Config Server Firewall

How to Install dig Command on Windows (10, 11, Server)

If you want to use the dig command (Domain Information Groper) on Windows, you can install it easily with the Winget package manager. This guide works on Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2025.

Quick Steps

  • Open Terminal (PowerShell or CMD, no admin needed).
  • Run winget search bind to find the package.
  • Install with winget install ISC.BIND.
  • Restart the terminal.
  • Test with dig example.com.

Step 1 – Open a Terminal

We will install dig on Windows using the Winget package manager. Start by opening a Command Prompt or PowerShell console. You don’t need to run it as administrator.

  1. Right-click the Start button
  2. Choose Terminal

Step 2 – Search for the Package

The dig command is provided by the BIND package. To find it, run:

winget search bind

This will show you the package details and the package ID.

the BIND package
the BIND package

Step 3 – Install dig Command

To install the package, use:

winget install isc.bind

This installs the BIND package, which includes the dig command.

Step 4 – Restart the Terminal

Before running dig, you need to restart your terminal. This ensures the system recognizes the new command.

Step 5 – Test dig Command

Now, run:

dig example.com

You should see the output with multiple ANSWER records for example.com. This confirms that the dig installation works.

dig command on windows
dig command on Windows

Using the dig command

The basic usage of the dig command is to specify the domain name you want to look up and the type of record you want to query, such as A for address records or MX for mail exchange records. Let’s look at a couple of examples.

Find the IP Address of a Website or Domain (A Record):

dig example.com a

Find the IPv6 Address of a Domain (AAAA Record):

dig example.com aaaa

Specify the Nameserver to Query:

dig example.com a @8.8.8.8

In this command, 8.8.8.8 is the nameserver being queried instead of the default system resolver. This allows you to check how different DNS servers respond.

Look Up MX Records (Mail Exchange Records):

dig example.com mx

The -x option in dig allows you to perform a reverse DNS lookup by specifying an IP address. For example:

dig -x 8.8.8.8

The types of DNS records you can query include A, AAAA, MX (Mail Exchanger), NS, and TXT.