UNBOUND-CONTROL(8)                  Unbound                 UNBOUND-CONTROL(8)

NAME
       unbound-control - Unbound 1.24.0 remote server control utility.

SYNOPSIS
       unbound-control [-hq] [-c cfgfile] [-s server] command

DESCRIPTION
       unbound-control  performs  remote  administration on the unbound(8) DNS
       server.  It reads the configuration file, contacts the  Unbound  server
       over TLS sends the command and displays the result.

       The available options are:

       -h     Show the version and commandline option help.

       -c <cfgfile>
              The config file to read with settings.  If not given the default
              config file /usr/local/etc/unbound/unbound.conf is used.

       -s <server[@port]>
              IPv4  or  IPv6  address of the server to contact.  If not given,
              the address is read from the config file.

       -q     Quiet, if the option is given it does not print anything  if  it
              works ok.

COMMANDS
       There are several commands that the server understands.

       start  Start  the  server.   Simply execs unbound(8).  The unbound exe-
              cutable is searched for in the PATH set in the environment.   It
              is  started  with  the config file specified using -c or the de-
              fault config file.

       stop   Stop the server.  The server daemon exits.

       reload Reload the server.  This flushes the cache and reads the  config
              file fresh.

       reload_keep_cache
              Reload the server but try to keep the RRset and message cache if
              (re)configuration  allows  for  it.  That means the caches sizes
              and the number of threads must not change between reloads.

       fast_reload [+dpv]
              Reload the server, but keep downtime to a minimum, so that  user
              queries  keep seeing service.  This needs the code compiled with
              threads.  The config is loaded in a thread, and  prepared,  then
              it  briefly  pauses  the  existing server and updates config op-
              tions.  The intent is that the pause does not impact the service
              of user queries.  The cache is kept.  Also user  queries  worked
              on are kept and continue, but with the new config options.

              NOTE:
                 This command is experimental at this time.

              The  amount  of  temporal  memory needed during a fast_reload is
              twice the amount needed for configuration.  This is because  Un-
              bound temporarily needs to store both current configuration val-
              ues and new ones while trying to fast_reload.  Zones loaded from
              disk (authority zones and RPZ zones) are included in such memory
              needs.

              Options  that  can  be  changed  are for forwards, stubs, views,
              authority zones, RPZ zones and local zones.

              Also access-control and similar  options,  interface-action  and
              similar  options  and  tcp-connection-limit.  It can reload some
              define-tag changes, more on that below.  Further options include
              insecure-lan-zones,     domain-insecure,      trust-anchor-file,
              trust-anchor,     trusted-keys-file,     auto-trust-anchor-file,
              edns-client-string, ipset,  log-identity,  infra-cache-numhosts,
              msg-cache-size,         rrset-cache-size,        key-cache-size,
              ratelimit-size,     neg-cache-size,      num-queries-per-thread,
              jostle-timeout,    use-caps-for-id,    unwanted-reply-threshold,
              tls-use-sni, outgoing-tcp-mss,  ip-dscp,  max-reuse-tcp-queries,
              tcp-reuse-timeout, tcp-auth-query-timeout, delay-close.

              It  does not work with interface and outgoing-interface changes,
              also   not   with    remote    control,    outgoing-port-permit,
              outgoing-port-avoid,  msg-buffer-size,  any  *-slabs options and
              statistics-interval changes.

              For     dnstap     these     options     can     be     changed:
              dnstap-log-resolver-query-messages,
              dnstap-log-resolver-response-messages,
              dnstap-log-client-query-messages,
              dnstap-log-client-response-messages,
              dnstap-log-forwarder-query-messages                          and
              dnstap-log-forwarder-response-messages.

              It  does   not   work   with   these   options:   dnstap-enable,
              dnstap-bidirectional, dnstap-socket-path, dnstap-ip, dnstap-tls,
              dnstap-tls-server-name,                  dnstap-tls-cert-bundle,
              dnstap-tls-client-key-file and dnstap-tls-client-cert-file.

              The    options    dnstap-send-identity,     dnstap-send-version,
              dnstap-identity, and dnstap-version can be loaded when +p is not
              used.

              The  +v  option makes the output verbose which includes the time
              it took to do the reload.  With +vv it is more verbose which in-
              cludes the amount of memory that was  allocated  temporarily  to
              perform the reload; this amount of memory can be big if the con-
              fig  has large contents.  In the timing output the 'reload' time
              is the time during which the server was paused.

