TXT lookup

What a TXT record is

TXT is DNS's general-purpose field: arbitrary text attached to a domain name, with no fixed structure. Its meaning depends entirely on the convention the reader agrees to - which is why one domain's TXT records can hold an SPF policy, a Google Search Console verification string, and an unrelated third service's ownership proof, all at once.

The most common uses

• SPF - starts with "v=spf1"; see the SPF checker for a parsed view rather than raw text.
• Domain verification - a random-looking token a provider (Google, Microsoft, a CDN) asks you to publish to prove you control the domain.
• DMARC and DKIM - technically TXT records too, but published at specific subdomains (_dmarc. and selector._domainkey.) rather than the domain itself; the dedicated DMARC and DKIM checkers query those directly.

A practical limit worth knowing

A single TXT record's text is technically split into 255-character chunks at the DNS wire-protocol level and reassembled by the reader - most tools do this invisibly, which is why long values (a lengthy SPF include chain, a large public key) still display as one continuous string here.