DNS cache is a temporary database your OS and browser build as you browse. Each time you visit a website, the domain-to-IP mapping is saved locally, cutting out the round trip to a remote DNS server on repeat visits.
Stale entries are the most common reason to flush the DNS cache: a server moves to a new IP, but your OS or browser still routes to the old address. This guide covers how to clear the DNS cache on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and how to flush the separate cache stored inside Chrome and Firefox.
The command is the same on Windows 10, Windows 11, and earlier supported releases.
Open Command Prompt with administrator privileges. Type cmd in the Windows search bar, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
Run the flush command:
bashipconfig /flushdns
A successful run prints:
Windows IP ConfigurationSuccessfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.
ipconfig /flushdns clears all entries from the Windows DNS Resolver Cache. The OS makes fresh DNS queries on the next domain lookup.
Linux does not cache DNS entries at the OS level by default. DNS caching only happens when a dedicated service is installed and running. Before flushing, check which caching service is active on your system.
systemd-resolved – the default resolver on Ubuntu, Fedora, and most modern desktop distributions. Check whether it is running:
bashsudo systemctl is-active systemd-resolved
If the output is active, flush the cache with:
bashsudo resolvectl flush-caches
The command produces no output on success. Older guides show sudo systemd-resolve --flush-caches – that command is deprecated on modern systems and replaced by resolvectl.
DNSMasq – a lightweight caching nameserver common on embedded and router-style Linux systems. Restart the service to clear its cache:
bashsudo systemctl restart dnsmasq.service
Nscd – the Name Service Cache Daemon, found on older Red Hat and CentOS systems:
bashsudo systemctl restart nscd.service
macOS. All current macOS releases use mDNSResponder as the DNS caching daemon. Clear its cache with:
bashsudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
The -HUP flag sends a SIGHUP signal to mDNSResponder, which tells the process to flush its cache and reload its configuration without stopping. The command succeeds silently.
Google Chrome. Chrome maintains its own DNS cache separately from the OS. Flushing the OS cache alone will not clear it. Open a new tab and go to:
chrome://net-internals/#dns
Click Clear host cache. The page shows every domain Chrome has cached along with resolution timestamps, so you can also confirm whether a specific domain is resolving correctly.
Firefox. Firefox caches DNS entries for 60 seconds by default, controlled by the network.dnsCacheExpiration preference. To flush it immediately, open a new tab and navigate to:
about:config
Search for network.dnsCacheExpiration and temporarily set the value to 0, then click OK. Firefox discards all cached entries. Set the value back to 60 to restore the default. A full browser restart also clears Firefox’s DNS cache without touching any settings.
Flush the OS DNS cache first, then the browser cache if you are still landing on the wrong site. Browsers hold their own DNS records independently of the system, which is why flushing just one sometimes does not fix the problem. Leave a comment below if you run into any issues.
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