              The +p option makes the reload not pause threads, they keep run-
              ning.  Locks are acquired, but items are updated in sequence, so
              it is possible for threads to see  an  inconsistent  state  with
              some  options from the old and some options from the new config,
              such as cache TTL parameters from the old  config  and  forwards
              from  the new config.  The stubs and forwards are updated at the
              same time, so that they are viewed consistently, either  old  or
              new  values together.  The option makes the reload time take eg.
              3 microseconds instead of  0.3  milliseconds  during  which  the
              worker  threads  are  interrupted.  So, the interruption is much
              shorter, at the expense of some inconsistency.  After the reload
              itself, every worker thread is briefly contacted  to  make  them
              release resources, this makes the delete timing a little longer,
              and  takes  up  time  from  the  remote control servicing worker
              thread.

              With the nopause option (+p), the reload does not work to reload
              some options, that fast reload works on without the nopause  op-
              tion:    val-bogus-ttl,   val-override-date,   val-sig-skew-min,
              val-sig-skew-max, val-max-restart, val-nsec3-keysize-iterations,
              target-fetch-policy,     outbound-msg-retry,     max-sent-count,
              max-query-restarts,                        do-not-query-address,
              do-not-query-localhost,     private-address,     private-domain,
              caps-exempt,     nat64-prefix,     do-nat64,     infra-host-ttl,
              infra-keep-probing,           ratelimit,           ip-ratelimit,
              ip-ratelimit-cookie,                        wait-limit-netblock,
              wait-limit-cookie-netblock,              ratelimit-below-domain,
              ratelimit-for-domain.

              The  +d  option  makes  the  reload drop queries that the worker
              threads are working on.  This is like flush_requestlist.   With-
              out  it  the queries are kept so that users keep getting answers
              for those queries that are currently processed.  The drop  makes
              it  so that queries during the life time of the query processing
              see only old, or only new config options.

              When there are changes to the config tags, from  the  define-tag
              option,  then the +d option is implicitly turned on with a warn-
              ing printout, and queries are dropped.  This is to  stop  refer-
              ences  to  the  old tag information, by the old queries.  If the
              number of tags is increased  in  the  newly  loaded  config,  by
              adding  tags  at  the  end,  then  the implicit +d option is not
              needed.

              For response ip, that is actions associated with  IP  addresses,
              and  perhaps  intersected with access control tag and action in-
              formation, those settings are stored with a query when it  comes
              in  based on its source IP address.  The old information is kept
              with the query until the queries are done.  This  is  gone  when
              those  queries  are  resolved and finished, or it is possible to
              flush the requestlist with +d.

       verbosity number
              Change verbosity value for logging.  Same  values  as  the  ver-
              bosity:  keyword in unbound.conf(5).  This new setting lasts un-
              til the server is  issued  a  reload  (taken  from  config  file
              again), or the next verbosity control command.

       log_reopen
              Reopen  the  logfile, close and open it.  Useful for logrotation
              to make the daemon release the file it is logging  to.   If  you
              are  using  syslog  it will attempt to close and open the syslog
              (which may not work if chrooted).

       stats  Print statistics.  Resets the internal counters  to  zero,  this
              can be controlled using the statistics-cumulative: config state-
              ment.  Statistics are printed with one [name]: [value] per line.

       stats_noreset
              Peek  at  statistics.   Prints them like the stats command does,
              but does not reset the internal counters to zero.

       status Display server status.  Exit code 3 if not running (the  connec-
              tion to the port is refused), 1 on error, 0 if running.

       local_zone name type
              Add  new  local zone with name and type.  Like local-zone config
              statement.  If the zone already exists, the type is  changed  to
              the given argument.

       local_zone_remove name
              Remove  the  local  zone with the given name.  Removes all local
              data inside it.  If the zone does not exist,  the  command  suc-
              ceeds.

       local_data RR data...
              Add new local data, the given resource record.  Like local-data:
              keyword,  except for when no covering zone exists.  In that case
              this remote control command creates a transparent zone with  the
              same name as this record.

       local_data_remove name
              Remove  all RR data from local name.  If the name already has no
              items, nothing happens.  Often results in NXDOMAIN for the  name
              (in  a static zone), but if the name has become an empty nonter-
              minal (there is still data in domain  names  below  the  removed
              name), NOERROR nodata answers are the result for that name.

       local_zones
              Add  local  zones  read from stdin of unbound-control.  Input is
              read per line, with name space type on a line.  For  bulk  addi-
              tions.

       local_zones_remove
              Remove local zones read from stdin of unbound-control.  Input is
              one name per line.  For bulk removals.

       local_datas
              Add local data RRs read from stdin of unbound-control.  Input is
              one RR per line.  For bulk additions.

       local_datas_remove
              Remove local data RRs read from stdin of unbound-control.  Input
              is one name per line.  For bulk removals.

