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LUA

LUA() adds a PowerDNS Lua record to a domain. Use this when you want answers computed at query time (traffic steering, geo/ASN steering, weighted pools, health-based failover, time-based values, etc.) using the PowerDNS Authoritative Server’s built-in Lua engine.

Provider support: LUA() is supported only by the PowerDNS DNS provider in DNSControl. Ensure your zones are served by PowerDNS and that Lua records are enabled. See: PowerDNS provider page and Supported providers matrix. (References at the end.)

Signature

dnsconfig.js
LUA(
  name: string,
  rtype: string,                  // e.g. "A", "AAAA", "CNAME", "TXT", "PTR", "LOC", ...
  contents: string | string[],    // the Lua snippet
  ...modifiers: RecordModifier[]
): DomainModifier

  • name — label for the record ("@" for the zone apex).

  • rtype — the RR type the Lua snippet emits (e.g., "A", "AAAA", "CNAME", "TXT", "PTR", "LOC").

  • contents — the Lua snippet (string or array). See Syntax below.

  • modifiers — standard record modifiers like TTL(60).

Prerequisites (PowerDNS)

PowerDNS Authoritative Server 4.2+ supports Lua records. You must enable Lua records either globally (in pdns.conf) or per-zone via domain metadata.

  • Global: set enable-lua-records=yes (or shared) and reload PowerDNS.

  • Per-zone: set metadata ENABLE-LUA-RECORDS = 1 for the zone.

See PowerDNS’s Lua Records overview and Lua Reference for details and helpers.

Syntax

PowerDNS evaluates the contents with two modes:

  • Single expression (most common): write just the expression — no return. PowerDNS implicitly treats the snippet as if it were the argument to return.

  • Multi-statement script: start the snippet with a leading semicolon (;). In this mode you can write multiple statements and must include your own return.

The value produced must be valid RDATA for the chosen rtype (IPv4 for A, IPv6 for AAAA, a single FQDN with trailing dot for CNAME, proper text for TXT, etc.). Helper functions and preset variables (e.g., pickrandom, pickclosest, country, continent, qname, ifportup) are defined in the PowerDNS Lua reference.

Examples

Single expression (implicit return)

dnsconfig.js
// Weighted/random selection
LUA("app", "A", "pickrandom({'192.0.2.11',3}, {'192.0.2.22',1})", TTL(60));

// Health-aware pool: only addresses with TCP/443 up are served
LUA("www", "A", "ifportup(443, {'192.0.2.1','192.0.2.2'})", TTL(60));

// Geo proximity
LUA("edge", "A", "pickclosest({'192.0.2.1','192.0.2.2','198.51.100.1'})", TTL(60));

Multi-statement (leading ;)

dnsconfig.js
LUA("api", "A", [
  "; if continent('EU') then ",
  "    return {'198.51.100.1'} ",
  "  else ",
  "    return {'192.0.2.10','192.0.2.20'} ",
  "  end"
], TTL(60));

// Dynamic TXT, showing the queried name (string building example)
LUA("_diag", "TXT", "; return 'Got a TXT query for ' .. qname:toString()", TTL(30));

Other RR types

Lua can emit data for many RR types as long as the RDATA is valid for that type:

dnsconfig.js
LUA("edge", "CNAME", "('edgesvc.example.net.')", TTL(60));
LUA("pop.asu", "LOC", "latlonloc(-25.286, -57.645, 100)", TTL(300)); // ~Asunción, 100m

Tips & gotchas

  • Use low TTLs (e.g., 30–120s) for dynamic behavior to update promptly.

  • Don’t mix address families: A answers must be IPv4; AAAA answers must be IPv6.

  • Serials & transfers: Lua answers are computed at query time; changing only the Lua behavior does not change the zone’s SOA serial. Zone transfer and serial behavior follow normal PowerDNS rules.

  • Provider limitation: Only the PowerDNS provider in DNSControl accepts LUA(); other providers will ignore or reject it.

References

  • PowerDNS Lua Records overview (syntax, examples).

  • PowerDNS Lua Reference (functions, preset variables, objects).

  • DNSControl PowerDNS provider page.

  • DNSControl Supported providers table.

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