host.tools

DNS chain trace

DNS /api/v1/dns/trace

Walk the resolution chain: TLD → authoritative NS → final answer.

Try: host.com checkhost.com hostinfo.com hostcheck.com google.com
Related: DNS lookup (dig) DNS propagation Domain WHOIS SSL certificate inspector HTTP headers Security headers grader MX lookup SPF tester DMARC tester

Resolution chain

Tracing host.com

  1. 1
    tld com
    • SOA a.gtld-servers.net nstld.verisign-grs.com 1778299936 654s
  2. 2
    authoritative ns host.com
    • NS elliot.ns.cloudflare.com 7155s
    • NS violet.ns.cloudflare.com 7155s
  3. 3
    host host.com
    • A 104.21.31.241 2s
    • A 172.67.180.245 2s
    • AAAA 2606:4700:3031::6815:1ff1 300s
    • AAAA 2606:4700:3031::ac43:b4f5 300s
How to use DNS chain trace
  1. 1
    Paste your input

    Enter the value at the top — domain, IP, URL, email, ASN, hash, whatever fits this tool. The smart input auto-detects type.

  2. 2
    Click "Inspect"

    host.tools issues real probes (DNS, HTTP, TCP, TLS, WHOIS where applicable) and renders the result in milliseconds.

  3. 3
    Open the API tab

    Every web tool has a sibling /api/v1/dns/trace JSON endpoint with the same payload. One copy-as-curl click and you're scripting it.

Why this matters

DNS is the routing layer for everything you do on the internet. A bad TTL, a missing MX or an unsigned zone propagates outages and inboxes-full-of-spam in minutes. Verify before you ship.

API equivalent
/api/v1/dns/trace?q=host.com 
curl -s '/api/v1/dns/trace?q=host.com'
Embed this tool
<iframe src="/dns/trace?q={INPUT}&embed=1"
  width="100%" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Drop into any HTML page. The embed=1 flag hides nav and footer.

FAQ · DNS chain trace

Common questions

Is DNS chain trace free?
Yes — every tool is free on the web with a 200/hour rate limit per IP. The matching API endpoint /api/v1/dns/trace is free up to 100 requests/hour, no key required.
Where does the data come from?
Real-time probes against authoritative sources (DNS root, RIRs, registries, the target server itself), plus partner data feeds from hostinfo.com (GeoIP/ASN) and hostcheck.com (reputation).
How fresh are the results?
Live by default. Cached for 5 minutes to make repeat queries instant; pass ?nocache=1 for a forced refresh.
Can I run this from the command line?
Yes — every tool ships with a copy-as-curl. There's also an official CLI: host.tools dns trace YOUR_INPUT.
Can I monitor results over time?
Pro tier lets you schedule any tool to run every 1/5/15/60 min and alert on diff. See monitors.
host.tools Pro

Run DNS chain trace on a schedule. Get pinged when it changes.

Pro gets you bulk lookups, monitors, webhook alerts, history, exports and 10,000 API calls/day. $19/mo.

See pricing Tour monitors
  • ✓Schedule any tool — every 1, 5, 15, 60 min
  • ✓Diff against last run, alert on change
  • ✓Webhook + email + Slack + PagerDuty + OpsGenie
  • ✓Bulk CSV upload, 1,000 inputs per job
  • ✓Export results as CSV / NDJSON / Excel
  • ✓90-day history, comparison view