       dump_cache
              The contents of the cache is printed in a text format to stdout.
              You can redirect it to a file to store the cache in a file.  Not
              supported in remote Unbounds in multi-process operation.

       load_cache
              The  contents  of the cache is loaded from stdin.  Uses the same
              format as dump_cache uses.  Loading the cache with old, or wrong
              data can result in old or wrong data returned to clients.  Load-
              ing data into the cache in this way is supported in order to aid
              with  debugging.   Not   supported   in   remote   Unbounds   in
              multi-process operation.

       cache_lookup [+t] names
              Print  to  stdout the RRsets and messages that are in the cache.
              For every name listed the  content  at  or  under  the  name  is
              printed.   Several  names separated by spaces can be given, each
              is printed.  When subnetcache is enabled, also matching  entries
              from the subnet cache are printed.

              The  +t  option  allows  tld and root names.  With it names like
              'com' and '.' can be used, but it takes a lot of effort to  look
              up in the cache.

       lookup name
              Print  to  stdout the name servers that would be used to look up
              the name specified.

       flush [+c] name
              Remove the name from the cache.  Removes the types A, AAAA,  NS,
              SOA, CNAME, DNAME, MX, PTR, SRV, NAPTR, SVCB and HTTPS.  Because
              that  is  fast  to  do.  Other record types can be removed using
              flush_type or flush_zone.

              The +c option removes the items also from the cachedb cache.  If
              cachedb is in use.

       flush_type [+c] name type
              Remove the name, type information from the cache.

              The +c option removes the items also from the cachedb cache.  If
              cachedb is in use.

       flush_zone [+c] name
              Remove all information at or below the name from the cache.  The
              rrsets and key entries are removed so that new lookups  will  be
              performed.  This needs to walk and inspect the entire cache, and
              is  a slow operation.  The entries are set to expired in the im-
              plementation of this command (so,  with  serve-expired  enabled,
              it'll serve that information but schedule a prefetch for new in-
              formation).

              The +c option removes the items also from the cachedb cache.  If
              cachedb is in use.

       flush_bogus [+c]
              Remove all bogus data from the cache.

              The +c option removes the items also from the cachedb cache.  If
              cachedb is in use.

       flush_negative [+c]
              Remove  all  negative data from the cache.  This is nxdomain an-
              swers, nodata answers and servfail answers.   Also  removes  bad
              key  entries  (which  could  be  due to failed lookups) from the
              dnssec key cache, and iterator last-resort lookup failures  from
              the rrset cache.

              The +c option removes the items also from the cachedb cache.  If
              cachedb is in use.

       flush_stats
              Reset statistics to zero.

       flush_requestlist
              Drop  the  queries  that  are  worked  on.  Stops working on the
              queries that the server is working on now.  The cache  is  unaf-
              fected.   No  reply  is  sent for those queries, probably making
              those users request again later.   Useful  to  make  the  server
              restart  working  on queries with new settings, such as a higher
              verbosity level.

       dump_requestlist
              Show what is worked on.  Prints all queries that the  server  is
              currently  working  on.   Prints  the  time that users have been
              waiting.  For internal requests, no time is printed.   And  then
              prints  out the module status.  This prints the queries from the
              first thread, and not queries that are being serviced from other
              threads.

       flush_infra all|IP
              If all then entire infra cache is emptied.  If a specific IP ad-
              dress, the entry for that address is removed from the cache.  It
              contains EDNS, ping and lameness data.

       dump_infra
              Show the contents of the infra cache.

       set_option opt: val
              Set the option to the given value without a reload.   The  cache
              is  therefore  not  flushed.  The option must end with a ':' and
              whitespace must be between the option and the value.  Some  val-
              ues  may  not have an effect if set this way, the new values are
              not written to the config file, not all options  are  supported.
              This  is different from the set_option call in libunbound, where
              all values work because Unbound has not been initialized.

              The values that work are: statistics-interval,  statistics-cumu-
              lative,      do-not-query-localhost,       harden-short-bufsize,
              harden-large-queries,    harden-glue,    harden-dnssec-stripped,
              harden-below-nxdomain,      harden-referral-path,      prefetch,
              prefetch-key, log-queries,  hide-identity,  hide-version,  iden-
              tity,  version,  val-log-level, val-log-squelch, ignore-cd-flag,
              add-holddown, del-holddown, keep-missing, tcp-upstream,  ssl-up-
              stream,  max-udp-size,  ratelimit,  ip-ratelimit, cache-max-ttl,
              cache-min-ttl, cache-max-negative-ttl.

