RESOLVCONF.CONF(5) | File Formats Manual | RESOLVCONF.CONF(5)

# NAME

`resolvconf.conf` — resolvconf configuration file

# DESCRIPTION

`resolvconf.conf` is the configuration file for resolvconf(8). The `resolvconf.conf` file is a shell script that is sourced by resolvconf(8), meaning that `resolvconf.conf` must contain valid shell commands. Listed below are the standard `resolvconf.conf` variables that may be set. If the values contain whitespace, wildcards or other special shell characters, ensure they are quoted and escaped correctly. See the replace variable for an example on quoting.

After updating this file, you may wish to run `resolvconf -u` to apply the new configuration.

When a dynamically generated list is appended or prepended to, the whole is made unique where left-most wins.

# RESOLVCONF OPTIONS

resolvconf
  Set to NO to disable `resolvconf` from running any subscribers. Defaults to YES.
allow_keys
  If set, only these keys will be processed.
deny_keys
  If set, these keys will not be processed.
exclude
  Is a space separated list of key/value pairs to match. If all key/value pairs in one element can be found in the file, then the whole file will be excluded from processing. The syntax is this: $keyword/$match[/$keyword/$match]

  For example given this configuration:

      exclude="search/foo*/nameserver/1.2.3.4 search/bar.org"

  Then any resolv.conf with both a search option starting with foo with a nameserver of 1.2.3.4 OR a search option of bar.org would be excluded.

key_order
  These keys will always be processed first. If unset, defaults to the following:

      lo lo[0-9]*

dynamic_order
  These keys will be processed next, unless they have a metric. If unset, defaults to the following:

      tap[0-9]* tun[0-9]* vpn vpn[0-9]* wg[0-9]* ppp[0-9]* ippp[0-9]*

inclusive_keys
  Ignore any exclusive marking for these keys. This is handy when 3rd party integrations force the `resolvconf -x` option and you want to disable it easily.
local_nameservers
  If unset, defaults to the following:

      127.* 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.255 ::1

search_domains
  Prepend search domains to the dynamically generated list.
search_domains_append
  Append search domains to the dynamically generated list.
domain_blacklist
  A list of domains to be removed from consideration. To remove a domain, you can use foo.* To remove a sub domain, you can use *.bar
name_servers
  Prepend name servers to the dynamically generated list. You should set this to 127.0.0.1 if you use a local name server other than libc.
name_servers_append
  Append name servers to the dynamically generated list.
name_server_blacklist
  A list of name servers to be removed from consideration. The default is 0.0.0.0 as some faulty routers send it via DHCP. To remove a block, you can use 192.168.*
private_keys
  These keys name servers will only be queried for the domains listed in their resolv.conf. Useful for VPN domains. Setting private_keys="*" will stop the forwarding of the root zone and allows the local resolver to recursively query the root servers directly. Requires a local nameserver other than libc. This is equivalent to the `resolvconf -p` option.
nosearch_keys
  These keys domains/search won't be added to the global search list in /etc/resolv.conf.
public_keys
  Force these keys to be public, overriding the private and nosearch markings. This is handy when 3rd party integrations force the `resolvconf -p` option and you want to disable it easily.
replace
  Is a space separated list of replacement keywords. The syntax is this: $keyword/$match/$replacement

  Example, given this resolv.conf:

      domain foo.org
      search foo.org dead.beef
      nameserver 1.2.3.4
      nameserver 2.3.4.5

  and this configuration:

      replace="search/foo*/bar.com"
      replace="$replace nameserver/1.2.3.4/5.6.7.8"
      replace="$replace nameserver/2.3.4.5/"

  you would get this resolv.conf instead:

      domain foo.org
      search bar.com
      nameserver 5.6.7.8

replace_sub
  Works the same way as replace except it works on each space separated value rather than the whole line, so it's useful for the replacing a single domain within the search directive. Using the same example resolv.conf and changing replace to replace_sub, you would get this resolv.conf instead:

      domain foo.org
      search bar.com dead.beef
      nameserver 5.6.7.8

state_dir
  Override the default state directory of /var/run/resolvconf. This should not be changed once `resolvconf` is in use unless the old directory is copied to the new one.

