Instructions on how to install PowerDNS Recursor on macOS.
These commands need to be run from the Terminal.
Installation
Install Homebrew
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"Install PowerDNS recursor
brew install pdnsrecDownload and install the boot script from this Gist
sudo curl -so /Library/LaunchDaemons/homebrew.mxcl.pdnsrec.plist 'https://gist.githubusercontent.com/kometchtech/1cda9953aa51c1498183/raw/d85a7b283efef3c605e32d28a8f3ed07a41a2f1b/homebrew.mxcl.pdnsrec.plist' \
&& sudo chown root:wheel /Library/LaunchDaemons/homebrew.mxcl.pdnsrec.plistInstall boot script
sudo launchctl bootstrap system /Library/LaunchDaemons/homebrew.mxcl.pdnsrec.plistStart the recursor on boot
sudo launchctl enable system/homebrew.mxcl.pdnsrecAnd start it right now. No need to reboot your Mac.
sudo launchctl kickstart system/homebrew.mxcl.pdnsrecConfiguration
Security setting to enable strict DNSSEC validation.
cd /usr/local/etc/powerdns \
&& cp -n recursor.yml-dist recursor.yml \
&& sed -i '' -E 's/^#[[:blank:]]*dnssec:$/dnssec:/' recursor.yml \
&& sed -i '' -E 's/^# *validation: process$/ validation: validate/' recursor.ymlGo to System Preferences > Network and select your interface. Then go to Advanced > DNS tab and click the + to add a DNS server. Enter 127.0.0.1
You can further customize the resolver by editing the config file at /usr/local/etc/powerdns/recursor.conf
Reload config
When you’re done you need to restart the process like this:
sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/homebrew.mxcl.pdnsrecClearing the cache
To clear the local cache run:
sudo rec_control wipe-cacheor to clear only one domain zone:
sudo rec_control wipe-cache domain.nameChangelog
2025-12-25 – ZSH compatibility, replaced wget with curl and fixes for YAML config
2020-02-28 – Rewrote config commands, they need to be overrides in case the file already exists.
2017-07-15 – Added DNSSEC validation, no more reboot required and replaced legacy launchctl commands.
Thanks to Babo D’s Corner for the commands.