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Wikipedia over DNS

A DNS query triggers a Wikipedia lookup and returns the result in an answer, using DNS as a text retrieval path for clients with limited connectivity.

WikipediaTXT recordslookup

Date updated:

Screenshot used in the talk for Wikipedia over DNS
Screenshot used in the original talk.

David Leadbeater’s historical service exposed Wikipedia lookups through DNS. A name encoded the search target, and the result came back in a DNS answer. The service ended in early 2024.

The project made a familiar knowledge source available to a very small client. It remains an early example of DNS as a text retrieval interface.

Primary source: https://dgl.cx/wikipedia-dns