       get_option opt
              Get the value of the option.  Give the  option  name  without  a
              trailing  ':'.  The value is printed.  If the value is "", noth-
              ing is printed and the connection closes.  On error 'error  ...'
              is  printed  (it  gives  a syntax error on unknown option).  For
              some options a list of values, one on  each  line,  is  printed.
              The  options  are  shown  from  the config file as modified with
              set_option.  For some options an override may  have  been  taken
              that  does  not show up with this command, not results from e.g.
              the verbosity and forward control  commands.   Not  all  options
              work,   see   list_stubs,  list_forwards,  list_local_zones  and
              list_local_data for those.

       list_stubs
              List the stub zones in use.  These are printed one by one to the
              output.  This includes the root hints in use.

       list_forwards
              List the forward zones in use.  These are printed zone  by  zone
              to the output.

       list_insecure
              List the zones with domain-insecure.

       list_local_zones
              List  the  local  zones  in use.  These are printed one per line
              with zone type.

       list_local_data
              List the local data  RRs  in  use.   The  resource  records  are
              printed.

       insecure_add zone
              Add  a domain-insecure for the given zone, like the statement in
              unbound.conf.  Adds to the running Unbound without affecting the
              cache contents (which may still be bogus, use flush_zone to  re-
              move it), does not affect the config file.

       insecure_remove zone
              Removes domain-insecure for the given zone.

       forward_add [+it] zone addr ...
              Add  a new forward zone to running Unbound.  With +i option also
              adds a domain-insecure for the zone (so  it  can  resolve  inse-
              curely  if  you  have  a DNSSEC root trust anchor configured for
              other names).  The addr can be IP4,  IP6  or  nameserver  names,
              like forward-zone config in unbound.conf.  The +t option sets it
              to use TLS upstream, like forward-tls-upstream: yes.

       forward_remove [+i] zone
              Remove a forward zone from running Unbound.  The +i also removes
              a domain-insecure for the zone.

       stub_add [+ipt] zone addr ...
              Add  a  new  stub  zone to running Unbound.  With +i option also
              adds a domain-insecure for the zone.  With +p the stub  zone  is
              set to prime, without it it is set to notprime.  The addr can be
              IP4,  IP6 or nameserver names, like the stub-zone: config in un-
              bound.conf.  The +t option sets it to  use  TLS  upstream,  like
              stub-tls-upstream: yes.

       stub_remove [+i] zone
              Remove  a stub zone from running Unbound.  The +i also removes a
              domain-insecure for the zone.

       forward [off | addr ... ]
              Setup forwarding mode.  Configures  if  the  server  should  ask
              other upstream nameservers, should go to the internet root name-
              servers  itself, or show the current config.  You could pass the
              nameservers after a DHCP update.

              Without arguments the current list of addresses used to  forward
              all  queries  to  is  printed.  On startup this is from the for-
              ward-zone "." configuration.  Afterwards it  shows  the  status.
              It prints off when no forwarding is used.

              If  off  is  passed,  forwarding  is disabled and the root name-
              servers are used.  This can be used to avoid to avoid  buggy  or
              non-DNSSEC  supporting  nameservers returned from DHCP.  But may
              not work in hotels or hotspots.

              If one or more IPv4 or IPv6 addresses are given, those are  then
              used  to  forward  queries  to.  The addresses must be separated
              with spaces.  With '@port' the port number can be set explicitly
              (default port is 53 (DNS)).

              By default the forwarder information from the  config  file  for
              the  root "." is used.  The config file is not changed, so after
              a reload these changes are gone.  Other forward zones  from  the
              config file are not affected by this command.

       ratelimit_list [+a]
              List  the  domains  that  are ratelimited.  Printed one per line
              with current estimated qps and qps limit from config.   With  +a
              it  prints  all  domains, not just the ratelimited domains, with
              their estimated qps.  The ratelimited domains  return  an  error
              for uncached (new) queries, but cached queries work as normal.

       ip_ratelimit_list [+a]
              List  the  ip  addresses  that are ratelimited.  Printed one per
              line with current estimated qps and qps limit from config.  With
              +a it prints all ips, not just the ratelimited ips,  with  their
              estimated  qps.  The ratelimited ips are dropped before checking
              the cache.

       list_auth_zones
              List the auth zones that are configured.  Printed one  per  line
              with a status, indicating if the zone is expired and current se-
              rial number.  Configured RPZ zones are included.

       auth_zone_reload zone
              Reload  the auth zone (or RPZ zone) from zonefile.  The zonefile
              is read in overwriting the current contents of the zone in  mem-
              ory.   This changes the auth zone contents itself, not the cache
              contents.  Such cache contents exists if you set Unbound to val-
              idate with for-upstream:  yes  and  that  can  be  cleared  with
              flush_zone zone.

