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dnsx

v1.3.0 open-source

dnsx is a fast and multi-purpose DNS toolkit allow to run multiple DNS queries of your choice with a list of user-supplied resolvers.

Summary

dnsx is an open-source DNS toolkit, released under an MIT-style open license at no cost, that runs queries and brute-forces subdomains through the retryabledns library. It is a command-line tool, used via stdin/stdout so it chains with other recon utilities, and it fits recon work like resolving active subdomains from subfinder output, pulling A/AAAA/CNAMECNAMEA DNS record type that maps one hostname to another as a canonical alias, letting cyber tools track infrastructure by following chains of names to their true origin./PTR/MX/TXT/SRVSRVA DNS record type that advertises the hostname and port for a specific service, letting clients discover endpoints without hardcoded addresses./SOA records, or reverse-resolving an IP range, with custom resolvers, TCPTCPA network protocol that delivers a reliable, ordered stream of bytes between two endpoints. It detects lost data and retransmits it./UDPUDPA network protocol that sends individual messages without guaranteeing delivery or order. Applications trade built-in reliability for less overhead and can add their own recovery./DOHDOHDNS over HTTPS, an IETF standard (RFC 8484) that tunnels DNS queries inside encrypted HTTPS traffic, making resolution indistinguishable from web traffic and bypassing traditional DNS-based monitoring./DOT support, and automatic wildcard filtering comparable to the project's own shuffledns. It is aimed at people doing asset discovery and attack-surface mapping, such as red teamers and recon-focused security engineers, rather than application developers. First committed in 2020 and still active, with 41 contributors, 54 commits and 15 releases in the past year, and a release 36 days ago.

dnsx is a fast and multi-purpose DNS toolkit allow to run multiple DNS queries of your choice with a list of user-supplied resolvers.

How dnsx helps

Which of these subdomains from my recon list are actually alive right now?

takes a list of hostnames on stdin, resolves each one, and prints only the ones that answer, filtering out dead names before they waste time in later scan stages

Which hosts in this domain exist but were never listed anywhere I found them?

brute-forces a wordlist against the domain through user-supplied resolvers and reports which guesses resolve, surfacing subdomains no source handed you directly

Is this wildcard DNS setup going to poison my subdomain results with false positives?

detects wildcard responses automatically across registrable roots using A/AAAA comparison and filters matching hosts out of the result set before you see them

What mail, name, and text infrastructure sits behind this domain?

queries MX, NS, TXT, SRV, and SOA records for each host and prints them alongside the hostname, giving you the supporting infrastructure without separate lookups per record type

Which IP range resolves back to which hostnames?

reverse-resolves each address in a range through PTR queries and lists the hostname each IP maps to, turning a raw CIDR into named assets

Are my DNS lookups being seen or blocked by something between me and the resolver?

lets you route queries over TCP/UDP/DOH/DOT or through a SOCKS5 proxy, so you can compare answers across transports and confirm whether plain UDP is being intercepted or dropped

all 14 features, with the evidence for each →

Languages

Not documented

Features

14 capabilities across 3 capability groups · 2 backed by code, an API document or a real run

Built from dnsx's releases, docs, README and our own runs. “Seen” marks the month we first spotted a release the vendor didn't date. Group names and tags are our labels.

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  • dnsx covers 3 of the 13 network discovery and scanning capabilities we track.

What dnsx offers you

  • Command-line interface4
  • JSON data export1
DNS record enumeration 4 features Network discovery and scanning since 2021
ANY record resolution shipped Executes ANY-type DNS queries to retrieve multiple record types (such as TXT, CNAME, or others) in a single request. 2 releases · 4 other sources · first seen Sep 2023

Shared capability: DNS record enumeration

release

  • Adds -recon flag to enumerate all available DNS records (A, MX, NS, SOA, TXT, etc.) in a single pass v1.2.0 · Mar 2024 · source · release history
  • Adds the -any flag to enable ANY-type DNS queries (e.g., pulling TXT, CNAME, or other record types in a single request) v1.1.5 · Sep 2023 · source · release history

example

  • Filter out specific record types like TXT or MX from the full enumeration output. echo example.com | dnsx -recon -e TXT,MX v1.2.0 · Mar 2024 · source
  • Enumerate all DNS record types for a target domain quickly during recon. echo example.com | dnsx -recon v1.2.0 · Mar 2024 · source
  • Pull all available record types for a target using the new ANY query capability. echo hollisterco.com | dnsx -any -resp v1.1.5 · Sep 2023 · source
  • Extract CNAME records for subdomains subfinder -silent -d hackerone.com | dnsx -silent -cname -resp
CAA record resolution shipped Queries and returns Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records for domains to identify authorized certificate issuers. 1 release · 1 other source · first seen Sep 2022

