If it’s the first time you visit a website on your Mac, your Mac will connect to a DNS server that tells your web browser where to go (which IP address your browser should go). It’s like a phonebook at your hand.Īnytime you enter a URL into your web browser, or click the hyperlink on a webpage, a DNS lookup process is initiated. The DNS cache on your Mac is a temporary database that stores information about previous DNS lookups. We have to manually enter the IP address of its web hosting. Without the DNS, we’ll not be able to visit a website by its domain name. 123.456.789.1), connecting web browsers with websites and allowing browsers to get to websites and other Internet resources. It translates human readable domain names (e.g. The table below lists the correct commands for resetting DNS cache on older macOS versions: macOS versionĭNS, or the domain name system, is the phonebook of the Internet. Sudo dscacheutil -flushcache sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder say dns cleared successfully Flush DNS commands on older macOS versions Note: if you’d like to hear an audio notification after the NDS flush process completed, run the following command instead: There’s no notification when the process completes.
Please note that due to security reasons, the password will not be displayed when you’re typing. Just enter the password and press enter again. You’ll be asked to enter your Mac’s login password to run the command.If you’re using an older versions of macOS, check the next section for the correct command. Note: this command only works on macOS EI Capitan and newer. Sudo dscacheutil -flushcache sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder Copy and paste the following command into the Terminal window, then press Enter.Type terminal and press Enter to launch the Terminal app.On your keyboard, press Command and Space to invoke Spotlight.To flush DNS on your Mac, you’ll need to enter a Terminal command on your Mac. Flush DNS commands on older macOS versions.