javimosch AWL Plugin Quickstart
Overview
AWL (a pointed tool for making small holes) is a command-line DNS lookup tool that supports DNS queries over UDP, TCP, TLS, HTTPS, DNSCrypt, and QUIC. It's designed as a drop-in replacement for dig with modern protocol support and JSON output. The supercli awl plugin provides convenient commands for DNS lookups with structured JSON output.
Installation
The awl binary must be installed on your system:
# Via Go
go install dns.froth.zone/awl@latest
# Via Homebrew
brew install SamTherapy/tap/awl
# Via Alpine Linux
apk add awl-dns
# Via Arch Linux (AUR)
yay -S awl-dns-git
# Via Debian/Ubuntu
apt install awl-dns
Available Commands
Basic DNS Lookup
sc awl lookup example.com
Performs a standard DNS lookup and returns results in JSON format.
Record Type Specific Lookups
# A records (IPv4 addresses)
sc awl lookup-a example.com
# AAAA records (IPv6 addresses)
sc awl lookup-aaaa example.com
# MX records (mail servers)
sc awl lookup-mx example.com
# TXT records (text records)
sc awl lookup-txt example.com
# NS records (name servers)
sc awl lookup-ns example.com
Modern DNS Protocols
# DNS over HTTPS (DoH)
sc awl lookup-https example.com
# DNS over TLS (DoT)
sc awl lookup-tls example.com
# DNS over QUIC (DoQ)
sc awl lookup-quic example.com
# DNSCrypt
sc awl lookup-dnscrypt example.com
Protocol Support
AWL supports the following DNS protocols:
- UDP: Traditional DNS over UDP
- TCP: DNS over TCP
- TLS: DNS over TLS (DoT)
- HTTPS: DNS over HTTPS (DoH)
- DNSCrypt: Encrypted DNS protocol
- QUIC: DNS over QUIC (DoQ)
Output Format
All commands return structured JSON output, making it easy to parse and process in scripts:
{
"response": {
"answers": [
{
"name": "example.com",
"type": "A",
"class": "IN",
"ttl": 300,
"address": "93.184.216.34"
}
]
}
}
Use Cases
- Network diagnostics: Check DNS resolution across different protocols
- Security testing: Verify encrypted DNS (DoT/DoH) functionality
- Performance testing: Compare DNS resolution times across protocols
- Monitoring scripts: Integrate DNS health checks with JSON parsing
- Privacy: Use encrypted DNS protocols to avoid DNS surveillance
Caveats & Pitfalls
- Protocol availability: Not all DNS servers support modern protocols (DoH/DoT/DoQ)
- Network requirements: Encrypted protocols require specific server configurations
- JSON parsing: Output is always JSON; ensure your tools can parse JSON
- Server compatibility: Some DNS servers may not support all query types
Examples
Check domain resolution with DoH
sc awl lookup-https example.com
Verify DNS over TLS
sc awl lookup-tls example.com
Compare protocols
sc awl lookup example.com # UDP
sc awl lookup-https example.com # DoH
sc awl lookup-tls example.com # DoT
Query specific record type with DoH
sc awl lookup-a example.com
# Then manually add +https flag if needed
Test DNSCrypt
sc awl lookup-dnscrypt example.com
Use QUIC for DNS
sc awl lookup-quic example.com
Advantages Over Traditional Tools
- Modern protocols: Supports DoH, DoT, DoQ, and DNSCrypt
- JSON output: Structured output for programmatic use
- Drop-in replacement: Similar interface to dig
- Cross-platform: Written in Go for consistent behavior
- Privacy-focused: Encrypted DNS protocol support
Common Patterns
Verify encrypted DNS is working
sc awl lookup-https example.com | sc gojq query '.response.answers[].address'
Compare DNS resolution across protocols
for protocol in udp https tls quic; do
echo "Testing $protocol:"
sc awl lookup example.com +$protocol +json
done
Monitor DNS health
watch -n 60 'sc awl lookup example.com +json | sc gojq query ".response.answers[0]"'
Debug DNS resolution issues
sc awl lookup example.com +https +json | sc gojq query '.response'