dig-rs

dig-rs is a modern, cross-platform DNS inspection tool written in Rust.

It is designed for both:

• interactive terminal usage (human-friendly),
• and agent/automation workflows (machine-friendly).

• Cross-platform first: Linux, macOS, Windows parity.
• Safer implementation: Rust memory safety.
• Structured output: JSON-first automation support.
• Multi-mode diagnostics: query, health, compare, trace, batch.
• Versioned machine envelope for compare/trace JSON (schema_version).
• Backward compatibility: supports legacy dig-style positional usage.

cargo install dig-rs

Or download binaries from GitHub Releases.

dig-rs supports two invocation styles.

dig-rs query @8.8.8.8 example.com A --json
dig-rs health example.com --json
dig-rs compare example.com A --resolvers system google cloudflare
dig-rs compare example.com A --resolvers google cloudflare --json --allow-inconsistent
dig-rs trace example.com
dig-rs trace example.com --json --output-file trace.json
dig-rs batch --file queries.txt

dig-rs @8.8.8.8 example.com A --short
dig-rs example.com --health
dig-rs example.com --compare system google cloudflare
dig-rs example.com --trace --json
dig-rs --file queries.txt

Run standard DNS query.

dig-rs query [@SERVER] NAME [TYPE] [OPTIONS]

Examples:

dig-rs query example.com
dig-rs query @1.1.1.1 example.com AAAA
dig-rs query example.com MX --short
dig-rs query example.com A --json

Run DNS health diagnostics.

dig-rs health NAME [--json]

Examples:

dig-rs health example.com
dig-rs health example.com --json

Compare consistency and latency across resolvers.

dig-rs compare NAME [TYPE] --resolvers RESOLVER...

Resolver aliases:

• system (current OS resolver),
• google (8.8.8.8),
• cloudflare (1.1.1.1),
• opendns (208.67.222.222),
• quad9 (9.9.9.9).

Examples:

dig-rs compare example.com A --resolvers system google cloudflare
dig-rs compare example.com AAAA --resolvers 8.8.8.8 1.1.1.1 9.9.9.9
dig-rs compare example.com A --resolvers google cloudflare --json --allow-inconsistent

Trace DNS delegation from root to final answer.

dig-rs trace [@SERVER] NAME [TYPE] [OPTIONS]

Examples:

dig-rs trace example.com
dig-rs trace @8.8.8.8 example.com A
dig-rs trace example.com --json --output-file trace.json

Run queries from file.

dig-rs batch --file FILE [OPTIONS]

Example:

dig-rs batch --file queries.txt --json

Most query-like modes support:

• -J, --json structured output.
• --short short output.
• --table table output.
• -c, --class IN|CH|HS.
• -p, --port PORT.
• -x, --reverse IP.
• -4, --ipv4 / -6, --ipv6.
• --tcp / --dot / --doh.
• --dnssec.
• --norecurse.
• --timeout SECONDS.
• --retries COUNT.
• --output-file FILE write output to file (while still printing stdout).
• --no-comments.
• --no-stats.
• -v, --verbose.
• -d, --debug.

Compare-specific:

• --allow-inconsistent keeps exit code 0 even if compare finds resolver inconsistency.

compare --json and trace --json output a versioned envelope:

{
  "schema_version": "dig-rs/v1",
  "mode": "compare or trace",
  "generated_at_unix_ms": 1774233148357,
  "data": { "...mode specific payload..." }
}

This is designed for long-term agent compatibility and explicit schema evolution.

dig-rs is intentionally designed for LLM/agent pipelines:

• Prefer deterministic command shapes (query, health, compare, trace, batch).
• Prefer --json for machine parsing and downstream automation.
• Use resolver aliases in scripts (system, google, cloudflare, etc.).
• Keep output mode explicit in prompts or tools.
• Persist artifacts with --output-file.
• Use --allow-inconsistent when you want compare output but do not want hard-fail behavior.

Recommended patterns:

# Parse-ready query
dig-rs query example.com A --json

# Programmatic health check
dig-rs health example.com --json

# Consistency verification before production rollout
dig-rs compare api.example.com A --resolvers system google cloudflare

# Artifact-friendly compare output
dig-rs compare api.example.com A --resolvers system google cloudflare --json --allow-inconsistent --output-file compare.json

See:

• docs/ARCHITECTURE.md
• docs/AGENT_GUIDE.md
• docs/CLI_REFERENCE.md
• docs/JSON_SCHEMA.md

Workspace crates:

dig-rs/
|- crates/dig         # CLI
|- crates/dig-core    # DNS logic
`- crates/dig-output  # formatters

cargo fmt --all
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --all-features -- -D warnings
cargo test --workspace --all-targets --all-features

Dual-licensed:

• MIT
• Apache-2.0