11 ms·

DNSGlobe – Rust TUI to watch DNS propagate around the world

83 points by Callicles 2mo ago

krypd0h 2mo ago
I like it. Tell the vibe-coder haters to take a hike. Suggestion: It would be helpful if you could sort by COLUMN or group by LOCATION. Keep on vibin'.
- Callicles 2mo ago
  Thanks for the feedback!
  - krypdoh 2mo ago
    Sort is working! Another suggestion is to allow the user to edit the DNS resolver list -- in the running program itself. An ADD/DELETE feature would be useful (to me at least). A quick note... when I open the app I only see the left pane. I wouldn't have known there was a map had I not previously seen/read about it. Thanks :)
    - Callicles 2mo ago
      I added runtime by adding a resolver and removing it. I also made the map responsive.
    - Callicles 2mo ago
      I added the ability to specify a config file for the resolvers definition. This is not runtime, though. I will keep that in mind for another release. Thanks for the follow-up :)
- Callicles 2mo ago
  Released a new version with the suggestion ;)
teddyh 2mo ago
The myth of DNS “propagation” needs to die. Changed DNS entries do not “propagate”. The old cached DNS entries in DNS resolvers simply expire, in an arbitrary order. DNS resolvers are not linked geographically; there is no “propagation”. If this tool was querying a list of widely-used public (and/or private) DNS resolvers, it might be useful. But pretending that DNS entries propagate geographically does not do anyone any favors.
- Callicles 2mo ago
  That's what the tool is doing - querying a bunch of public resolvers around the world to see the state of what they resolve to. Since end users usually use DNS servers close to their location, this gives an idea, around the world, of who sees what. Agreed, this is a cache that expires and refreshes from the source DNS server. It just looks like a virus that propagates when the cache expires.
  - teddyh 2mo ago
    > It just looks like a virus that propagates when the cache expires. No it does not. The changes do not happen geographically. There is no geographical connection whatsoever. Calling the tool “DNSGlobe”, and displaying a map, only further reinforces the myth.
    - Terretta 2mo ago
      dnspatter (dns spatter + dns patter)
  - marysol5 2mo ago
    Anycast goes BRRRRRRRRR Just because YOU query a server, doesn't mean that a user somewhere else is querying the same server.
- toast0 2mo ago
  a) different DNS systems get the change out to all the authoritatives different ways. Some of them with much delay. Delays are hopefully minimal on modern systems, but I've worked with bad systems where you change dns in the api and it takes minutes and sometimes hours for the authoritatives to start returning new results; traditional notify/axfr based systems often have a queue of several seconds at least. b) as resolver caches expire, new queries will hopefully get new answers (as long as the authoritatives get updated per a), and eventually you get the new results everywhere except for resolvers that do terrible things... When the change is made and it takes time for the results to show up everywhere, I think propagate is a reasonable verb. You could use disperse or diffuse or something else, but you need a verb to let people know it's going to take time for your changes to be visible everywhere. I don't know that propagate necessary implies the change becomes visible in an orderly way. 'Around the globe' doesn't really either, it's just observing from around the globe as resolvers get new data. What verb do you prefer to use to describe how unsychronized caches obtain new values?
robohoe 2mo ago
Aren’t there websites already that check global DNS servers to check TTL expiry of DNS records?
- teddyh 2mo ago
  There are many; I often use <https://dnschecker.org/ https://dnschecker.org/>
  - Callicles 2mo ago
    Yeah, I used to use https://www.whatsmydns.net/ https://www.whatsmydns.net/. I wanted it in the terminal without ads.
OptionOfT 2mo ago
Vibe-coded. Sorry. https://github.com/514-labs/dnsglobe/blob/c29802162636832e88b56bbb205e6c773c254e5b/src/dns.rs#L69 https://github.com/514-labs/dnsglobe/blob/c29802162636832e88... You take the `other`, do a `to_string()` on it, which creates a String representation. Then you pass a reference to that String, and, in the case it doesn't contain `time out` or `timeout` or `refused`, the reference gets turned AGAIN into a String (i.e. new allocation), truncated to 48, and then returned. There is no check whether that the character at the 48th byte is a character boundary. Add to that the fact that this is a Rust project with the oldest commit created yesterday and it is using the 2021 edition. Be better.
- Callicles 2mo ago
  This was 100% vibe-coded with Claude Code and Fable. https://x.com/thatsFrScience/status/2073741209592295866 https://x.com/thatsFrScience/status/2073741209592295866 Thanks for the feedback, though, and for taking the time to look at the code. I can ship a round of cleanup.
- orangeboats 2mo ago
  It's gotten to the point that the moment I see "Rust" and "TUI" together, I immediately assume it's vibe coded. The combination just seems to be vibe coders' favorite, for some reason.
  - zx8080 2mo ago
    > The combination just seems to be vibe coders' favorite, for some reason. It's the secret key to HN front page!
  - blacklite 2mo ago
    That's not whose favorite it is; it's the favorite of who's doing the work. :)
  - inigyou 2mo ago
    It must be because if you program in Rust, you don't have bugs ;)
LouisvilleGeek 2mo ago
Not sure of why everyone is negative against this tool? I quite like it. Thanks for sharing!
- drcongo 2mo ago
  I like it too. I'll almost certainly get a lot of use out of this and not once will I ever get upset that it uses the word propagation.
throwitaway222 2mo ago
Rust terminal apps are the bees knees right now
panki27 2mo ago
It's called DNSGlobe but it does not feature a globe, only a map :(
- Callicles 2mo ago
  Done
- Callicles 2mo ago
  ha that could be less handy but cooler
Flaapjan 2mo ago
[dead]
bcjdjsndon 2mo ago
What's with the rust community and terminals? I get that gui's are tedious in those languages, but surely you don't have to write everything in rust? Or has rust become the be-all-and-end-all for them?
- khurs 2mo ago
  You can do GUI/web easily enough in Rust, but as this is DNS and so most users will be network/sysadmin types, their natural habitat is the terminal. Rust is taking over from C/C++ (as per US Government guidance on using more secure languages) and so is attracting the most hardcore programmers. Libraries for everything: https://crates.io https://crates.io p.s. stop being so grumpy!
  - oksurerly 2mo ago
    > most hardcore programmers > Vibe-coded LOL. LMAO.
    - khurs 2mo ago
      Microsoft are using Rust for Windows and Azure Google are using Rust despite having developed GO SpaceX and NASA are using Rust for critical life and death systems. Cloudflare use Rust to obtain extreme high performance. And many, many more. Stop being a pain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
      - bcjdjsndon 2mo ago
        > Stop being a pain They're always so emotional, rustaceans.
  - bcjdjsndon 2mo ago
    > so most users will be network/sysadmin types, their natural habitat is the terminal. But we've moved beyond learning commands like a programmer just to operate a program.... Have some respect or at least sympathy for your users
matteogauthier 2mo ago
It reminds me of https://globalping.io/ https://globalping.io/
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]