       auth_zone_transfer zone
              Transfer the auth zone (or RPZ zone) from master.  The auth zone
              probe  sequence  is started, where the masters are probed to see
              if they have an updated zone (with the SOA serial  check).   And
              then the zone is transferred for a newer zone version.

       rpz_enable zone
              Enable the RPZ zone if it had previously been disabled.

       rpz_disable zone
              Disable the RPZ zone.

       view_list_local_zones view
              list_local_zones for given view.

       view_local_zone view name type
              local_zone for given view.

       view_local_zone_remove view name
              local_zone_remove for given view.

       view_list_local_data view
              list_local_data for given view.

       view_local_data view RR data...
              local_data for given view.

       view_local_data_remove view name
              local_data_remove for given view.

       view_local_datas_remove view
              Remove a list of local_data for given view from stdin.  Like lo-
              cal_datas_remove.

       view_local_datas view
              Add  a  list  of local_data for given view from stdin.  Like lo-
              cal_datas.

       add_cookie_secret secret
              Add or replace a cookie secret persistently.  secret needs to be
              an 128 bit hex string.

              Cookie secrets can be either active or staging.   Active  cookie
              secrets  are  used  to create DNS Cookies, but verification of a
              DNS Cookie succeeds with any of the active or staging cookie se-
              crets.  The state of the current cookie secrets can  be  printed
              with the print_cookie_secrets command.

              When  there  are no cookie secrets configured yet, the secret is
              added as active.  If there is already an active  cookie  secret,
              the  secret is added as staging or replacing an existing staging
              secret.

              To "roll" a cookie secret used in an anycast set.  The  new  se-
              cret  has to be added as staging secret to all nodes in the any-
              cast set.  When all nodes can verify DNS Cookies  with  the  new
              secret,   the   new   secret   can   be   activated   with   the
              activate_cookie_secret command.  After all nodes  have  the  new
              secret  active for at least one hour, the previous secret can be
              dropped with the drop_cookie_secret command.

              Persistence is accomplished by writing to a file which  is  con-
              figured with the cookie-secret-file option in the server section
              of the config file.  This is disabled by default, "".

       drop_cookie_secret
              Drop the staging cookie secret.

       activate_cookie_secret
              Make  the  current staging cookie secret active, and the current
              active cookie secret staging.

       print_cookie_secrets
              Show the current configured cookie secrets with their status.

EXIT CODE
       The unbound-control program exits with status code 1  on  error,  0  on
       success.

SET UP
       The  setup requires a self-signed certificate and private keys for both
       the server and  client.   The  script  unbound-control-setup  generates
       these  in  the  default run directory, or with -d in another directory.
       If you change the access control permissions on the key files  you  can
       decide  who can use unbound-control, by default owner and group but not
       all users.  Run the script under the same username as you have  config-
       ured  in  unbound.conf  or  as root, so that the daemon is permitted to
       read the files, for example with:

          sudo -u unbound unbound-control-setup

       If you have not configured a username in unbound.conf,  the  keys  need
       read  permission  for  the  user  credentials under which the daemon is
       started.  The script preserves private keys present in  the  directory.
       After  running  the  script  as  root,  turn  on  control-enable in un-
       bound.conf.

STATISTIC COUNTERS
       The stats and stats_noreset commands show a number of  statistic  coun-
       ters:

       threadX.num.queries
              number of queries received by thread

       threadX.num.queries_ip_ratelimited
              number of queries rate limited by thread

       threadX.num.queries_cookie_valid
              number of queries with a valid DNS Cookie by thread

       threadX.num.queries_cookie_client
              number of queries with a client part only DNS Cookie by thread

       threadX.num.queries_cookie_invalid
              number of queries with an invalid DNS Cookie by thread

       threadX.num.queries_discard_timeout
              number of queries removed due to discard-timeout by thread

       threadX.num.queries_wait_limit
              number of queries removed due to wait-limit by thread

       threadX.num.cachehits
              number  of queries that were successfully answered using a cache
              lookup

       threadX.num.cachemiss
              number of queries that needed recursive processing

       threadX.num.dnscrypt.crypted
              number of queries that were encrypted and successfully  decapsu-
              lated by dnscrypt.

       threadX.num.dnscrypt.cert
              number of queries that were requesting dnscrypt certificates.

       threadX.num.dnscrypt.cleartext
              number  of queries received on dnscrypt port that were cleartext
              and not a request for certificates.

       threadX.num.dnscrypt.malformed
              number  of  request  that  were  neither  cleartext,  not  valid
              dnscrypt messages.

