---
name: "resolvconf.conf"
section: "5"
platform: "linux"
package: "openresolv"
version: "3.17.4-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux", "freebsd"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/resolvconf.conf"
---

# resolvconf.conf(5)

resolvconf configuration file

## NAME

**resolvconf.conf** – resolvconf configuration file

## DESCRIPTION

**resolvconf.conf** is the configuration file for [resolvconf(8)](/resolvconf/8.md). The **resolvconf.conf** file is a shell script that is sourced by [resolvconf(8)](/resolvconf/8.md), meaning that **resolvconf.conf** must contain valid shell commands. Listed below are the standard **resolvconf.conf** variables that may be set. If the values contain whitespace, wildcards or other special shell characters, ensure they are quoted and escaped correctly. See the **replace** variable for an example on quoting.

After updating this file, you may wish to run **resolvconf** **-u** to apply the new configuration.

When a dynamically generated list is appended or prepended to, the whole is made unique where left-most wins.

## RESOLVCONF OPTIONS

- **resolvconf**

  Set to NO to disable **resolvconf** from running any subscribers. Defaults to YES.

- **allow\_keys**

  If set, only these keys will be processed.

- **deny\_keys**

  If set, these keys will not be processed.

- **exclude**

  Is a space separated list of key/value pairs to match. If all key/value pairs in one element can be found in the file, then the whole file will be excluded from processing. The syntax is this: *$keyword*/*$match*\[/*$keyword*/*$match*\]

  For example given this configuration:

  ```
  exclude="search/foo*/nameserver/1.2.3.4 search/bar.org"
  ```

  Then any resolv.conf with both a search option starting with foo with a nameserver of 1.2.3.4 OR a search option of bar.org would be excluded.

- **key\_order**

  These keys will always be processed first. If unset, defaults to the following:

  ```
  lo lo[0-9]*
  ```

- **dynamic\_order**

  These keys will be processed next, unless they have a metric. If unset, defaults to the following:

  ```
  tap[0-9]* tun[0-9]* vpn vpn[0-9]* wg[0-9]* ppp[0-9]* ippp[0-9]*
  ```

- **inclusive\_keys**

  Ignore any exclusive marking for these keys. This is handy when 3rd party integrations force the **resolvconf** **-x** option and you want to disable it easily.

- **local\_nameservers**

  If unset, defaults to the following:

  ```
  127.* 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.255 ::1
  ```

- **search\_domains**

  Prepend search domains to the dynamically generated list.

- **search\_domains\_append**

  Append search domains to the dynamically generated list.

- **domain\_blacklist**

  A list of domains to be removed from consideration. To remove a domain, you can use foo.\* To remove a sub domain, you can use \*.bar

- **name\_servers**

  Prepend name servers to the dynamically generated list. You should set this to 127.0.0.1 if you use a local name server other than libc.

- **name\_servers\_append**

  Append name servers to the dynamically generated list.

- **name\_server\_blacklist**

  A list of name servers to be removed from consideration. The default is 0.0.0.0 as some faulty routers send it via DHCP. To remove a block, you can use 192.168.\*

- **private\_keys**

  These keys name servers will only be queried for the domains listed in their resolv.conf. Useful for VPN domains. Setting **private\_keys**="\*" will stop the forwarding of the root zone and allows the local resolver to recursively query the root servers directly. Requires a local nameserver other than libc. This is equivalent to the **resolvconf** **-p** option.

- **nosearch\_keys**

  These keys domains/search won't be added to the global search list in */etc/resolv.conf*.

- **public\_keys**

  Force these keys to be public, overriding the private and nosearch markings. This is handy when 3rd party integrations force the **resolvconf** **-p** option and you want to disable it easily.

- **replace**

  Is a space separated list of replacement keywords. The syntax is this: *$keyword*/*$match*/*$replacement*

  Example, given this resolv.conf:

  ```
  domain foo.org
  search foo.org dead.beef
  nameserver 1.2.3.4
  nameserver 2.3.4.5
  ```

  and this configuration:

  ```
  replace="search/foo*/bar.com"
  replace="$replace nameserver/1.2.3.4/5.6.7.8"
  replace="$replace nameserver/2.3.4.5/"
  ```

  you would get this resolv.conf instead:

  ```
  domain foo.org
  search bar.com
  nameserver 5.6.7.8
  ```

- **replace\_sub**

  Works the same way as **replace** except it works on each space separated value rather than the whole line, so it's useful for the replacing a single domain within the search directive. Using the same example resolv.conf and changing **replace** to **replace\_sub**, you would get this resolv.conf instead:

  ```
  domain foo.org
  search bar.com dead.beef
  nameserver 5.6.7.8
  ```

- **state\_dir**

  Override the default state directory of */run/resolvconf*. This should not be changed once **resolvconf** is in use unless the old directory is copied to the new one.

