New Complete Example: DNSControl → CoreDNS Container with Automated Testing

[Christopher Hicks]

Howdy DNSControl Community,

I'm excited to share a comprehensive example repository that demonstrates the complete workflow from DNSControl JavaScript configurations to a production-ready containerized DNS server:

🔗 Repository: https://github.com/fini-net/fini-coredns-example

What This Provides

This repository showcases a real-world implementation of:

• JavaScript DNS Configuration: Clean, maintainable DNS record definitions using DNSControl syntax
• DNSControl → CoreDNS Integration: Many don't realize that DNSControl's BIND provider generates zone files that CoreDNS can serve directly!
• Automated BIND Zone Generation: dnscontrol push converts JS configs to standard BIND zone files
• Containerized DNS Server: CoreDNS container serving the generated zones (available in GHCR)
• Comprehensive Testing: Go test suite validating DNS responses for A, AAAA, CNAME, TXT, NS, and MX records
• Complete Development Workflow: just command recipes for the entire build → test → deploy cycle

Key Features

• Two Example Domains: example.com (traditional setup) and example.org (Google Workspace integration)
• RFC Compliance: Uses reserved domains (RFC2606) and private IP ranges (RFC1918/RFC4193)
• Automated Testing: 10+ specific DNS record validations with detailed test output
• Container Registry: Pre-built images available at ghcr.io/fini-net/fini-coredns-example
• Documentation: Complete setup instructions and usage examples

Quick Demo

git clone https://github.com/fini-net/fini-coredns-example
cd fini-coredns-example
just push        # Generate BIND files from JavaScript (optional, already in the container)
just build_con   # Build CoreDNS container (optional, container is in GHCR)
just run_con     # Start DNS server on port 1029
just test_quick  # Run quick test (just a dig)
just test_dns    # Run automated test suite (written in Golang)

Why This Matters

If you're already using DNSControl to manage your DNS configurations, you've probably wondered about the next step: how do you actually serve those zones reliably? This repository addresses common sysadmin challenges:

1. "How do I test my DNS changes before they go live?" - Automated Go tests validate actual DNS responses, not just config syntax
2. "Can I run my own authoritative DNS without BIND complexity?" - CoreDNS provides a simpler, container-native alternative that directly consumes DNSControl's BIND output
3. "How do I integrate DNS deployment into modern infrastructure?" - Complete containerization with pre-built GHCR images and just workflow automation
4. "What's the path from DNSControl development to production DNS service?" - End-to-end example from JavaScript configs to running DNS server

The testing component is particularly valuable for sysadmins - it validates not just that your DNSControl configs compile, but that they actually resolve correctly when served to clients. No more deploying DNS changes and hoping they work!

Use Cases

• Learning DNSControl: See practical JavaScript DNS configurations in action
• Container Deployment: Reference implementation for containerized DNS services
• Testing Patterns: Example of automated DNS validation
• CI/CD Integration: Templates for automated DNS deployment workflows

I hope this helps teams looking to implement robust DNS management workflows. The repository includes comprehensive documentation and follows DNS best practices throughout.

Feedback and contributions are very welcome!

Best regards, 

--

Christopher Hicks ( he/him )
https://www.chicks.net/