-behaviour with stupid consequences and real-world liabilities of the original Bernstein DNS client library would occur. This undocumented behaviour was removed in 2025 and is not present in this version of dnsip.

## Author

Original code and documentation by Daniel J. Bernstein. Documentation modernizations by Jonathan de Boyne Pollard.