System: DNS Resolver

Docksal runs a system service called docksal-dns.

This service is responsible for the wildcard *.docksal domain resolution to the Docksal IP (192.168.64.100).
It also forwards all other DNS requests to the upstream DNS server, which is Google’s Public DNS (8.8.8.8) by default.

Project containers are configured to use docksal-dns as their DNS server by default.

Docksal configures network settings on Linux, Mac, and Windows to tell the host machine to use docksal-dns as well.

On Mac only *.docksal DNS queries are routed through docksal-dns.

On Linux and Windows DNS, all DNS queries are routed through docksal-dns, as there is no way to configure this selectively (like on Mac).

In cases when the Docksal VM is stopped or the docksal-dns service is down, the OS picks the next available DNS server configured on the host (which would be your LAN/WiFi connection). This way there is always a fallback.

Disabling the Resolver

If you run into issues with DNS resolution, try disabling the automatic resolver.

  1. Stop the VM with fin vm stop
  2. Open $HOME/.docksal/docksal.env and add DOCKSAL_NO_DNS_RESOLVER=true
  3. Start the VM again fin vm start

Without the automatic resolver, you can use fin hosts command to manage name resolution via the hosts file.

Override the Default Upstream DNS Settings

Some restricted network environments (e.g., corporate networks) may be blocking direct access to external DNS services, making 8.8.8.8 inaccessible. In such cases, Docksal will output a warning on fin project start with the instructions to override the default upstream DNS settings.

  1. Open $HOME/.docksal/docksal.env and set DOCKSAL_DNS_UPSTREAM to your local network DNS server

    Example:

    DOCKSAL_DNS_UPSTREAM=192.168.0.1
    
  2. Run fin system reset dns

Inspect your LAN or WiFi interface settings and connection status to figure out the DNS server your network is using.

Enable DNS Query Logging (for debugging)

Enable logging

DOCKSAL_DNS_DEBUG=true fin system reset dns

View logs

fin docker logs docksal-dns