## LIBC OPTIONS

The following variables affect [resolv.conf(5)](/resolv.conf/5.md) directly:

- **resolv\_conf**

  Defaults to */etc/resolv.conf* if not set. Set to */dev/null* to stop [resolvconf(8)](/resolvconf/8.md) from changing it.

- **resolv\_conf\_options**

  A list of libc resolver options, as specified in [resolv.conf(5)](/resolv.conf/5.md).

- **resolv\_conf\_passthrough**

  When set to YES the latest resolv.conf is written to **resolv\_conf** without any alteration. When set to /dev/null or NULL, **resolv\_conf\_local\_only** is defaulted to NO, **local\_nameservers** is unset unless overridden and only the information set in **resolvconf.conf** is written to **resolv\_conf**.

- **resolv\_conf\_restore**

  When set to YES and and an empty *resolv.conf* would be written, restore *resolv.conf.bak* instead if it exists. Defaults to YES if not set.

- **resolv\_conf\_sortlist**

  A libc resolver sortlist, as specified in [resolv.conf(5)](/resolv.conf/5.md).

- **resolv\_conf\_local\_only**

  If a local name server is configured then the default is just to specify that and ignore all other entries as they will be configured for the local name server. Set this to NO to also list non-local nameservers. This will give you working DNS even if the local nameserver stops functioning at the expense of duplicated server queries.

- **append\_nameservers**

  Append name servers to the dynamically generated list.

- **prepend\_nameservers**

  Prepend name servers to the dynamically generated list.

- **append\_search**

  Append search domains to the dynamically generated list.

- **prepend\_search**

  Prepend search domains to the dynamically generated list.

- **resolv\_conf\_mv**

  Defaults to NO. Defines if */etc/resolv.conf* is updated by writing to a temporary file and then moving it vs writing directly to it.

## SUBSCRIBER OPTIONS

openresolv ships with subscribers for the name servers [dnsmasq(8)](/dnsmasq/8.md), [named(8)](/named/8.md), [pdnsd(8)](/pdnsd/8.md), [pdns\_recursor(1)](/pdns_recursor/1.md), and [unbound(8)](/unbound/8.md). Each subscriber can create configuration files which should be included in the subscribers main configuration file.

To disable a subscriber, simply set its name to NO. If the subscriber name has a dash in it, then replace it with an underscore. For example, to disable the libc subscriber you would set:

```
libc=NO
```

- **dnsmasq\_conf**

  This file tells dnsmasq which name servers to use for specific domains.

- **dnsmasq\_resolv**

  This file tells dnsmasq which name servers to use for global lookups.

  Example resolvconf.conf for dnsmasq:

  ```
  name_servers=127.0.0.1
  dnsmasq_conf=/etc/dnsmasq-conf.conf
  dnsmasq_resolv=/etc/dnsmasq-resolv.conf
  ```

  Example dnsmasq.conf:

  ```
  listen-address=127.0.0.1
  # If dnsmasq is compiled for DBus then we can take
  # advantage of not having to restart dnsmasq.
  enable-dbus
  conf-file=/etc/dnsmasq-conf.conf
  resolv-file=/etc/dnsmasq-resolv.conf
  ```

- **named\_options**

  Include this file in the named options block. This file tells named which name servers to use for global lookups.

- **named\_zones**

  Include this file in the named global scope, after the options block. This file tells named which name servers to use for specific domains.

  Example resolvconf.conf for named:

  ```
  name_servers=127.0.0.1
  named_options=/etc/named-options.conf
  named_zones=/etc/named-zones.conf
  ```

  Example named.conf:

  ```
  options {
  	listen-on { 127.0.0.1; };
  	include "/etc/named-options.conf";
  };
  include "/etc/named-zones.conf";
  ```

- **pdnsd\_conf**

  This is the main pdnsd configuration file which we modify to add our forward domains to. If this variable is not set then we rely on the pdnsd configuration file setup to read *pdnsd\_resolv* as documented below.

- **pdnsd\_resolv**

  This file tells pdnsd about global name servers. If this variable is not set then it's written to *pdnsd\_conf*.

  Example resolvconf.conf for pdnsd:

  ```
  name_servers=127.0.0.1
  pdnsd_conf=/etc/pdnsd.conf
  # pdnsd_resolv=/etc/pdnsd-resolv.conf
  ```

  Example pdnsd.conf:

  ```
  global {
  	server_ip = 127.0.0.1;
  	status_ctl = on;
  }
  server {
  	# A server definition is required, even if empty.
  	label="empty";
  	proxy_only=on;
  	# file="/etc/pdnsd-resolv.conf";
  }
  ```

- **pdns\_zones**

  This file tells pdns\_recursor about specific and global name servers.

