avahi-resolve-address

View documentation for the original command

$ tldr avahi-resolve

avahi-resolve-address [options] <address>

<address>
    The IP address (IPv4 or IPv6) to be resolved to an mDNS hostname.

-t | --timeout=MSEC
    Specifies a timeout in milliseconds. The command will exit if no resolution is found within this time.

-4 | --ipv4
    Forces the resolution to only look for IPv4 addresses.

-6 | --ipv6
    Forces the resolution to only look for IPv6 addresses.

-v | --verbose
    Displays more detailed output, useful for debugging.

-h | --help
    Shows a help message and exits.

-V | --version
    Shows version information and exits.

avahi-resolve-address is a command-line utility provided by the Avahi project, which implements the Zero Configuration Networking (Zeroconf) specifications, including Multicast DNS (mDNS) and DNS Service Discovery (DNS-SD). This command's primary function is to resolve an IP address (IPv4 or IPv6) into its corresponding hostname as registered via mDNS on the local network. It's particularly useful in environments where traditional DNS servers are not configured, or for discovering devices that advertise their names locally using mDNS, such as network printers, other computers, or IoT devices. It allows users to quickly determine the hostname associated with a specific IP address without needing to configure a local DNS server or rely on manually maintained /etc/hosts entries.

• Requires the Avahi daemon (avahi-daemon) to be running and correctly configured on the system.
• Only resolves addresses that are advertised via mDNS on the local link. It will not query traditional DNS servers.
• May not work if network multicast is disabled or restricted on the network.
• Resolution depends on the target device actively advertising its name via mDNS.

To resolve the IP address 192.168.1.100, you would run:
avahi-resolve-address 192.168.1.100
If successful, it might output something like:
192.168.1.100 myprinter.local

Avahi is often considered the open-source equivalent to Apple's Bonjour (formerly Rendezvous) technology. Both implement the same Zeroconf standards, allowing them to interoperate seamlessly on a network.

Avahi is an open-source implementation of Zeroconf (Zero Configuration Networking), which includes mDNS (Multicast DNS) and DNS-SD (DNS Service Discovery). Developed primarily by Lennart Poettering and Trent Lloyd, Avahi was initially released in 2005. It provides a system for applications to publish and discover services and hosts on a local network without requiring manual configuration or traditional DNS servers. avahi-resolve-address emerged as one of the fundamental client utilities to query mDNS names, offering a command-line interface to the underlying Avahi daemon's address resolution capabilities. Its development has mirrored the wider adoption of Zeroconf technologies in Linux and other Unix-like systems.

avahi-resolve-host-name(1), avahi-browse(1), avahi-publish(1), avahi-daemon(8), dns-sd(1), host(1), dig(1)