cnames.dev / tools / cname lookup
CNAME Lookup
Look up the CNAME record for any hostname across two public resolvers.
What a CNAME lookup tells you
A CNAME lookup returns the alias target for a hostname. If www.example.com is a CNAME toexample.com or to a provider like edge.cnames.dev, this shows that target and its TTL, as reported by Cloudflare and Google DNS. Comparing two resolvers is a fast way to see whether a recent change has propagated everywhere or only partway.
CNAME vs A record
A CNAME points one name at another name; an A record points a name at an IP address. CNAMEs are ideal for subdomains that should track a provider's infrastructure without you managing IPs. They cannot be used at a root/apex domain — see the CNAME checker for the apex flattening options and full-chain resolution.
Common reasons a CNAME lookup returns nothing
- The record doesn't exist yet, or was added at the wrong host label.
- You queried the apex where an A/ALIAS record is used instead of a CNAME.
- The change hasn't propagated — retry after the previous record's TTL elapses.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a CNAME lookup show?
It returns the CNAME (alias) record for a hostname — the target it points to — as seen by public resolvers, along with the record TTL.
Why do two resolvers show different results?
DNS is cached per resolver according to TTL. Right after a change, one resolver may still return the old value while another has the new one — that means the change is still propagating.
What is the difference between this and the CNAME checker?
This is a quick single-record lookup. The CNAME checker follows the full alias chain, flags CNAME-at-apex problems, and lets you verify the record points at an expected target.