# Unbound

Unbound is a validating, recursive, and caching DNS resolver that you can self-host to run your own DNS server at home. It is open source and self-hosted, installable on Docker Hub, Proxmox, Kubernetes (Helm) and Unraid.

Canonical page: https://ourlocalhost.com/app/1388/unbound

## Description

Unbound is a validating, recursive, and caching DNS resolver that you can self-host to run your own DNS server at home. Use it as the upstream resolver for Pi-hole or AdGuard Home, or to create custom DNS records for your local network.

## Platform availability

Available on 3 of 9 platforms: Unraid, Proxmox, Helm.

## Health score

17/100 (Low), based on 4 of 4 factors.
- Maintained: 0 (last commit 1916 days ago)
- Popular: 19 (8 GitHub stars)
- Easy to install: 55 (3 install platforms, install notes, Docker image)
- Light to run: 10 (8 GB minimum RAM)

## Links

- GitHub: https://github.com/kutzilla/unbound-docker
- Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/kutzilla/unbound
- Proxmox: https://community-scripts.github.io/ProxmoxVE/scripts?id=unbound
- Kubernetes (Helm): https://artifacthub.io/packages/helm/unbound-helmchart/unbound
- Unraid: https://ca.unraid.net/apps/unbound-1aixhjq0i3bcqi?q=unbound
- Official website: https://nlnetlabs.nl

## Common questions

### Which ports should be published when running Unbound in Docker?

Publish both 53 TCP and 53 UDP from the container. DNS answers can use either protocol, and without them other devices cannot ask Unbound to resolve names.

### How can I add custom local DNS records?

Use an a-records.conf or srv-records.conf file with local-data or local-data-ptr entries and mount it into the container's Unbound configuration directory. This supports resolving custom names on a small private LAN.

### How should I keep Unbound settings safe for rebuilds?

Store unbound.conf and any extra zone files in a host directory and mount that directory into the container. Those files preserve your custom DNS records and settings if the container is removed or rebuilt.

### How do I check for configuration errors after changing Unbound settings?

Run unbound-checkconf from inside the container after editing your configuration files. It catches spelling or syntax errors before they can silently break name lookups.

### What security issues does Unbound 1.26.1 address?

Unbound 1.26.1 addresses several security issues, including one critical vulnerability and high, medium, and low severity issues.

## Alternatives

- BIND: BIND is by far the most widely used DNS software on the Internet.
- BuckDNS: A self-hosted DNS server for Linux and Windows with recursive resolution, encrypted forwarding, network-wide blocking and multi-server repl…
- coredns: CoreDNS is a flexible, plugin-based DNS server and forwarder that chains plugins for service discovery, metrics, query rewriting, and zone…
- dnsmasq: Dnsmasq is a lightweight Domain Name System (DNS) forwarder and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server designed for small to med…
- powerdns: PowerDNS is an open-source DNS server for operators hosting authoritative zones, resolving domain names to IP addresses using pluggable bac…

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Source: Our Local Host (https://ourlocalhost.com/app/1388/unbound), the self-hosted and open-source app directory.