       threadX.num.dns_error_reports
              number of DNS Error Reports generated by thread

       threadX.num.prefetch
              number  of  cache prefetches performed.  This number is included
              in cachehits, as the original query had the unprefetched  answer
              from  cache, and resulted in recursive processing, taking a slot
              in the requestlist.  Not part of the  recursivereplies  (or  the
              histogram thereof) or cachemiss, as a cache response was sent.

       threadX.num.expired
              number of replies that served an expired cache entry.

       threadX.num.queries_timed_out
              number  of  queries  that are dropped because they waited in the
              UDP socket buffer for too long.

       threadX.query.queue_time_us.max
              The maximum wait time for packets in the socket buffer,  in  mi-
              croseconds.   This  is  only reported when sock-queue-timeout is
              enabled.

       threadX.num.recursivereplies
              The number of replies sent to queries that needed recursive pro-
              cessing.  Could be smaller than threadX.num.cachemiss if due  to
              timeouts no replies were sent for some queries.

       threadX.requestlist.avg
              The  average  number  of requests in the internal recursive pro-
              cessing request list on insert of a new incoming recursive  pro-
              cessing query.

       threadX.requestlist.max
              Maximum  size  attained by the internal recursive processing re-
              quest list.

       threadX.requestlist.overwritten
              Number of requests in the request list that were overwritten  by
              newer entries.  This happens if there is a flood of queries that
              recursive processing and the server has a hard time.

       threadX.requestlist.exceeded
              Queries  that  were  dropped  because the request list was full.
              This happens if a flood of queries  need  recursive  processing,
              and the server can not keep up.

       threadX.requestlist.current.all
              Current  size of the request list, includes internally generated
              queries (such as priming queries and glue lookups).

       threadX.requestlist.current.user
              Current size of the request list, only the requests from  client
              queries.

       threadX.recursion.time.avg
              Average  time  it  took  to answer queries that needed recursive
              processing.  Note that queries that were answered from the cache
              are not in this average.

       threadX.recursion.time.median
              The median of the time it took to answer queries that needed re-
              cursive processing.  The median  means  that  50%  of  the  user
              queries  were  answered  in less than this time.  Because of big
              outliers (usually queries to non responsive servers), the  aver-
              age  can be bigger than the median.  This median has been calcu-
              lated by interpolation from a histogram.

       threadX.tcpusage
              The currently held tcp buffers for incoming connections.  A spot
              value on the time of the request.  This helps you  spot  if  the
              incoming-num-tcp buffers are full.

       total.num.queries
              summed over threads.

       total.num.queries_ip_ratelimited
              summed over threads.

       total.num.queries_cookie_valid
              summed over threads.

       total.num.queries_cookie_client
              summed over threads.

       total.num.queries_cookie_invalid
              summed over threads.

       total.num.queries_discard_timeout
              summed over threads.

       total.num.queries_wait_limit
              summed over threads.

       total.num.cachehits
              summed over threads.

       total.num.cachemiss
              summed over threads.

       total.num.dnscrypt.crypted
              summed over threads.

       total.num.dnscrypt.cert
              summed over threads.

       total.num.dnscrypt.cleartext
              summed over threads.

       total.num.dnscrypt.malformed
              summed over threads.

       total.num.dns_error_reports
              summed over threads.

       total.num.prefetch
              summed over threads.

       total.num.expired
              summed over threads.

       total.num.queries_timed_out
              summed over threads.

       total.query.queue_time_us.max
              the maximum of the thread values.

       total.num.recursivereplies
              summed over threads.

       total.requestlist.avg
              averaged over threads.

       total.requestlist.max
              the maximum of the thread requestlist.max values.

       total.requestlist.overwritten
              summed over threads.

       total.requestlist.exceeded
              summed over threads.

       total.requestlist.current.all
              summed over threads.

       total.recursion.time.median
              averaged over threads.

       total.tcpusage
              summed over threads.

       time.now
              current time in seconds since 1970.

       time.up
              uptime since server boot in seconds.

       time.elapsed
              time since last statistics printout, in seconds.