83 points by Callicles 2mo ago

I like it. Tell the vibe-coder haters to take a hike. Suggestion: It would be helpful if you could sort by COLUMN or group by LOCATION. Keep on vibin'.

Callicles 2mo ago
Thanks for the feedback!
- krypdoh 2mo ago
  Sort is working! Another suggestion is to allow the user to edit the DNS resolver list -- in the running program itself. An ADD/DELETE feature would be useful (to me at least). A quick note... when I open the app I only see the left pane. I wouldn't have known there was a map had I not previously seen/read about it. Thanks :)
  - Callicles 2mo ago
    I added runtime by adding a resolver and removing it. I also made the map responsive.
  - Callicles 2mo ago
    I added the ability to specify a config file for the resolvers definition. This is not runtime, though. I will keep that in mind for another release. Thanks for the follow-up :)
Callicles 2mo ago
Released a new version with the suggestion ;)

teddyh 2mo ago

The myth of DNS “propagation” needs to die. Changed DNS entries do not “propagate”. The old cached DNS entries in DNS resolvers simply expire, in an arbitrary order. DNS resolvers are not linked geographically; there is no “propagation”. If this tool was querying a list of widely-used public (and/or private) DNS resolvers, it might be useful. But pretending that DNS entries propagate geographically does not do anyone any favors.

Callicles 2mo ago
That's what the tool is doing - querying a bunch of public resolvers around the world to see the state of what they resolve to. Since end users usually use DNS servers close to their location, this gives an idea, around the world, of who sees what. Agreed, this is a cache that expires and refreshes from the source DNS server. It just looks like a virus that propagates when the cache expires.
- teddyh 2mo ago
  > It just looks like a virus that propagates when the cache expires. No it does not. The changes do not happen geographically. There is no geographical connection whatsoever. Calling the tool “DNSGlobe”, and displaying a map, only further reinforces the myth.
  - Terretta 2mo ago
    dnspatter (dns spatter + dns patter)
- marysol5 2mo ago
  Anycast goes BRRRRRRRRR Just because YOU query a server, doesn't mean that a user somewhere else is querying the same server.
toast0 2mo ago
a) different DNS systems get the change out to all the authoritatives different ways. Some of them with much delay. Delays are hopefully minimal on modern systems, but I've worked with bad systems where you change dns in the api and it takes minutes and sometimes hours for the authoritatives to start returning new results; traditional notify/axfr based systems often have a queue of several seconds at least. b) as resolver caches expire, new queries will hopefully get new answers (as long as the authoritatives get updated per a), and eventually you get the new results everywhere except for resolvers that do terrible things... When the change is made and it takes time for the results to show up everywhere, I think propagate is a reasonable verb. You could use disperse or diffuse or something else, but you need a verb to let people know it's going to take time for your changes to be visible everywhere. I don't know that propagate necessary implies the change becomes visible in an orderly way. 'Around the globe' doesn't really either, it's just observing from around the globe as resolvers get new data. What verb do you prefer to use to describe how unsychronized caches obtain new values?

