Install knot with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, pacman, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• kcatalogprint
• kdig
• keymgr
• khost
• kjournalprint
• knotc
• knotd
• knsec3hash
• knsupdate
• kzonecheck
• kzonesign

Project history

CZ.NIC developed Knot DNS for authoritative DNS service, especially the demanding needs of registry and large-zone operators. The project site describes it as open source, GPL 3+ licensed, and targeted at Linux, BSD, macOS, and other POSIX systems.

The 2.0.0 release on 2015-06-26 marked a major packaging and operations milestone: DNSSEC was split into a separate library, basic KASP support was introduced, configuration moved to a new YAML text format backed by LMDB storage, and documentation included HTML and PDF manual pages. The 3.0.0 release on 2020-09-09 added XDP-based high-performance networking, catalog zones, a kzonesign utility, DoH support in kdig, and other DNSSEC and operations improvements.

Adoption history

Knot DNS is associated with CZ.NIC, the .CZ registry, and was promoted early as a high-performance authoritative DNS server for TLD and DNS-hosting scenarios. Internet Society deployment material from 2013 described it as used by CZ.NIC for the .CZ TLD and aimed at network and DNS operators.

Its spread through Homebrew, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Alpine, MacPorts, Ubuntu, and openSUSE matters because authoritative DNS operators often need the same tooling on workstations and servers. Package availability lowers the friction for testing zone signing, transfers, dynamic updates, and `kdig` diagnostics outside production.

How it is used

Knot DNS is used to serve authoritative zones, including DNSSEC-signed zones, with zone transfers, dynamic updates, response rate limiting, automatic signing, and rapid reconfiguration. The Homebrew package exposes both server components such as knotd and operational utilities such as knotc, keymgr, kzonecheck, kzonesign, kdig, khost, and knsupdate.

A common package-level pattern is using Knot DNS tools even when the daemon is not the only DNS server in an environment. Utilities such as kdig and keymgr make the formula useful to DNS practitioners who need modern protocol testing or DNSSEC maintenance commands on macOS and Unix workstations.

Why package nerds care

Knot DNS is packaging-heavy software in the good sense: it has a daemon, config files, zone storage, LMDB-backed state, DNSSEC key material, optional modules, and command-line tooling. Correct packages have to get paths, service integration, crypto libraries, and permissions right.

For package nerds, it is also one of the names that marks the DNS ecosystem beyond BIND. Seeing Knot DNS in a package index signals that a repository can support production-grade authoritative DNS alternatives, not only client lookup utilities.

Timeline

• 2013: Internet Society deployment material described Knot DNS as used by CZ.NIC for the .CZ TLD.
• 2015-06-26: Knot DNS 2.0.0 introduced YAML configuration, LMDB-backed configuration storage, and basic KASP support.
• 2017-06-05: Knot DNS 2.5.0 moved KASP data from JSON files to LMDB and expanded dynamic module support.
• 2020-09-09: Knot DNS 3.0.0 added XDP networking, catalog zones, kzonesign, and DoH support in kdig.
• 2026-06-12: CZ.NIC announced Knot DNS 3.5.5 on the project website.

Related projects

• Knot Resolver is the recursive/caching project in the Knot family. Operationally related alternatives include BIND, NSD, PowerDNS Authoritative Server, YADIFA, and DNS utility packages that provide dig-like clients.

Sources

• https://gitlab.nic.cz/knot/knot-dns/-/raw/v2.0.0/NEWS
• https://gitlab.nic.cz/knot/knot-dns/-/raw/v3.0.0/NEWS
• https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/deploy360/2013/knot-dns/
• https://www.knot-dns.cz/
• https://www.knot-dns.cz/development/