# LIBC OPTIONS

The following variables affect resolv.conf(5) directly:

resolv_conf
  Defaults to /etc/resolv.conf if not set. Set to /dev/null to stop resolvconf(8) from changing it.
resolv_conf_options
  A list of libc resolver options, as specified in resolv.conf(5).
resolv_conf_passthrough
  When set to YES the latest resolv.conf is written to resolv_conf without any alteration. When set to /dev/null or NULL, resolv_conf_local_only is defaulted to NO, local_nameservers is unset unless overridden and only the information set in `resolvconf.conf` is written to resolv_conf.
resolv_conf_restore
  When set to YES and and an empty resolv.conf would be written, restore resolv.conf.bak instead if it exists. Defaults to YES if not set.
resolv_conf_sortlist
  A libc resolver sortlist, as specified in resolv.conf(5).
resolv_conf_local_only
  If a local name server is configured then the default is just to specify that and ignore all other entries as they will be configured for the local name server. Set this to NO to also list non-local nameservers. This will give you working DNS even if the local nameserver stops functioning at the expense of duplicated server queries.
append_nameservers
  Append name servers to the dynamically generated list.
prepend_nameservers
  Prepend name servers to the dynamically generated list.
append_search
  Append search domains to the dynamically generated list.
prepend_search
  Prepend search domains to the dynamically generated list.
resolv_conf_mv
  Defaults to NO. Defines if /etc/resolv.conf is updated by writing to a temporary file and then moving it vs writing directly to it.

# SUBSCRIBER OPTIONS

openresolv ships with subscribers for the name servers dnsmasq(8), named(8), pdnsd(8), pdns_recursor(1), and unbound(8). Each subscriber can create configuration files which should be included in the subscribers main configuration file.

To disable a subscriber, simply set its name to NO. If the subscriber name has a dash in it, then replace it with an underscore. For example, to disable the libc subscriber you would set:

    libc=NO

dnsmasq_conf
  This file tells dnsmasq which name servers to use for specific domains.
dnsmasq_resolv
  This file tells dnsmasq which name servers to use for global lookups.

  Example resolvconf.conf for dnsmasq:

      name_servers=127.0.0.1
      dnsmasq_conf=/etc/dnsmasq-conf.conf
      dnsmasq_resolv=/etc/dnsmasq-resolv.conf

  Example dnsmasq.conf:

      listen-address=127.0.0.1
      # If dnsmasq is compiled for DBus then we can take
      # advantage of not having to restart dnsmasq.
      enable-dbus
      conf-file=/etc/dnsmasq-conf.conf
      resolv-file=/etc/dnsmasq-resolv.conf

named_options
  Include this file in the named options block. This file tells named which name servers to use for global lookups.
named_zones
  Include this file in the named global scope, after the options block. This file tells named which name servers to use for specific domains.

  Example resolvconf.conf for named:

      name_servers=127.0.0.1
      named_options=/etc/named-options.conf
      named_zones=/etc/named-zones.conf

  Example named.conf:

      options {
      	listen-on { 127.0.0.1; };
      	include "/etc/named-options.conf";
      };

      include "/etc/named-zones.conf";

pdnsd_conf
  This is the main pdnsd configuration file which we modify to add our forward domains to. If this variable is not set then we rely on the pdnsd configuration file setup to read pdnsd_resolv as documented below.
pdnsd_resolv
  This file tells pdnsd about global name servers. If this variable is not set then it's written to pdnsd_conf.

  Example resolvconf.conf for pdnsd:

      name_servers=127.0.0.1
      pdnsd_conf=/etc/pdnsd.conf
      # pdnsd_resolv=/etc/pdnsd-resolv.conf

  Example pdnsd.conf:

      global {
      	server_ip = 127.0.0.1;
      	status_ctl = on;
      }
      server {
      	# A server definition is required, even if empty.
      	label="empty";
      	proxy_only=on;
      	# file="/etc/pdnsd-resolv.conf";
      }

pdns_zones
  This file tells pdns_recursor about specific and global name servers.

