AdGuard DNS CLI is a lightweight DNS client designed to forward DNS requests to upstream resolvers, enabling seamless integration with AdGuard DNS services.
Key Features:
Lightweight design with minimal resource usage.
Cross-platform support for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Ability to install as a system service for continuous operation.
Command-line interface (CLI) for automation and scripting.
Configuration flexibility via YAML files or command-line options.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for IT administrators, developers, and network engineers who require reliable DNS management. AdGuard DNS CLI simplifies the process of forwarding DNS queries while ensuring compatibility with modern security protocols like DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) and DNS-over-TLS (DoT). It can be installed via winget for easy setup on supported platforms.
A cross-platform lightweight DNS client for AdGuard DNS. It operates as a DNS server that forwards DNS requests to the corresponding upstream resolvers.
Download and unpack the .tar.gz or .zip archive from the releases page.
> [!WARNING]
> On macOS, it's crucial that globally installed daemons are owned by root (see the launchd documentation), so the adguarddns-cli executable must be placed in the /Applications/ directory or its subdirectory.
Install it as a service by running:
./adguarddns-cli -s install -v
Edit the configuration file config.yaml.
Start the service:
./adguarddns-cli -s start -v
To check that it works, use any DNS checking utility. For example, using nslookup:
The YAML configuration file is described in its own article, and there is also a sample configuration file config.dist.yaml. Some configuration parameters can also be overridden using the environment.
