The nslookup command is a powerful tool used to query the Domain Name System (DNS) to obtain domain name or IP address mapping information. While it is commonly associated with Windows environments, nslookup is also available on macOS, making it a versatile tool for network troubleshooting across different platforms, including Apple devices.

Examples

Example 1: Basic Domain Name Query

To perform a basic query to find the IP address associated with a domain name, open the Terminal application on your macOS and type:

nslookup apple.com

This command will return the IP address for apple.com, along with some additional information about the DNS server used for the query.

Example 2: Reverse DNS Lookup

A reverse DNS lookup finds the domain name associated with an IP address. To perform a reverse lookup, use the following command:

nslookup 17.172.224.47

This command will return the domain name associated with the IP address 17.172.224.47.

Example 3: Specifying a DNS Server

You can specify a different DNS server to use for your query. This can be useful if you want to test the response from a specific DNS server. For example:

nslookup apple.com 8.8.8.8

This command queries the apple.com domain using Google's public DNS server at 8.8.8.8.

Example 4: Querying Specific DNS Record Types

You can also specify the type of DNS record you want to query. For example, to find the mail exchange (MX) records for a domain, use:

nslookup -query=mx apple.com

This command will return the MX records for apple.com, which indicate the mail servers responsible for receiving email on behalf of the domain.

Conclusion

The nslookup command is a versatile tool available on macOS that can help you troubleshoot DNS-related issues by querying domain names, IP addresses, and specific DNS record types. By using nslookup, you can gain insights into the DNS configuration and performance, which is crucial for network diagnostics and management.