# host Cheatsheet - Cheatsheets - Launch Pad

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# host Cheatsheet

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host is a simple utility for performing DNS lookups. It's part of the BIND utilities and provides quick DNS resolution without the complexity of dig.

## Basic Usage

- host <hostname> - Basic lookup

- host <ip> - Reverse lookup

- host <hostname> <dns-server> - Use specific DNS server

## Query Types

- host -t A <hostname> - IPv4 address

- host -t AAAA <hostname> - IPv6 address

- host -t MX <hostname> - Mail servers

- host -t NS <hostname> - Name servers

- host -t TXT <hostname> - TXT records

- host -t CNAME <hostname> - Canonical name

- host -t SOA <hostname> - Start of authority

- host -t PTR <ip> - Pointer record (reverse)

- host -t ANY <hostname> - All records

## Options

- -a - Equivalent to -v -t ANY

- -v - Verbose output

- -l - Zone transfer (AXFR)

- -C - Compare SOA records from all NS

- -4 - Use IPv4 only

- -6 - Use IPv6 only

- -r - Non-recursive query

- -T - Use TCP instead of UDP

- -W <seconds> - Wait timeout

- -R <number> - Number of retries

## Common Examples

### Basic Lookup

    host example.com

Get IP addresses for domain.

### Reverse Lookup

    host 8.8.8.8

Find hostname for IP.

### MX Records

    host -t MX example.com

Find mail servers.

### Name Servers

    host -t NS example.com

Find authoritative name servers.

### TXT Records

    host -t TXT example.com

Get TXT records (SPF, DKIM, etc.).

### Use Specific DNS

    host example.com 8.8.8.8

Query using Google DNS.

### All Records

    host -a example.com

Verbose output with all record types.

### Zone Transfer (AXFR)

    host -l example.com ns1.example.com

Attempt zone transfer (usually blocked).

### SOA Record

    host -t SOA example.com

Get start of authority info.

### Compare NS Records

    host -C example.com

Compare SOA from all name servers.

## Output Examples

### A Record Output

    $ host example.com
    example.com has address 93.184.216.34
    example.com has IPv6 address 2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946

### MX Record Output

    $ host -t MX example.com
    example.com mail is handled by 10 mail.example.com.

### Reverse Lookup Output

    $ host 8.8.8.8
    8.8.8.8.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer dns.google.

## Comparison with Other Tools

### host vs dig

- host - Simple, quick, human-readable
- dig - Detailed, more options, scriptable

### host vs nslookup

- host - Simpler output, CLI focused
- nslookup - Interactive mode, legacy tool

## Tips

- Use for quick DNS lookups

- Try zone transfers (-l) during recon

- Check MX records for mail server enumeration

- Use -t TXT to find SPF/DKIM records

- Query different DNS servers to compare

- Use dig for more detailed analysis

- Great for quick command-line lookups

- Reverse lookups can reveal shared hosting

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