# Install dnstracer with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper Trace a chain of DNS servers to the source. Version 1.9 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-17. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install dnstracer. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:dnstracer ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install dnstracer ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install dnstracer ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: net/dnstracer/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add dnstracer ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: dnstracer from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install dnstracer ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: dnstracer from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install dnstracer ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: dnstracer from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#dnstracer ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dn/dnstracer/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install dnstracer ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: dnstracer from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:dnstracer - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 1.9 - **Source summary:** Trace a chain of DNS servers to the source - **Homepage:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-17T01:00:37-04:00 - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - dnstracer (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 1.9 ## Project history and usage dnstracer is a small DNS troubleshooting tool that follows the delegation chain for a name back toward authoritative servers. Its history is thinly documented, but the official pages show an early-2000s Unix utility aimed at explaining how DNS answers are reached. ### Project history The Mavetju project page explains dnstracer as a tool that determines where a DNS server gets information from and follows the chain of DNS servers back to the servers that know the data. The page revision marker is from November 2002, and the man-page source marker is from January 2002. The manual page, dated July 8, 2004, documents the classic behavior: send non-recursive queries, follow authority records, detect lame servers, and stop after all name servers are queried. The official 1.9 source tarball was still being served by the Mavetju site with a 2008 last-modified timestamp. ### Adoption history dnstracer's adoption is mostly as a packaged Unix DNS diagnostic, not as an actively branded upstream project. Homebrew and other Unix package managers keep it available because it does one old-school job that overlaps with, but is not identical to, dig +trace. ### How it is used Users run dnstracer with a domain name and optional query type or starting server. It is useful for visualizing referrals, cached answers, authoritative answers, missing glue, lame servers, and PTR/SOA/MX tracing paths. ### Why package nerds care dnstracer is package-nerd significant as a fossil utility that still earns a slot in package managers: no service, no config, no credentials, just a compact DNS delegation tracer whose behavior is easy to compare across Unix systems. ### Timeline - 2002: Mavetju dnstracer project and man-page revision markers appear on the official pages. - 2004: Manual page dated July 8, 2004. - 2008: Official dnstracer 1.9 source tarball served with a February 10 last-modified timestamp. - 2026: Homebrew still carries dnstracer as a packaged DNS diagnostic. ### Related projects - dig +trace is the common modern comparison point for DNS delegation tracing. traceroute is the conceptual naming relative, but dnstracer traces DNS authority paths rather than network hops. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. - **Geiger risk:** blue / medium - broad file, network, media, or database tool signal ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - dnstracer - 1.9-8: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: dnstracer from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | trace DNS queries to the source | http://www.mavetju.org/unix/dnstracer.php - Nix - dnstracer: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dn/dnstracer/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - dnstracer - 1.9-8build1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: dnstracer from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/main/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | trace DNS queries to the source | http://www.mavetju.org/unix/dnstracer.php - apk - dnstracer - 1.10-r3: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: dnstracer from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Trace a chain of DNS servers to the source | http://www.mavetju.org/unix/dnstracer.php - apk - dnstracer-doc - 1.10-r3: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: dnstracer-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Trace a chain of DNS servers to the source (documentation) | http://www.mavetju.org/unix/dnstracer.php - dnf - dnstracer - 1.10-12.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: dnstracer from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Trace DNS queries to the source | http://www.mavetju.org/unix/dnstracer.php - zypper - dnstracer - 1.10-1.21: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: dnstracer from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | Trace a DNS record to its start of authority | https://www.mavetju.org/unix/dnstracer.php - MacPorts - dnstracer: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: net/dnstracer/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/dnstracer.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/dnstracer.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph