github.com/pmoroney/dnscontrol@v0.2.4-0.20171024134423-fad98f73f44a/README.md (about) 1 # DNSControl 2 3 [![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/StackExchange/dnscontrol.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/StackExchange/dnscontrol) 4 [![Gitter chat](https://badges.gitter.im/dnscontrol/Lobby.png)](https://gitter.im/dnscontrol/Lobby) 5 [![Google Group chat](https://img.shields.io/badge/google%20group-chat-green.svg)](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/dnscontrol-discuss) 6 7 DNSControl is a system for maintaining DNS zones. It has two parts: 8 a domain specific language (DSL) for describing DNS zones plus 9 software that processes the DSL and pushes the resulting zones to 10 DNS providers such as Route53, CloudFlare, and Gandi. It can talk 11 to Microsoft ActiveDirectory and it generates the most beautiful 12 BIND zone files ever. It runs anywhere Go runs (Linux, macOS, 13 Windows). The provider model is extensible, so more providers can be added. 14 15 Currently supported DNS providers: 16 - Active Directory 17 - BIND 18 - CloudFlare 19 - Digitalocean 20 - DNSimple 21 - Gandi 22 - Google 23 - Namecheap 24 - Name.com 25 - NS1 26 - Route 53 27 - SoftLayer 28 - Vultr 29 30 At Stack Overflow, we use this system to manage hundreds of domains 31 and subdomains across multiple registrars and DNS providers. 32 33 You can think of it as a DNS compiler. The configuration files are 34 written in a DSL that looks a lot like JavaScript. It is compiled 35 to an intermediate representation (IR). Compiler back-ends use the 36 IR to update your DNS zones on services such as Route53, CloudFlare, 37 and Gandi, or systems such as BIND and ActiveDirectory. 38 39 # An Example 40 41 `dnsconfig.js`: 42 43 ```js 44 // define our registrar and providers 45 var namecom = NewRegistrar("name.com", "NAMEDOTCOM"); 46 var r53 = NewDnsProvider("r53", "ROUTE53") 47 48 D("example.com", namecom, DnsProvider(r53), 49 A("@", "1.2.3.4"), 50 CNAME("www","@"), 51 MX("@",5,"mail.myserver.com."), 52 A("test", "5.6.7.8") 53 ) 54 ``` 55 56 Running `dnscontrol preview` will talk to the providers (here name.com as registrar and route 53 as the dns host), and determine what changes need to be made. 57 58 Running `dnscontrol push` will make those changes with the provider and my dns records will be correctly updated. 59 60 See [Getting Started](https://stackexchange.github.io/dnscontrol/getting-started) page on documentation site. 61 62 # Benefits 63 64 * Editing zone files is error-prone. Clicking buttons on a web 65 page is irreproducible. 66 * Switching DNS providers becomes a no-brainer. The DNSControl 67 language is vendor-agnostic. If you use it to maintain your DNS 68 zone records, you can switch between DNS providers easily. In fact, 69 DNSControl will upload your DNS records to multiple providers, which 70 means you can test one while switching to another. We've switched 71 providers 3 times in three years and we've never lost a DNS record. 72 * Adopt CI/CD principles to DNS! At StackOverflow we maintain our 73 DNSControl configurations in Git and use our CI system to roll out 74 changes. Keeping DNS information in a VCS means we have full 75 history. Using CI enables us to include unit-tests and system-tests. 76 Remember when you forgot to include a "." at the end of an MX record? 77 We haven't had that problem since we included a test to make sure 78 Tom doesn't make that mistake... again. 79 * Variables save time! Assign an IP address to a constant and use 80 the variable name throughout the file. Need to change the IP address 81 globally? Just change the variable and "recompile." 82 * Macros! Define your SPF records, MX records, or other repeated 83 data once and re-use them for all domains. 84 * Control CloudFlare from a single location. Enable/disable 85 Cloudflare proxying (the "orange cloud" button) directly from your 86 DNSControl files. 87 * Keep similar domains in sync with transforms and other features. 88 If one domain is supposed to be the same 89 * It is extendable! All the DNS providers are written as plugins. 90 Writing new plugins is very easy. 91 92 # Installation 93 94 ## From source 95 96 DNSControl can be built with Go version 1.7 or higher. To install, simply run 97 98 `go get github.com/StackExchange/dnscontrol` 99 100 dnscontrol should be installed in $GOPATH/bin 101 102 ## Via packages 103 104 Get prebuilt binaries from [github releases](https://github.com/StackExchange/dnscontrol/releases/latest) 105 106 ## Via [docker](https://hub.docker.com/r/stackexchange/dnscontrol/) 107 108 ``` 109 docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd)/dnsconfig.js:/dns/dnsconfig.js -v $(pwd)/creds.json:/dns/creds.json stackexchange/dnscontrol dnscontrol preview 110 ```