  Example resolvconf.conf for pdns_recursor:

      name_servers=127.0.0.1
      pdns_zones=/etc/pdns/recursor-zones.conf

  Example recursor.conf:

      allow-from=127.0.0.0/8, ::1/128
      forward-zones-file=/etc/pdns/recursor-zones.conf

resolvectl
  When set to YES, resolvectl(1) will be used to write per interface entries from resolvconf(8) to systemd-resolved(8). A warning is emitted for any entry that cannot be matched to an interface.

  This subscriber should only be used if your systemd-resolved does not support DNS delegates and you need private or non searchable resolvconf(8) entries, or you're really beholden to seeing DNS setup per interface via resolvectl(1). The systemd-resolved subscriber documented below is the better option.

  Example resolvconf.conf for resolvectl:

      # Keep /etc/resolv.conf as systemd-resolved wants it
      libc=NO
      resolvectl=YES

systemd_resolved
  When set to YES, global DNS will be written to the systemd_resolved_conf configuration file and DNS delegates will be written to the systemd_delegate_dir directory.
systemd_resolved_conf
  Defaults to /run/systemd/resolved.conf.d/60-resolvconf.conf.
systemd_delegate_dir
  Defaults to /run/systemd/dns-delegate.d.

  Example resolvconf.conf for systemd-resolved:

      # Keep /etc/resolv.conf as systemd-resolved wants it
      libc=NO
      systemd_resolved=YES

unbound_conf
  This file tells unbound about specific and global name servers.
unbound_insecure
  When set to YES, unbound marks the domains as insecure, thus ignoring DNSSEC.
unbound_private
  When set to YES, unbound marks the domains as private, allowing it and its subdomains to contain private addresses.
unbound_forward_zone_options
  Options appended to each forward zone. Each option should be separated by an embedded new line.

  Example resolvconf.conf for unbound:

      name_servers=127.0.0.1
      unbound_conf=/etc/unbound-resolvconf.conf

  Example unbound.conf:

      include: /etc/unbound-resolvconf.conf

# SUBSCRIBER INTEGRATION

Not all distributions store the files the subscribers need in the same locations. For example, named service scripts have been called named, bind and rc.bind and they could be located in a directory called /etc/rc.d, /etc/init.d or similar. Each subscriber attempts to automatically configure itself, but not every distribution has been catered for. Also, users could equally want to use a different version from the one installed by default, such as bind8 and bind9. To accommodate this, the subscribers have these files in configurable variables, documented below.

dnsmasq_service
  Name of the dnsmasq service.
dnsmasq_restart
  Command to restart the dnsmasq service.
dnsmasq_pid
  Location of the dnsmasq pidfile.
libc_service
  Name of the libc service.
libc_restart
  Command to restart the libc service.
named_service
  Name of the named service.
named_restart
  Command to restart the named service.
pdnsd_restart
  Command to restart the pdnsd service.
pdns_service
  Command to restart the pdns_recursor service.
pdns_restart
  Command to restart the pdns_recursor service.
unbound_service
  Name of the unbound service.
unbound_restart
  Command to restart the unbound service.
unbound_pid
  Location of the unbound pidfile.

# SEE ALSO

sh(1), resolv.conf(5), resolvconf(8)

# AUTHORS

Roy Marples <roy@marples.name>

# BUGS

Each distribution is a special snowflake and likes to name the same thing differently, namely the named service script.

Swapping between resolvectl and systemd-resolved subscribers at runtime is not supported. Files referenced by systemd_resolved_conf and systemd_delegate_dir need to be removed by hand. A reboot is recommended so that stale data is removed. While you could run them both at the same time, only using one is the recommended approach.

Please report them to https://roy.marples.name/projects/openresolv

May 15, 2025 | NetBSD 11.99