'DNS propagation' is a term used to describe the time frame after making any changes to your domain name. Such propagation will occur after any:
Changes to your domain's WHOIS information.
WHOIS is a publicly available tool that searches the databases of domain registries and registrars to detail the domain owner contact information. A change to your WHOIS information (such as updating your contact details) can take up to 72 hours to propagate fully.
Changes to the DNS records or name servers of your domain.
Every time you use a domain name on your computer its DNS information will be stored in the cache. This can be a local cache on your computer's operating system, DNS cache stored by your Internet service provider, etc.
DNS records are stored in cache mainly to improve the performance of DNS queries. Every DNS record has a Time to Live (TTL) value, which is the time DNS servers should store that record in the cache. Even if a record is changed, DNS servers will continue working with its formal value from the cache until this time has passed.
This is the essence of DNS propagation - it is the time required for DNS servers worldwide to update their cached information for a domain name. It is influenced by the TTL of DNS records that might have changed, but there are also other factors that could come into play.
A DNS change requires up to 72 hours to propagate worldwide, although most often this happens in a matter of hours.
How to check DNS propagation
Go to the Global DNS Propagation Checker to check the current state of DNS propagation in multiple servers located in different parts of the world.
How to clear the DNS cache
Flushing the DNS cache can help speed up the process. More information on how to flush the cache can be found below.
In Cloudflare / 1.1.1.1
Go to 1.1.1.1's Purge Cache tool then follow the instructions on that page.
In Google / 8.8.8.8
Go to Google's Flush Cache tool then follow the instructions on that page.
In Windows
You can flush your local DNS cache in Windows by following these easy steps:
Windows 7:
- Open Start menu
- Click Run
- Type cmd and press enter
- In the Command Prompt type
ipconfig /flushdnsand press Enter
Windows 8, 10:
- On your keyboard, press Win+X to open the WinX Menu
- Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Run this command
ipconfig /flushdnsand press Enter
In Linux
Nowadays many Linux distributions do not utilize a local DNS resolver cache, like Windows and Mac OS X. If you do not know whether your distribution has such local DNS caching, we would recommend you to check the official website of your Linux installation.
Here is how to flush the DNS cache in Linux:
- Open your Terminal.
- Restart the name service cache daemon by executing this command:
sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart
There are some cases when the nscd daemon might not be installed. In Ubuntu (and other Debian-based distros) you can install it from your Terminal by executing this command:
sudo apt-get install nscd
For any RedHad-based distributions (such as Fedora, CentOS) you can install the nscd daemon through the yum package manager:
yum install nscd
In Mac
You can flush your local DNS cache in Mac OS (up to El Capitan) from your Terminal:
- Go to Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
- Type the following command and press Enter:
dscacheutil -flushcache
- After that type the second command and press Enter:
sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
In Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge, Safari, Opera and Chrome
Firefox:
Go to History -> Clear Recent History. Choose the time range and the items you wish to clear and click Clear Now.
Chrome:
Access Chrome and go to Preferences -> Advanced -> Clear Browsing Data. Select the items you want to delete, choose the period for which you want to delete them and click Clear Browsing Data.
Safari:
Open Safari and go to Develop -> Empty Caches. If you do not see the Develop menu item, you can enable it from Safari -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Show Develop menu in menu bar.
Opera:
Open Opera and go to Tools -> Delete Private Data. Choose which items you wish to delete and click Delete.
Microsoft Edge:
Click the three dots button in the upper-right corner of the screen and select Settings from the drop-down menu. Under Clear browser data, select Choose what to clear. Check the boxes labeled Browsing history, Cookies and saved website data, Cached data and files and click the Clear button.
Internet Explorer 9, 10 and 11:
Go to Tools -> Safety -> Delete browsing history. Then uncheck the option for Preserve Favorites website data, tick the options for Temporary Internet Files and Cookies and click Delete.