LDNS

The goal of ldns is to simplify DNS programming in C. ldns supports all low-level DNS and DNSSEC operations. It also defines a higher level API which allows a programmer to for instance create or sign packets.

ldns allows developers to easily create RFC compliant software and build proof of concepts for various Internet Drafts. The project depends on OpenSSL for its cryptographic functions. It can be compiled without OpenSSL, but of course you'll lose the ability to perform any crypto functions.

Development Vision

ldns has been in maintenance mode since 2020.

In principle we only perform basic maintenance and bug fixes on ldns. This could for example be for a research project or an IETF Hackathon. We do not strive for ldns to be a comprehensive library that supports every (emerging) standard.

Successors

  • The natural successor to the ldns library is the domain library for Rust
  • We offer drop-in replacements for commonly used ldns example utilities in dnst
  • ldns includes a DNS lookup utility named drill. We have reimagined the functionality and output of such a DNS inspection tool in dnsi, with a focus on usability.