# hickory-dns/hickory-dns

A Rust based DNS client, server, and resolver

Repository: https://github.com/hickory-dns/hickory-dns
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/hickory-dns
Language: Rust
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: dns, dns-server, dynamic-dns, dns-client, trust-dns, rust, rust-lang, dnssec, hickory-dns
Last push: 2026-08-26T23:08:39+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 93/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 81, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4043, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 124, "gap_med": 14.5, "n_releases_24m": 15}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5381, forks 622 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:16.247597+00:00)

## What it is
Hickory DNS (formerly Trust-DNS) is a Rust-based DNS client, server, and resolver library suite built for safety and security. It supports DNSSEC, TSIG, SIG(0), DoT, DoQ, and DoH, and can run as an authoritative server, forwarding, stub, or experimental recursive resolver.

## Use cases
- run a self-hosted authoritative DNS server in Rust
- resolve DNS names from a Rust application without libc resolver
- validate DNSSEC-signed records
- serve DNS over TLS, HTTPS, or QUIC
- manage zone data in memory, flat files, or SQLite
- send dynamic DNS update messages programmatically

## When to choose
- you need a memory-safe, pure-Rust DNS stack
- you want DNSSEC or encrypted DNS (DoT/DoH/DoQ) support
- you're embedding DNS resolution or serving into a Rust service

## When to avoid
- you need a battle-tested recursive resolver for large-scale production (recursion is experimental)
- you need a drop-in BIND replacement with full feature parity
- you're not working in Rust or need a standalone DNS appliance with GUI management

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: networking, security, http-server, http-client
- domain: networking, security, developer-tools, self-hosted
- platform: rust, cross-platform, windows, self-hosted
- tags: dns, dnssec, dns-server, dns-client, resolver, dot, doh, doq, trust-dns, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- hickory-dns/hickory-dns (main) score 93

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:16.247597+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:58:26.631369+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/hickory-dns/hickory-dns (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:16.247597+00:00, sha 7996804c0394)
  - registry_crates: https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/hickory-dns (fetched 2026-08-29T08:52:45.698325+00:00, sha 3aa00ee721ee)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.