  Example resolvconf.conf for pdns\_recursor:

  ```
  name_servers=127.0.0.1
  pdns_zones=/etc/pdns/recursor-zones.conf
  ```

  Example recursor.conf:

  ```
  allow-from=127.0.0.0/8, ::1/128
  forward-zones-file=/etc/pdns/recursor-zones.conf
  ```

- **resolvectl**

  When set to YES, [resolvectl(1)](/resolvectl/1.md) will be used to write per interface entries from [resolvconf(8)](/resolvconf/8.md) to [systemd-resolved(8)](/systemd-resolved/8.md). A warning is emitted for any entry that cannot be matched to an interface.

  This subscriber should only be used if your systemd-resolved does not support DNS delegates and you need private or non searchable [resolvconf(8)](/resolvconf/8.md) entries, or you're really beholden to seeing DNS setup per interface via [resolvectl(1)](/resolvectl/1.md). The systemd-resolved subscriber documented below is the better option.

  Example resolvconf.conf for resolvectl:

  ```
  # Keep /etc/resolv.conf as systemd-resolved wants it
  libc=NO
  resolvectl=YES
  ```

- **systemd\_resolved**

  When set to YES, global DNS will be written to the **systemd\_resolved\_conf** configuration file and DNS delegates will be written to the **systemd\_delegate\_dir** directory.

- **systemd\_resolved\_conf**

  Defaults to */run/systemd/resolved.conf.d/60-resolvconf.conf*.

- **systemd\_delegate\_dir**

  Defaults to */run/systemd/dns-delegate.d*.

  Example resolvconf.conf for systemd-resolved:

  ```
  # Keep /etc/resolv.conf as systemd-resolved wants it
  libc=NO
  systemd_resolved=YES
  ```

- **unbound\_conf**

  This file tells unbound about specific and global name servers.

- **unbound\_insecure**

  When set to YES, unbound marks the domains as insecure, thus ignoring DNSSEC.

- **unbound\_private**

  When set to YES, unbound marks the domains as private, allowing it and its subdomains to contain private addresses.

- **unbound\_forward\_zone\_options**

  Options appended to each forward zone. Each option should be separated by an embedded new line.

  Example resolvconf.conf for unbound:

  ```
  name_servers=127.0.0.1
  unbound_conf=/etc/unbound-resolvconf.conf
  ```

  Example unbound.conf:

  ```
  include: /etc/unbound-resolvconf.conf
  ```

## SUBSCRIBER INTEGRATION

Not all distributions store the files the subscribers need in the same locations. For example, named service scripts have been called named, bind and rc.bind and they could be located in a directory called /etc/rc.d, /etc/init.d or similar. Each subscriber attempts to automatically configure itself, but not every distribution has been catered for. Also, users could equally want to use a different version from the one installed by default, such as bind8 and bind9. To accommodate this, the subscribers have these files in configurable variables, documented below.

- **dnsmasq\_service**

  Name of the dnsmasq service.

- **dnsmasq\_restart**

  Command to restart the dnsmasq service.

- **dnsmasq\_pid**

  Location of the dnsmasq pidfile.

- **libc\_service**

  Name of the libc service.

- **libc\_restart**

  Command to restart the libc service.

- **named\_service**

  Name of the named service.

- **named\_restart**

  Command to restart the named service.

- **pdnsd\_restart**

  Command to restart the pdnsd service.

- **pdns\_service**

  Command to restart the pdns\_recursor service.

- **pdns\_restart**

  Command to restart the pdns\_recursor service.

- **unbound\_service**

  Name of the unbound service.

- **unbound\_restart**

  Command to restart the unbound service.

- **unbound\_pid**

  Location of the unbound pidfile.

## SEE ALSO

[sh(1)](/sh/1.md), [resolv.conf(5)](/resolv.conf/5.md), [resolvconf(8)](/resolvconf/8.md)

## AUTHORS

Roy Marples ⟨*roy@marples.name*⟩

## BUGS

Each distribution is a special snowflake and likes to name the same thing differently, namely the named service script.

Swapping between resolvectl and systemd-resolved subscribers at runtime is not supported. Files referenced by systemd\_resolved\_conf and systemd\_delegate\_dir need to be removed by hand. A reboot is recommended so that stale data is removed. While you could run them both at the same time, only using one is the recommended approach.

Please report them to **https://roy.marples.name/projects/openresolv**