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CNAME Record Lookup

cname-lookup

Validate canonical aliases and track hostname targets for subdomains.

Enter a target and run the tool.

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About CNAME Lookup

A CNAME (Canonical Name) record creates an alias from one hostname to another, instructing resolvers to follow the chain to a different name where the actual A or AAAA records live. CNAMEs are the standard way to point a custom subdomain at a CDN (Cloudflare, Fastly, CloudFront), a SaaS platform (Vercel, Netlify, GitHub Pages, Shopify), or any third-party service that wants you to delegate a hostname rather than hard-code an IP. Our free CNAME lookup tool returns the canonical target your subdomain currently points to, so you can immediately confirm a hosting setup is correct, verify a custom-domain configuration during onboarding, or troubleshoot why traffic is going somewhere unexpected. Because CNAMEs cannot exist alongside other record types at the same name, this lookup is also a quick sanity check when adding email or other services to a hostname that already has a CNAME. All queries go through a public DNS-over-HTTPS resolver in real time, so the answer matches what end-user resolvers will see. No signup, no per-query limit for normal use.

Common use cases

  • Confirm a custom subdomain points at the correct CDN or SaaS host.
  • Verify SSL/TLS hostname onboarding for a third-party platform.
  • Diagnose why a subdomain returns the wrong content or 404s.
  • Check whether a hostname is using a CNAME chain that may add latency.
  • Inspect a competitor or partner subdomain to identify their hosting platform.

How to use this tool

  1. Enter the hostname (subdomain) you want to inspect, such as www.example.com or shop.example.com.
  2. Click "Lookup" to query the live DNS for a CNAME record.
  3. Review the canonical target name returned.
  4. Optionally look up that target separately to follow the chain to the final IP address.

Frequently asked questions

Can a root domain (apex) use a CNAME?

Standard CNAME records are not allowed at the apex of a domain. Some DNS providers offer "CNAME flattening" or ALIAS records as a workaround, but they are provider-specific.

What does a CNAME chain look like?

One CNAME points to another, which may point to a third before resolving to A/AAAA records. Resolvers follow the chain transparently — but each hop adds latency.

Why can a CNAME hostname not have other records?

Per the DNS specification, a name with a CNAME may not have any other record type (MX, TXT, A, etc.). The CNAME aliases the entire name.

How do I find what platform a CNAME points to?

The target hostname usually reveals the provider — for example, cdn.shopify.com, ghs.googlehosted.com, or *.vercel-dns.com.