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How to DNS query specific nameservers in Python

In networking, you sometimes need to resolve a hostname using a specific nameserver, be it for testing purposes or because some hostnames are only resolveable internally.

This can be done using dnspython which you can install using pip install -U dnspython.

The following example illustrates the easiest way of performing a query.

import dns.resolver

def dns_query_specific_nameserver(query="techoverflow.net", nameserver="1.1.1.1", qtype="A"):
    """
    Query a specific nameserver for:
    - An IPv4 address for a given hostname (qtype="A")
    - An IPv6 address for a given hostname (qtype="AAAA")
    
    Returns the IP address as a string
    """
    resolver = dns.resolver.Resolver(configure=False)
    resolver.nameservers = [nameserver]
    answer = resolver.resolve(query, qtype)

    if len(answer) == 0:
        return None
    else:
        return str(answer[0])
    
# NOTE: May throw dns.resolver.NXDOMAIN, dns.resolver.NoAnswer or similar

# IPv4 Usage example
dns_query_specific_nameserver(qtype="A") # e.g. '172.67.166.211'
# IPv6 usage example
dns_query_specific_nameserver(qtype="AAAA") # e.g. '2606:4700:3035::ac43:a6d3'