CNAME record lookup: check alias DNS records
TL;DR. A CNAME record aliases one hostname to another. It is illegal to put a CNAME at the apex (root) of a zone; use an ALIAS or ANAME record there.
How the CNAME record works
Mixing CNAMEs with other record types on the same label is forbidden by RFC 2181. Cloud providers offer flattened apex-CNAME workarounds (Cloudflare CNAME flattening, AWS ALIAS) that resolve to the target A/AAAA at lookup time. A CNAME lookup across global resolvers shows the full alias chain and confirms the target resolves consistently everywhere.
Example CNAME record
www.example.com. 3600 IN CNAME example.com.Check a CNAME record live
Run the multi-resolver probe → and confirm propagation of your CNAME record across 12 global resolvers in real time.
Reference
Spec: RFC 1034, RFC 2181.
CNAME record FAQ
How do I check a CNAME record? →
Enter the hostname into dnsprobe and we follow the CNAME alias across 12 global resolvers, confirming the alias and its eventual A/AAAA target are consistent everywhere.
Why can I not put a CNAME at the root domain? →
A CNAME cannot coexist with the SOA and NS records that every zone apex must carry, so RFC 1034 forbids it. Use an ALIAS, ANAME or CNAME-flattening feature from your DNS provider instead.
Can a CNAME point to another CNAME? →
Technically yes, but chained CNAMEs add a resolution hop and latency. Best practice is to point a CNAME directly at a hostname that has A/AAAA records.