Shared capability: DNS record enumeration

release

  • Adds --caa flag to query and return CAA records for domains v1.1.1 · Sep 2022 · source · release history

example

  • Check CAA records for a domain to see which CAs are authorized to issue certs. dnsx --domain example.com -caa v1.1.1 · Sep 2022 · source
DNS trace lookup shipped Performs a full DNS trace lookup for a target domain to identify the resolution path. 1 release · 1 other source · first seen Jun 2021

Shared capability: DNS record enumeration

release

example

  • Perform a full DNS trace lookup for a target domain. dnsx -domain example.com -trace v1.0.4 · Jun 2021 · source
SRV record resolution shipped Queries and returns Service Location (SRV) records for targets directly from the command line. 1 release · first seen Feb 2023

Shared capability: DNS record enumeration

Also counts toward: Command-line interface

release

  • dnsx adds support for SRV DNS queries to resolve Service Location records directly from the CLI. v1.1.2 · Feb 2023 · source · release history
Subdomain enumeration 1 feature Network discovery and scanning
Subdomain enumeration shipped Discovers subdomains through brute-forcing with wordlists and extracting them from network ranges via PTR records. 2 other sources

Shared capability: Subdomain enumeration

example

  • Bruteforce subdomains with wordlist dnsx -silent -d facebook.com -w dns_worldlist.txt
  • Extract subdomains from network range via PTR echo 173.0.84.0/24 | dnsx -silent -resp-only -ptr
Attack surface inventory 1 feature Network discovery and scanning since 2022
DNS zone transfer shipped Performs AXFR zone transfers against nameservers to discover subdomains and retrieve full zone data. 1 release · 1 other source · first seen Sep 2022

Shared capability: Attack surface inventory

Also counts toward: Command-line interface

release

example

  • Attempt an AXFR zone transfer against a nameserver for subdomain discovery. dnsx --name-server ns1.example.com -axfr v1.1.1 · Sep 2022 · source
Other / not yet classified 8 features Features we have not matched to a capability yet. A suggested match is marked.
Inline host input shipped suggested Accepts hosts directly on the command line as inline or comma-separated values, without requiring an input file. 7 releases · 5 other sources · first seen Jun 2021

Suggested capability: Attack surface inventory. This is our guess, not confirmed.

Also counts toward: Command-line interface

release 7 total

  • Supports inline and comma-separated host input directly on the command line (no file required). v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source · release history
  • dnsx introduces placeholder-based wordlists for DNS Bruteforce attacks, allowing dynamic generation of targets during enumeration. v1.1.2 · Feb 2023 · source · release history
  • Enables stdin piping for the domain and wordlist flags via --stdin support v1.0.8 · Feb 2022 · source · release history
  • Adds TCP/UDP/DOH resolver input support v1.0.7 · Nov 2021 · source · release history
  • Adds hosts file read support to resolve names via the local system's /etc/hosts or hosts file v1.0.7 · Nov 2021 · source · release history
  • Adds -rcode flag to enable DNS RCODE (status code) probing v1.0.5 · Jun 2021 · source · release history

example

  • Resolve a quick ad-hoc list of hosts passed inline without creating a file. dnsx -l example.com,api.example.com,dev.example.com -a -resp v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source
  • Feeding a subnet directly without expansion for bulk DNS auditing. dnsx -i 10.0.0.0/24 v1.0.5 · Jun 2021 · source
  • Probing DNS servers to distinguish between NXDOMAIN and SERVFAIL responses during reconnaissance. dnsx -d example.com -rcode v1.0.5 · Jun 2021 · source
  • Print A records with responses subfinder -silent -d hackerone.com | dnsx -silent -a -resp
  • Extract subdomains from network range via PTR echo 173.0.84.0/24 | dnsx -silent -resp-only -ptr
Custom output templating verified suggested Formats DNS resolution output using user-defined templates with fields such as host, A record, AAAA record, IP, and query time, for use in downstream parsers or reports. 4 releases · 5 other sources · first seen Jun 2021

Suggested capability: DNS record enumeration. This is our guess, not confirmed.

