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miekg/dns

A Go library for building DNS clients and servers, covering all resource record types including DNSSEC.

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What is it?

miekg/dns is a DNS library written in Go for programmers who need to work with DNS at the protocol level. It supports all resource record types, including the DNSSEC types, and can be used to build both servers and resolvers. The API is intentionally small: it provides the building blocks rather than many convenience functions.

The library covers UDP and TCP queries over IPv4 and IPv6, zone file parsing, and server-side programming modeled on the net/http package. On the security side it handles DNSSEC signing, validation and key generation for DSA, RSA, ECDSA and Ed25519, along with TSIG, SIG(0) and DNS over TLS. It also implements AXFR/IXFR zone transfers and EDNS0 options such as NSID, Cookies and Client Subnet.

The project notes that its successor, DNS version 2, is hosted on Codeberg and that this repository will only receive specific fixes before being archived.

Key features

  • 01Supports all DNS resource record types, including DNSSEC types
  • 02Builds both DNS servers and client-side resolvers
  • 03DNSSEC signing, validation and key generation for several algorithms
  • 04Zone file parsing with $INCLUDE, $ORIGIN, $TTL and $GENERATE
  • 05AXFR/IXFR zone transfers and TSIG/SIG(0) authentication
  • 06DNS over TLS and EDNS0 options such as NSID and Cookies

Use cases

  • Writing a custom authoritative DNS server in Go
  • Building a DNS resolver or forwarder with fine-grained control over queries
  • Implementing DNSSEC signing or validation in a Go application
  • Creating diagnostic tools that send raw DNS queries and inspect responses

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install the library with the Go tool

    go get github.com/miekg/dns
  2. 2

    Read the API overview at the start of doc.go or run godoc for the package

Things to know

  • Development has moved to DNS version 2 at codeberg.org/miekg/dns, and this repository only receives specific fixes.
  • This repository will be archived at some point.

Topics

#dns#go#dnssec#dns-library#networking#protocol

FAQ

What is dns?
A Go library for building DNS clients and servers, covering all resource record types including DNSSEC. miekg/dns is a DNS library written in Go for programmers who need to work with DNS at the protocol level. It supports all resource record types, including the DNSSEC types, and can be used to build both servers and resolvers. The API is intentionally small: it provides the building blocks rather than many convenience functions.
Is dns free to use? What license does it have?
dns is open source under the BSD-3-Clause license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is dns still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to dns was on Nov 3, 2026.
What can I use dns for?
Writing a custom authoritative DNS server in Go Building a DNS resolver or forwarder with fine-grained control over queries Implementing DNSSEC signing or validation in a Go application Creating diagnostic tools that send raw DNS queries and inspect responses
How do I install dns?
Install the library with the Go tool: go get github.com/miekg/dns Read the API overview at the start of doc.go or run godoc for the package
Where can I get dns?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/miekg/dns

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