EXTENDED STATISTICS
       mem.cache.rrset
              Memory in bytes in use by the RRset cache.

       mem.cache.message
              Memory in bytes in use by the message cache.

       mem.cache.dnscrypt_shared_secret
              Memory in bytes in use by the dnscrypt shared secrets cache.

       mem.cache.dnscrypt_nonce
              Memory in bytes in use by the dnscrypt nonce cache.

       mem.mod.iterator
              Memory in bytes in use by the iterator module.

       mem.mod.validator
              Memory  in  bytes  in use by the validator module.  Includes the
              key cache and negative cache.

       mem.streamwait
              Memory in bytes in used by the TCP and TLS stream wait  buffers.
              These are answers waiting to be written back to the clients.

       mem.http.query_buffer
              Memory  in  bytes  used by the HTTP/2 query buffers.  Containing
              (partial) DNS queries waiting for request stream completion.

       mem.http.response_buffer
              Memory in bytes used by the HTTP/2 response buffers.  Containing
              DNS responses waiting to be written back to the clients.

       mem.quic
              Memory in bytes used by QUIC.   Containing  connection  informa-
              tion,  stream  information,  queries  read and responses written
              back to the clients.

       histogram.<sec>.<usec>.to.<sec>.<usec>
              Shows a histogram,  summed  over  all  threads.   Every  element
              counts  the  recursive  queries whose reply time fit between the
              lower and upper bound.  Times larger or equal to the lowerbound,
              and smaller than the upper bound.  There are  40  buckets,  with
              bucket sizes doubling.

       num.query.type.A
              The  total number of queries over all threads with query type A.
              Printed for the other query types as  well,  but  only  for  the
              types for which queries were received, thus =0 entries are omit-
              ted for brevity.

       num.query.type.other
              Number of queries with query types 256-65535.

       num.query.class.IN
              The total number of queries over all threads with query class IN
              (internet).   Also printed for other classes (such as CH (CHAOS)
              sometimes used for debugging), or NONE, ANY, used by dynamic up-
              date.  num.query.class.other is printed for classes 256-65535.

       num.query.opcode.QUERY
              The total number of queries over all threads with  query  opcode
              QUERY.  Also printed for other opcodes, UPDATE, ...

       num.query.tcp
              Number  of  queries that were made using TCP towards the Unbound
              server.

       num.query.tcpout
              Number of queries that the Unbound server made using TCP  outgo-
              ing towards other servers.

       num.query.udpout
              Number  of queries that the Unbound server made using UDP outgo-
              ing towards other servers.

       num.query.tls
              Number of queries that were made using TLS towards  the  Unbound
              server.   These  are  also counted in num.query.tcp, because TLS
              uses TCP.

       num.query.tls.resume
              Number of TLS session resumptions, these are  queries  over  TLS
              towards  the  Unbound  server  where the client negotiated a TLS
              session resumption key.

       num.query.https
              Number of queries that were made using HTTPS towards the Unbound
              server.   These  are   also   counted   in   num.query.tcp   and
              num.query.tls, because HTTPS uses TLS and TCP.

       num.query.quic
              Number  of queries that were made using QUIC towards the Unbound
              server.  These are also counted in num.query.tls, because TLS is
              used for these queries.

       num.query.ipv6
              Number of queries that were made using IPv6 towards the  Unbound
              server.

       num.query.flags.RD
              The  number  of  queries that had the RD flag set in the header.
              Also printed for flags QR, AA, TC, RA, Z,  AD,  CD.   Note  that
              queries  with  flags QR, AA or TC may have been rejected because
              of that.

       num.query.edns.present
              number of queries that had an EDNS OPT record present.

       num.query.edns.DO
              number of queries that had  an  EDNS  OPT  record  with  the  DO
              (DNSSEC  OK)  bit  set.   These queries are also included in the
              num.query.edns.present number.

       num.query.ratelimited
              The number of queries that are turned away from  being  send  to
              nameserver due to ratelimiting.

       num.query.dnscrypt.shared_secret.cachemiss
              The number of dnscrypt queries that did not find a shared secret
              in  the cache.  This can be use to compute the shared secret hi-
              trate.

       num.query.dnscrypt.replay
              The number of dnscrypt queries that found a  nonce  hit  in  the
              nonce cache and hence are considered a query replay.

       num.answer.rcode.NXDOMAIN
              The  number of answers to queries, from cache or from recursion,
              that had the return code NXDOMAIN.  Also printed for  the  other
              return codes.

       num.answer.rcode.nodata
              The number of answers to queries that had the pseudo return code
              nodata.   This means the actual return code was NOERROR, but ad-
              ditionally, no data was carried in the answer  (making  what  is
              called  a  NOERROR/NODATA  answer).   These queries are also in-
              cluded in the num.answer.rcode.NOERROR number.  Common for  AAAA
              lookups when an A record exists, and no AAAA.

       num.answer.secure
              Number  of  answers that were secure.  The answer validated cor-
              rectly.  The AD bit might have been set in  some  of  these  an-
              swers,  where  the  client  signalled  (with DO or AD bit in the
              query) that they were ready to accept the AD bit in the answer.

       num.answer.bogus
              Number of answers that were bogus.  These  answers  resulted  in
              SERVFAIL to the client because the answer failed validation.

