---
name: "pdns_control"
section: "8"
platform: "linux"
package: "pdns-server"
version: "3.4.1-4+deb8u8"
release: "Debian 8 (Jessie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pdns_control/8"
---

# pdns\_control(8)

Control the PowerDNS nameserver

## NAME

pdns\_control - Control the PowerDNS nameserver

## SYNOPSIS

**pdns\_control *\[options\]* command**

## DESCRIPTION

**pdns\_control** is used to send commands to a running PowerDNS nameserver.

## OPTIONS

A summary of options is included below.

- **--help**

  Show summary of options.

- **--chroot=...**

  Where PowerDNS is chrooted

- **--config-dir=...**

  Location of configuration directory (pdns.conf)

- **--config-name=...**

  Name of this virtual configuration - will rename the binary image

- **--remote-address=...**

  Remote address to query

- **--remote-port=...**

  Remote port to query

- **--secret=...**

  Secret needed to connect to remote PowerDNS

- **--socket-dir=...**

  Where the controlsocket will live

## COMMANDS

- **ccounts**

  Show the content of the cache

- **notify *\<domain\>***

  Adds a domain to the notification list, causing PDNS to send out notifications to the nameservers of a domain. Can be used if a slave missed previous notifications or is generally hard of hearing.

- **notify-host *\<domain\>* *\<host\>***

  Same as above but with operator specified IP address as destination, to be used if you know better than PowerDNS.

- **cycle**

  Restart the nameserver so it reloads its configuration.

- **ping**

  Check if the server is alive.

- **purge *\[\<record\>\]***

  Purge entries from the packet cache. If the record name ends with a dollar ($) all entries that end with that name are removed. If no record is specified the entire cache is purged.

- **rediscover**

  Instructs backends that new domains may have appeared in the database, or, in the case of the Bind backend, in named.conf.

- **retrieve *\<domain\>***

  Retrieve a slave domain from its master. Done nearly immediately.

- **set *\<variable\> \<value\>***

  Set the configuration parameter *\<variable\>* to *\<value\>*. Currently only the *query-logging* can be set.

- **show *\<variable\>***

  Show a single statistic, as present in the output of the list command.

- **quit**

  Tell a running **pdns\_server** to quit.

- **status**

  Show usage statistics.

- **uptime**

  Show the uptime of the running server.

- **version**

  Print the version of the running pdns daemon.

## FILES

- *\<socket\>*

  Control socket used to communicate with **pdns\_server**.

## SEE ALSO

[**pdns\_server**(8)](/pdns_server/8.md)