dnsmasq
The facts below are what the maker publishes about dnsmasq, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
Plans and prices
From dnsmasq's own pricing page, checked 1 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| dnsmasq | Free | GPL version 2 or version 3; source distribution |
The facts
Each one read from dnsmasq's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Authoritative DNS
- Authoritative DNS mode can export local names to a zone and provide zone transfers to secondaries.checked 1 Oct 2026
- DBus integration
- When built with DBus support, configuration can be updated through DBus, including upstream DNS servers and cache clearing.checked 1 Oct 2026
- DHCP protocols
- The DHCP subsystem supports DHCPv4, DHCPv6, BOOTP and PXE.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Distribution availability
- Dnsmasq is included in most Linux distributions and the FreeBSD, OpenBSD and NetBSD ports systems.checked 1 Oct 2026
- DNS caching
- The DNS subsystem forwards queries to upstream recursive servers and caches common record types.checked 1 Oct 2026
- DNSSEC
- Dnsmasq can validate DNSSEC on replies from upstream nameservers to protect against spoofing and cache poisoning.checked 1 Oct 2026
- IPv6 routing
- The router-advertisement subsystem provides IPv6 host autoconfiguration and can operate with DHCPv6 or stand-alone.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Maintenance
- Dnsmasq is mainly written and maintained by Simon Kelley as a spare-time project for most of its life and later as his main activity.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Network boot
- It includes a full PXE server with netboot menus, multiple-architecture support, proxy mode and a read-only TFTP server.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Privileges
- Dnsmasq normally starts as root to bind privileged ports and then drops privileges to another user.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Dnsmasq provides DNS, DHCP, router advertisement and network boot services for small networks.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Security behavior
- Dnsmasq can restrict DNS service to connected networks to help prevent use in DNS amplification attacks.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Support
- The dnsmasq-discuss mailing list is the first location recommended for queries, bug reports and suggestions.checked 1 Oct 2026
- Target hardware
- It is designed to be lightweight with a small footprint for resource-constrained routers and firewalls.checked 1 Oct 2026
- UBus integration
- The UBus interface can send DHCPACK and DHCPRELEASE notifications and provide metrics and connection-track-mark filtering.checked 1 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Supported platforms
- Supported platforms include Linux with glibc or uclibc, Android, BSD systems and Mac OS X.checked 1 Oct 2026
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