DNS Propagation Checker

Check A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, and NS propagation across major public resolvers. This actor helps agencies, SEOs, and developers confirm whether a DNS change has actually spread, how far it has spread, and which resolvers still disagree.

Why use this actor

Most DNS tools show a raw lookup. This actor is built for rollout validation.

• Queries a curated set of major public resolvers
• Supports A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, and NS records
• Compares resolver answers to an optional expected value
• Returns a propagation percentage and mismatch summary
• Flags timeouts separately from actual mismatches
• Adds friendly TTL and retry guidance for humans and automations

Best use cases

• DNS cutovers during site migrations
• Verifying Google Search Console, DMARC, DKIM, SPF, or domain ownership TXT records
• Checking MX changes after email migrations
• Confirming nameserver and CNAME updates before launch
• Troubleshooting slow or partial DNS propagation
• Feeding DNS validation into SEO or DevOps workflows

Input

Minimal example

{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "recordType": "A"
}

Expected-value validation example

{
  "domain": "_dmarc.example.com",
  "recordType": "TXT",
  "expectedValue": "v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@example.com",
  "retryWaitSeconds": 5
}

Optional nameserver comparison example

{
  "domain": "www.example.com",
  "recordType": "CNAME",
  "expectedValue": "proxy.example.net",
  "nameserverOverride": "1.1.1.1",
  "retryWaitSeconds": 3
}

Output

Each run returns one result object with rollout-friendly fields plus per-resolver detail.

{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "recordType": "A",
  "expectedValue": "93.184.216.34",
  "normalizedExpectedValue": "93.184.216.34",
  "nameserverOverride": null,
  "retryWaitSeconds": 2,
  "propagationPercentage": 75,
  "matchesExpectedValue": false,
  "matchingResolvers": 6,
  "respondingResolvers": 8,
  "dominantValues": [],
  "successfulResolvers": 8,
  "failedResolvers": 0,
  "timeoutResolvers": 0,
  "likelyTtlNote": "2 responding resolvers still differ from the expected value. This often means caches are still expiring. Retry after 2s or after the record TTL window.",
  "summary": "75% of responding resolvers matched expected value 93.184.216.34 for A example.com. (6/8 responding). 2 responding resolvers still differ from the expected value.",
  "resolverResults": [
    {
      "resolverId": "cloudflare-us-east",
      "provider": "Cloudflare",
      "region": "us-east",
      "ip": "1.1.1.1",
      "status": "ok",
      "normalizedValues": ["93.184.216.34"],
      "rawValue": ["93.184.216.34"],
      "normalizedExpectedValue": "93.184.216.34",
      "matchesExpectedValue": true,
      "error": null
    }
  ]
}

Pricing

Recommended launch pricing is intentionally simple:

• Monthly subscription: $9
• Included usage: 10,000 results per month
• Overage: $0.40 per additional 1,000 results

That keeps the actor easy to try for agencies and technical users while still leaving room to tune pricing after real usage data arrives.

See PRICING.md for the full store-facing recommendation.

Example assets included in this repo

• test-data/example-input-a.json
• test-data/example-input-txt.json
• test-data/example-output-a.json
• test-data/example-output-txt.json
• screenshots/dns-propagation-checker-input.png
• screenshots/dns-propagation-checker-output.png

Local development

npm install
npm run health
npm run test:local

Positioning notes

Primary audience is SEO and migration workflows. Secondary audience is DevOps and monitoring teams that need resolver-by-resolver confirmation after DNS changes.

Author

Built by Janice / literal_jacktree.