Install hickory-dns with Homebrew, apk, apt, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• hickory-dns

Project history

The tag history starts in 2015, when the project was still Trust-DNS and early releases focused on DNS resource records, configuration-file support, server/client pieces, and DNSSEC-related work. The architecture notes say the libraries grew from non-blocking I/O before Rust's async/await ecosystem settled.

Over time, the codebase became a multi-crate DNS suite: `hickory-proto` for message encoding and transports, `hickory-client` for query/update/notify operations, `hickory-server` for hosted zones, `hickory-resolver` for application resolution, `hickory-recursor` for recursive resolution, and `hickory-dns` as the server binary.

In October 2023, the project prepared Trust-DNS 0.23.1 as the final Trust-DNS release and Hickory DNS 0.24.0 as the branding-change release. The 0.24 commit message records the crate renames, README notices, license-name updates, logo updates, and repository reference changes.

Adoption history

Hickory's adoption path is split between Rust crates and system packages. The README badges and architecture file emphasize individually published crates, while the Homebrew input record shows the server binary packaged as `hickory-dns` across brew, apk, Debian, and Nix.

The resolver crate is especially important for Rust applications because the README says it can be used in place of standard OS resolution facilities. The manual also documents server and recursive-resolver operation with DNSSEC validation, which broadens Hickory from library dependency to runnable network service.

The rebrand preserved continuity for the Trust-DNS user base while making package and crate names align around Hickory. Package maintainers care about that transition because it changed names without changing the basic role of the DNS stack.

How it is used

As a command-line package, `hickory-dns` runs a DNS server or resolver from a TOML configuration. The user manual shows recursive-resolver setup with `root.hints`, `trusted-key.key`, `config.toml`, and a `hickory-dns --config=./config.toml` invocation.

As libraries, the Hickory crates cover lower-level DNS message work, direct client operations, hosted-zone server construction, application resolver integration, and recursive resolution. The README also documents DNSSEC support and feature-gated cryptography providers for DNSSEC, DNS-over-TLS, and related protocols.

Why package nerds care

Hickory DNS is notable in package-manager culture because it is a serious network-service package written in Rust, not just a developer convenience CLI. It gives Unix package sets a Rust-native authoritative/recursive DNS option with a library ecosystem behind it.

The Trust-DNS-to-Hickory rename is also a packaging case study: package names, crate names, documentation URLs, and repository ownership all moved together, so downstreams had to distinguish an upstream continuation from a new unrelated DNS project.

Timeline

• 2015: Trust-DNS 0.1.0 tag appears with early resource-record work.
• 2015: 0.3.0 adds configuration-file support.
• 2020: 0.20.0 release line includes the resolver CLI path documented by the README.
• 2023: Trust-DNS 0.23.1 is prepared as the final Trust-DNS release.
• 2023: Hickory DNS 0.24.0 performs the branding and crate-name transition.
• 2025: 0.25.0 architecture notes mark old Trust-DNS crates as removed in favor of Hickory crates.

Related projects

• Trust-DNS is the direct predecessor and former project name.
• The Hickory crate family includes hickory-proto, hickory-client, hickory-server, hickory-resolver, hickory-recursor, hickory-util, and the hickory-dns binary.
• BIND-style DNS server practice is a background comparison point because Hickory also uses named-style server configuration paths such as `/etc/named.toml` in packaged examples.

Sources

• Architecture notes: https://github.com/hickory-dns/hickory-dns/blob/main/ARCHITECTURE.md
• README: https://github.com/hickory-dns/hickory-dns#readme
• Rebranding issue: https://github.com/hickory-dns/hickory-dns/issues/2051
• Recursive resolver manual: https://hickory-dns.org/book/hickory/recursive_resolver.html
• Repository tags: https://github.com/hickory-dns/hickory-dns/tags