# Inspect domains and DNS

Establish registrar and DNS authority before preparing a change.

## Establish registration and DNS authority

A registrar and the authoritative DNS service can differ. Start with Domain delegation inspection. Replace the reserved example.net with your selected domain.

```text
zix describe domain --operation dns.delegation --compact --format json
zix domain dns delegation --domain example.net
```

## Continue to the selected DNS provider

Inspect the exact Cloudflare account and zone only after establishing Cloudflare authority. A registrar credential failure alone is not evidence to switch DNS providers.

```text
zix describe cloudflare --operation dns.audit --compact --format json
zix describe domain --operation dns.records.plan --compact --format json
```

[DNS profiles and change files](https://github.com/zixcel/zixcel-domain/blob/main/docs/record-cli.md)

## Review a plan before changing DNS

Review target records, current values, retained records and changes, then execute only that plan. Verify provider state and public DNS propagation separately.

[Credential custody](https://zixcel.com/docs/credentials)

[Handle uncertain outcomes](https://zixcel.com/docs/troubleshooting)

Canonical: https://zixcel.com/use-cases/dns