---
name: "ndc"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "bind"
version: "1:8.4.7-1"
release: "Debian 4.0 (Etch)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/ndc"
---

# ndc(8)

name daemon control program

## NAME

**ndc** – name daemon control program

## SYNOPSIS

**ndc** \[**-c** *channel*\] \[**-l** *localsock*\] \[**-p** *pidfile*\] \[**-d**\] \[**-q**\] \[**-s**\] \[**-t**\] \[*command*\]

## DESCRIPTION

This command allows the system administrator to control the operation of a name server.  If no *command* is given, **ndc** will prompt for commands until it reads EOF.

Options are:

- **-c** *channel*

  Specifies the rendezvous point for the control channel.  The default is */var/run/ndc* (a UNIX domain socket which is also the server's default control channel). If the desired control channel is a TCP/IP socket, then the format of the *channel* argument is **ipaddr/port** (for example, **127.0.0.1/54** would be TCP port 54 on the local host.)

- **-l** *localsock*

  This option will [bind(2)](/bind/2.md) the client side of the control channel to a specific address.  Servers can be configured to reject connections which do not come from specific addresses. The format is the same as for *channel* (see above).

- **-p** *pidfile*

  For backward compatibility with older name servers, **ndc** is able to use UNIX signals for control communications.  This capability is optional in modern name servers and will disappear altogether at some future time.  Note that the available *command* set is narrower when the signal interface is used.  A likely *pidfile* argument would be something like */var/run/named.pid*.

- **-d**

  Turns on debugging output, which is of interest mainly to developers.

- **-q**

  Suppresses prompts and result text.

- **-s**

  Suppresses nonfatal error announcements.

- **-t**

  Turns on protocol and system tracing, useful in installation debugging.

## COMMANDS

Several commands are built into **ndc**, but the full set of commands supported by the name server is dynamic and should be discovered using the *help* command (see below).  Builtin commands are:

- */help*

  Provides help for builtin commands.

- */exit*

  Exit from **ndc** command interpreter.

- */trace*

  Toggle tracing (see **-t** description above).

- */debug*

  Toggle debugging (see **-d** description above).

- */quiet*

  Toggle quietude (see **-q** description above).

- */silent*

  Toggle silence (see **-s** description above).

## NOTES

If running in *pidfile* mode, any arguments to *start* and *restart* commands are passed to the new **named** on its command line.  If running in *channel* mode, there is no *start* command and the *restart* command just tells the name server to [execvp(3)](/execvp/3.md) itself.

## AUTHOR

Paul Vixie (Internet Software Consortium)

## SEE ALSO

[named(8)](/named/8.md),