# Install dnsx with Homebrew, dnf, Nix

DNS query and resolution tool. Version 1.3.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-25. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#dnsx.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:dnsx
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install dnsx
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install dnsx
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: dnsx 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#dnsx
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dn/dnsx/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:dnsx
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 1.3.0
- **Source summary:** DNS query and resolution tool
- **Homepage:** <https://github.com/projectdiscovery/dnsx>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/projectdiscovery/dnsx>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-25T14:21:57-04:00
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- dnsx (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 1.3.0
## Project history and usage

dnsx is ProjectDiscovery's fast DNS query and resolution CLI, built for reconnaissance pipelines and bulk probing rather than interactive DNS administration.

Its history is mainly the history of ProjectDiscovery standardizing bug-bounty and attack-surface tooling around composable Go CLIs that stream data through stdin and stdout.

### Project history

The public release line starts with v1.0.0 in November 2020, and subsequent releases kept dnsx in the ProjectDiscovery toolkit alongside tools such as subfinder, httpx, naabu, nuclei, and shuffledns.

The documentation and README frame dnsx as a retryabledns-based toolkit for multiple DNS query types, custom resolvers, brute-force resolution, and wildcard handling.

### Adoption history

dnsx became part of the common ProjectDiscovery reconnaissance workflow: subdomain inputs from one tool can be resolved and filtered through dnsx, then passed onward to HTTP probing or vulnerability scanning tools.

Packaging in Homebrew, Fedora, Nix, and Kali reflects adoption by both developer workstations and security-testing distributions.

### How it is used

dnsx is commonly used to resolve lists of domains, query specific DNS record types, use custom resolver pools, brute-force names, and remove wildcard DNS noise from large candidate sets.

Its stdin/stdout design makes it useful in shell pipelines and CI-style scanning jobs.

### Why package nerds care

dnsx matters less as a novel DNS protocol implementation and more as a modern packaging example: a single static-ish Go CLI designed to be chained with a security-tool ecosystem.

The package shows how DNS utilities have moved from administrator-only troubleshooting toward high-volume reconnaissance and asset inventory workflows.

### Timeline

- 2020: dnsx v1.0.0 was released as a ProjectDiscovery DNS toolkit.
- 2021-2023: v1.0.x and v1.1.x releases broadened the tool while it became a regular component of ProjectDiscovery reconnaissance pipelines.
- 2024: v1.2.0 and later releases continued the Go module and packaging lifecycle.
- 2025: v1.2.3 release activity shows the project still being maintained.

### Related projects

- ProjectDiscovery siblings include subfinder for subdomain discovery, httpx for HTTP probing, naabu for port scanning, nuclei for template-based scanning, and shuffledns for mass DNS resolution with wildcard filtering.
- dnsx is also related to retryabledns, the Go library it uses for resilient DNS probing.

### Sources

- <https://docs.projectdiscovery.io/opensource/dnsx/overview>
- <https://docs.projectdiscovery.io/opensource/dnsx/usage>
- <https://docs.projectdiscovery.io/opensource/dnsx/running>
- <https://github.com/projectdiscovery/dnsx>
- <https://github.com/projectdiscovery/dnsx/releases>
- <https://www.kali.org/tools/dnsx/>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/dnsx>


## Security Notes

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

- **Geiger risk:** green / low
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - dnsx: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/dn/dnsx/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- dnf - dnsx - 1.3.0-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: dnsx from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | Dnsx is a fast and multi-purpose DNS toolkit | https://github.com/projectdiscovery/dnsx


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/dnsx.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/dnsx.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