release

  • Adds -output-template / -ot flag for customizable output using template fields such as {{host}}, {{a}}, {{aaaa}}, {{ip}}, and {{query-time}}. v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source · release history
  • Adds the -output-template (-ot) flag with fields {{host}}, {{a}}, {{aaaa}}, {{ip}}, and {{query-time}} for custom output formatting v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source · release history
  • Includes internal IP information in JSON output format when using -json flag v1.0.8 · Feb 2022 · source · release history
  • Adds ts field to JSON output containing the request timestamp v1.0.5 · Jun 2021 · source · release history

command line

example

  • Emit a custom one-liner per result (host, A record, and query time) to feed into downstream parsers or reports. subfinder -silent -d example.com | dnsx -silent -a -ot '{{host}} {{a}} {{query-time}}' v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source
  • Output only the host and IP address using a custom template, including the new query time. dnsx -l targets.txt -output-template '{{host}} {{ip}} {{query-time}}' -json v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source
  • Bruteforce subdomains with wordlist dnsx -silent -d facebook.com -w dns_worldlist.txt
Automatic wildcard DNS filtering verified suggested Detects and filters wildcard DNS domains automatically across multiple registrable roots using A/AAAA-based filtering, removing false positives during resolution without manual configuration. 2 releases · 4 other sources · first seen Jul 2026

Suggested capability: Attack surface inventory. This is our guess, not confirmed.

Also counts toward: Command-line interface

release

  • Adds -auto-wildcard flag for automatic wildcard DNS detection, supporting multiple registrable roots and A/AAAA-based filtering. v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source · release history
  • Adds the -auto-wildcard flag to enable automatic wildcard DNS detection with multi-root support and A/AAAA-based filtering v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source · release history

command line

  • -auto-wildcard — automatically detect wildcard domains for filtering v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · command-line history

example

  • Scan targets and automatically filter out wildcard responses using A/AAAA-based detection. dnsx -d example.com -auto-wildcard -json v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source
  • Automatically filter wildcard domains during subdomain brute-force without manual configuration. dnsx -d example.com -w wordlist.txt -auto-wildcard -silent v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source
  • Filter wildcards for a domain dnsx -l subdomain_list.txt -wd airbnb.com -o output.txt
Per-query DNS timing shipped Exposes the elapsed time for each individual DNS query as a field in the output. 2 releases · first seen Jul 2026

release

  • Adds query-time response field to expose per-query DNS timing in output. v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source · release history
  • Adds the query-time response field to expose DNS query latency v1.3.0 · Jul 2026 · source · release history
Configurable DNS query timeout shipped Allows users to set custom timeout values for DNS queries to control execution timing and prevent stalling. 1 release · 1 other source · first seen Dec 2025

release

  • Adds configurable timeout flag to control DNS query timing. v1.2.3 · Dec 2025 · source · release history

example

  • Set a tight DNS query timeout when scanning large target lists to avoid stalling on slow resolvers. dnsx -l targets.txt -a -timeout 2 v1.2.3 · Dec 2025 · source
JSON output verbosity control shipped Allows filtering JSONL output fields, specifically excluding raw DNS payloads while retaining resolved IPs and records. 1 release · 1 other source · first seen Sep 2023

Also counts toward: JSON data export

release

  • Adds --omit-raw / -or flag to remove the raw DNS response field from JSONL output v1.1.5 · Sep 2023 · source · release history

example

  • Generate JSONL output containing only resolved IPs and records, without the verbose raw DNS payload. echo example.com | dnsx -json --omit-raw v1.1.5 · Sep 2023 · source
Live scan statistics reporting shipped Displays periodic (every 5 seconds) aggregate statistics about the scan progress during execution. 2 releases · first seen Nov 2020

release

  • Enables the stats feature on Windows platforms v1.0.1 · Nov 2020 · source · release history
  • Adds the stats flag to display scan information every 5 seconds during execution v1.0.1 · Nov 2020 · source · release history
Live scan progress monitoring shipped Allows users to view real-time updates on the status of a running DNS scan without waiting for completion. 1 other source · first seen Nov 2020

example

  • Monitor real-time progress of a DNS scan without waiting for it to finish. dnsx -d example.com -stats v1.0.1 · Nov 2020 · source

Lines in monospace are the tool's own words: help text parsed from its source, or an endpoint from its API document. Under release, a line is our summary of a dated release. Under docs, it is quoted from the tool's own documentation or website. Each links back to the source it came from.

Score card

  1. Shipping velocity releases a month, last 12 months
  2. Documentation quality release-notes rubric, 0–100
  3. Breaking-change discipline how rarely a release breaks users, and notice given
  4. Maintenance risk quiet time against its own cadence, maintainers
  5. Innovation & surface new capabilities, API and MCP surface
  6. Community health
  7. Contributor trend distinct committers, this year against last
  8. Maintainer concentration bus factor now against a year ago
  9. Issue backlog trend issues closed per issue opened, 12 months
  10. Responsiveness median time to a maintainer’s first reply

Nine scores for dnsx, each built from the releases, notes and API history this site tracks — and, on Researcher and Business, where it stands among every measured tool in its category and how that has moved.

Score cards are part of every paid plan.

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Each score is 0–100 on a published rubric, derived from data this site already shows. A dimension we cannot measure says so — it is never scored 0 and never enters a rank.

How this is scored
  • Shipping velocity — releases a month over the last 12 months, on a log scale where 16 a month scores 100. Needs 3 releases in the window.
  • Documentation quality — the release-notes rubric published on the analytics page, unchanged.
  • Breaking-change discipline — the share of releases carrying a breaking change (none scores 100, half or more scores 0). Only projects that label breaking changes are measured: a clean record cannot be told from an unlabelled one.
  • Maintenance risk — quiet time measured against the tool's own release cadence (quiet longer than 90 days and three typical gaps scores 0), plus the number of active maintainers and whether contributors are growing, where known. Higher is lower risk.
  • Innovation & surface — new capabilities in the feature ledger this year, API and MCP operations added, and the share of commits that are features: the mean of whichever we hold.
  • Community health (open-source tools only) — each is a direction, not a size: contributors this year against last, the bus factor now against a year ago, and issues closed per issue opened, where steady scores 50, doubled 100 and halved 0; plus the median time to a maintainer's first reply (an hour scores about 100, a month or more 0). A commercial card has no repository and carries none of the four.
  • Documented delivery (commercial tools) — when a vendor's documented new capabilities have slowed against its own baseline, that counts against the overall standing as heavily as two low dimensions. Steady delivery, or too little history to judge, leaves the standing alone; it is never a sixth score.
  • Open-source tools are scored on repository signals; commercial tools on their published changelog. Ranks compare tools within one category and one profile and need at least five measured peers; the overall standing needs three ranked dimensions. Best-in-breed or consolidator is a shape, not a quality, and is never scored.

Release-note detail over time

See how much detail dnsx puts in its release notes, quarter by quarter, and compare it with tracked tools in the same category. This history uses up to ten retained, reviewed notes per tool; sparse or blank older quarters may reflect that limit.

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Commercials

pricing & packaging history · ProjectDiscovery vendor page

23 readings of ProjectDiscovery's pricing page since Feb 2024, with 7 relaunches of its plan lineup and 4 changes to what its plans include — each one dated, compared with the reading before it, and explained for someone buying the tool.

Pricing and packaging history is included with Researcher and Business. See how every vendor we track sells, and how that has changed over time, using data we don't publish anywhere else.

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Website history

projectdiscovery.io, every change

ProjectDiscovery's home page and 3 more pages as they looked each month from August 2021 to October 2026: 18 renders, 4 changes of tagline or palette. Step through them, play them, or put any two months side by side.

Website history is included with Researcher and Business.

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Releases

Show

12 entries

  1. July 20261
  2. December 20251
  3. February 20251
  4. March 20241
  5. September 20231
  6. February 20231
  7. September 20221
  8. February 20221
  9. November 20211
  10. June 20212
  11. November 20201
    Show

    12 entries

    Project health

    Issue, contributor and maintainer activity in projectdiscovery/dnsx, 2023-10 – 2026-09, as of 2026-09-25. Twelve-month figures first; the trend lines run the whole window.

    1. Contributors 7 −1 vs prior 12 months
    2. Maintainers 3 +3 joined · −2 left, last 12 months
    3. Bus factor 2 committers behind half the commits
    4. Community-filed 77% of issues opened, last 12 months
    5. Median time to close 194 days first maintainer reply 16 days
    6. Open backlog 0 of 158 issues ever filed
    1. Issues opened / month 0 · 0 communitymaintainers
    2. Open backlog 0
    3. Contributors / month 0
    4. Commits / month 0
    5. Stars 2,878
    Issue themes, last 12 months
    • bugs 39%
    • features 33%
    • other 28%

    Counts from the project's public repository and git history; no individuals are identified. Maintainers are the committers covering 80% of the last year's commits. how we measure this

    Libraries its release ships

    What its latest release locks, checked against known advisories.

    None of its release's images build from a lockfile we can read.

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