How To Clear Your Browser & Local System DNS Cache

You need to clear your local system's DNS cache if you've recently updated a domain's DNS or migrated a website but your computer is still detecting the old DNS records.

Your DNS resolvers may have cached the domain name to IP mapping.

When you're trying to go to the domain, it's actually pulling up an old IP address instead of looking for a new one and finding the correct record.

How To Clear Your Browser's DNS Cache

Chrome:

• Go to the top left-hand side of the tab, select the 3 dots, and choose "Settings".
• Scroll to the bottom of the page, and select "Advanced".
• Scroll down to the end of the "Privacy and security" section, and select "Clear browsing data".
• Choose the items you want to clear and select "Clear".

Brave:

• Click Customize and control brave (the 3-horizontal line button) in the upper right-hand corner.
• Go to Settings towards the bottom.
• On the left-hand side, expand Additional Settings.
• Click on Privacy and security.
• Open Clear Browsing Data and a pop-up will open.
• Under Time range, Choose the All-time option.
• Uncheck Browsing History and Cookies and other site data if you don't want to delete these.
• Click Clear data.

Opera:

• Go to the top-left of the screen, select Opera, then select "Clear Browsing Data".
• Mark the check-boxes next to the data you want to clear and select "Clear Browsing Data".

Safari:

• In the top left-hand corner of the screen, select "Safari", then "Clear History".
• When prompted, and after determining how far back you would like to clear, select "Clear History".

Firefox:

• In the top right-hand corner of the browser window, select the 3 horizontal lines -> Preferences.
• Select Privacy & Security.
• Select "Clear History".
• Choose the specific data you'd like to clear and how far back you'd like to go, then select "Clear Now".

Internet Explorer

• Select the gear on the top right-hand side of the screen, then Internet Options.
• Find the Browsing History section, and select "Delete".
• Choose what you'd like to delete, and select "Delete".

How To Clear Your Local System's DNS Cache

mac OSX:

Open your Terminal (Application › Utilities › Terminal or click Go > Utilities > Terminal) or use SpotLight command + shift.

Type the following command and press Enter to run the command.

macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra/Sierra & El Capitan

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; sudo killall mDNSResponderHelper; sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; say DNS cache flushed

or

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; say DNS cache flushed

Enter your password (it might not appear on the screen as you type).

Press Enter

You can remain or exit the Terminal with:

exit

macOS Yosemite:

sudo discoveryutil udnsflushcaches sudo dscacheutil -flushcache

The command above should work on Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), 10.6 (Snow Leopard), and 10.7 (Lion).

If the above command is not available, you can try the other flush DNS command as follows which should work on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger):

sudo lookupd -flushcache

Don't worry if either command says something like "Not found".

Restart your application (e.g. browser or email).

To make it easier, you can edit your .zshrc and add the following:

alias cleardns='sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; say DNS cache flushed'

Linux

Linux has different distributions and versions and each may have slightly different commands due to differences in configuration.

One of the commands below will probably work.

Open up a root terminal window (Ctrl+T in Gnome).

Type the following command and hit enter:

/etc/init.d/nscd restart

You may need to use sudo depending on your installation instead:

sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart

Some distributions support this command:

sudo /etc/init.d/dns-clean start

or support this command:

sudo service nscd restart

Some installations may have NSDS located in another directory, like the following example.

You may need to locate where it is installed to be able to execute the correct command.

/etc/rc.d/init.d/nscd restart

Restart your application (e.g. browser or email).

Windows 10:

• In Windows 10, use Windows search and type Command Prompt.
• Right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator.
• In the User Account Control pop-up, click Yes.
• In CMD, type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.

Windows 8/Windows 8.1:

• In Windows 8/8.1, use Windows search and type Command Prompt.
• Right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as Administrator.
• In the User Account Control pop-up, click Yes.
• In CMD, type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter.

Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7

• Close your application (e.g. browser or email).
• Click the Start orb and follow All Programs > Accessories, look for Command Prompt. Be sure to right-click on Command Prompt and choose "Run as Administrator".
• When the black screen appears, type the following command and hit enter: ipconfig /flushdns
• Restart your application (e.g. browser or email).

Microsoft Windows XP

• Close your application (e.g. browser or email).
• Go to the Start menu, choose Run, type cmd, and hit OK.
• When the black screen appears, type the following command and hit enter: ipconfig /flushdns
• Restart your application (e.g. browser or email).

Another option is to use your browser's Private Mode (Firefox) or Incognito Mode (Chrome) to visit the website.