robohoe 2mo ago

Aren’t there websites already that check global DNS servers to check TTL expiry of DNS records?

teddyh 2mo ago
There are many; I often use <https://dnschecker.org/ https://dnschecker.org/>
- Callicles 2mo ago
  Yeah, I used to use https://www.whatsmydns.net/ https://www.whatsmydns.net/. I wanted it in the terminal without ads.

OptionOfT 2mo ago

Vibe-coded. Sorry. https://github.com/514-labs/dnsglobe/blob/c29802162636832e88b56bbb205e6c773c254e5b/src/dns.rs#L69 https://github.com/514-labs/dnsglobe/blob/c29802162636832e88... You take the `other`, do a `to_string()` on it, which creates a String representation. Then you pass a reference to that String, and, in the case it doesn't contain `time out` or `timeout` or `refused`, the reference gets turned AGAIN into a String (i.e. new allocation), truncated to 48, and then returned. There is no check whether that the character at the 48th byte is a character boundary. Add to that the fact that this is a Rust project with the oldest commit created yesterday and it is using the 2021 edition. Be better.

Callicles 2mo ago
This was 100% vibe-coded with Claude Code and Fable. https://x.com/thatsFrScience/status/2073741209592295866 https://x.com/thatsFrScience/status/2073741209592295866 Thanks for the feedback, though, and for taking the time to look at the code. I can ship a round of cleanup.
orangeboats 2mo ago
It's gotten to the point that the moment I see "Rust" and "TUI" together, I immediately assume it's vibe coded. The combination just seems to be vibe coders' favorite, for some reason.
- zx8080 2mo ago
  > The combination just seems to be vibe coders' favorite, for some reason. It's the secret key to HN front page!
- blacklite 2mo ago
  That's not whose favorite it is; it's the favorite of who's doing the work. :)
- inigyou 2mo ago
  It must be because if you program in Rust, you don't have bugs ;)

LouisvilleGeek 2mo ago

Not sure of why everyone is negative against this tool? I quite like it. Thanks for sharing!

drcongo 2mo ago
I like it too. I'll almost certainly get a lot of use out of this and not once will I ever get upset that it uses the word propagation.

throwitaway222 2mo ago

Rust terminal apps are the bees knees right now

panki27 2mo ago

It's called DNSGlobe but it does not feature a globe, only a map :(

Callicles 2mo ago
Done
Callicles 2mo ago
ha that could be less handy but cooler

Flaapjan 2mo ago

[dead]

bcjdjsndon 2mo ago

What's with the rust community and terminals? I get that gui's are tedious in those languages, but surely you don't have to write everything in rust? Or has rust become the be-all-and-end-all for them?

khurs 2mo ago
You can do GUI/web easily enough in Rust, but as this is DNS and so most users will be network/sysadmin types, their natural habitat is the terminal. Rust is taking over from C/C++ (as per US Government guidance on using more secure languages) and so is attracting the most hardcore programmers. Libraries for everything: https://crates.io https://crates.io p.s. stop being so grumpy!
- oksurerly 2mo ago
  > most hardcore programmers > Vibe-coded LOL. LMAO.
  - khurs 2mo ago
    Microsoft are using Rust for Windows and Azure Google are using Rust despite having developed GO SpaceX and NASA are using Rust for critical life and death systems. Cloudflare use Rust to obtain extreme high performance. And many, many more. Stop being a pain: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
    - bcjdjsndon 2mo ago
      > Stop being a pain They're always so emotional, rustaceans.
- bcjdjsndon 2mo ago
  > so most users will be network/sysadmin types, their natural habitat is the terminal. But we've moved beyond learning commands like a programmer just to operate a program.... Have some respect or at least sympathy for your users

matteogauthier 2mo ago

It reminds me of https://globalping.io/ https://globalping.io/

deleted 2mo ago

[deleted]