       num.rrset.bogus
              The  number  of rrsets marked bogus by the validator.  Increased
              for every RRset inspection that fails.

       num.valops
              The number of validation operations performed by the  validator.
              Increased  for  every RRSIG verification operation regardless of
              the validation result.  The RRSIG and key combination  needs  to
              first  pass  some sanity checks before Unbound even performs the
              verification, e.g., length/protocol checks.

       unwanted.queries
              Number of queries that were  refused  or  dropped  because  they
              failed the access control settings.

       unwanted.replies
              Replies that were unwanted or unsolicited.  Could have been ran-
              dom  traffic, delayed duplicates, very late answers, or could be
              spoofing attempts.  Some low level of late answers  and  delayed
              duplicates  are to be expected with the UDP protocol.  Very high
              values could indicate a threat (spoofing).

       msg.cache.count
              The number of items (DNS replies) in the message cache.

       rrset.cache.count
              The number of RRsets in the rrset cache.  This  includes  rrsets
              used  by  the messages in the message cache, but also delegation
              information.

       infra.cache.count
              The number of items in the infra cache.  These are IP  addresses
              with their timing and protocol support information.

       key.cache.count
              The  number  of  items in the key cache.  These are DNSSEC keys,
              one item per delegation point, and their validation status.

       msg.cache.max_collisions
              The maximum number of hash table collisions in  the  msg  cache.
              This  is the number of hashes that are identical when a new ele-
              ment is inserted in the hash table.  If the value is very large,
              like hundreds, something is wrong with the  performance  of  the
              hash table, hash values are incorrect or malicious.

       rrset.cache.max_collisions
              The  maximum number of hash table collisions in the rrset cache.
              This is the number of hashes that are identical when a new  ele-
              ment is inserted in the hash table.  If the value is very large,
              like  hundreds,  something  is wrong with the performance of the
              hash table, hash values are incorrect or malicious.

       dnscrypt_shared_secret.cache.count
              The number of items in the shared secret cache.  These are  pre-
              computed shared secrets for a given client public key/server se-
              cret  key pair.  Shared secrets are CPU intensive and this cache
              allows Unbound to avoid recomputing the shared secret when  mul-
              tiple dnscrypt queries are sent from the same client.

       dnscrypt_nonce.cache.count
              The  number  of  items in the client nonce cache.  This cache is
              used to prevent dnscrypt queries replay.  The client nonce  must
              be  unique  for  each  client public key/server secret key pair.
              This cache should be able to host QPS * replay  window  interval
              keys to prevent replay of a query during replay window seconds.

       num.query.authzone.up
              The  number  of  queries  answered from auth-zone data, upstream
              queries.  These queries would otherwise  have  been  sent  (with
              fallback enabled) to the internet, but are now answered from the
              auth zone.

       num.query.authzone.down
              The  number  of  queries  for downstream answered from auth-zone
              data.  These queries are from downstream clients, and  have  had
              an answer from the data in the auth zone.

       num.query.aggressive.NOERROR
              The  number  of  queries answered using cached NSEC records with
              NODATA RCODE.  These queries would otherwise have been  sent  to
              the internet, but are now answered using cached data.

       num.query.aggressive.NXDOMAIN
              The  number  of  queries answered using cached NSEC records with
              NXDOMAIN RCODE.  These queries would otherwise have been sent to
              the internet, but are now answered using cached data.

       num.query.subnet
              Number of queries that got an answer that contained EDNS  client
              subnet data.

       num.query.subnet_cache
              Number  of  queries  answered from the edns client subnet cache.
              These are counted as cachemiss by the main counters, but hit the
              client subnet specific cache after getting processed by the edns
              client subnet module.

       num.query.cachedb
              Number of queries answered from the external cache  of  cachedb.
              These are counted as cachemiss by the main counters, but hit the
              cachedb  external  cache  after getting processed by the cachedb
              module.

       num.rpz.action.<rpz_action>
              Number of queries answered using configured RPZ policy, per  RPZ
              action  type.  Possible actions are: nxdomain, nodata, passthru,
              drop, tcp-only, local-data, disabled, and cname-override.

FILES
       /usr/local/etc/unbound/unbound.conf
              Unbound configuration file.

       /usr/local/etc/unbound
              directory with private keys (unbound_server.key and unbound_con-
              trol.key) and self-signed certificates  (unbound_server.pem  and
              unbound_control.pem).

SEE ALSO
       unbound.conf(5), unbound(8).

AUTHOR
       Unbound  developers  are mentioned in the CREDITS file in the distribu-
       tion.

COPYRIGHT
       1999-2025, NLnet Labs

1.24.0                           Sep 18, 2025               UNBOUND-CONTROL(8)