unboundcontrol

unboundcontrol is the command-line client for the Unbound DNS resolver, used to interact with a running unbound daemon through its control interface. It provides a way for administrators to query status, monitor runtime behavior, and apply configuration changes without restarting the server.

The control interface is exposed via a local socket (commonly a Unix domain socket) configured in the unbound.conf file. Depending on the setup, the channel may be secured with authentication keys or passwords and can also be configured to use TCP or TLS in some deployments.

Typical capabilities include retrieving runtime information such as status and statistics, reloading configuration and caches, flushing DNS caches, and adjusting debugging or logging settings. The exact command set depends on the Unbound version in use.

Usage and setup: unboundcontrol is usually installed alongside Unbound on Unix-like systems. To operate, it must be pointed at the correct control channel with options like -c or by using a standard path such as /var/run/unbound/control. Before first use, system administrators may run unbound-control-setup to create the necessary authentication material and permissions for secure access.

See also: Unbound, NLnet Labs, DNS resolver, unbound-control, unbound-control-setup.