Flush DNS on Windows 10 & 11: ipconfig /flushdns (2026)

Need to flush the DNS cache on Windows right now? Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run:

ipconfig /flushdns

Use it after editing the hosts file, changing DNS servers, testing a migration, or when a domain still resolves to an old IP address. Need every platform in one place? See how to flush the DNS cache on Windows, macOS and Linux.

How to flush DNS on Windows 10 and 11

To flush DNS on Windows, run ipconfig /flushdns from Command Prompt or PowerShell:

1. Press the Windows key, type cmd (or PowerShell), and open it.
2. Run ipconfig /flushdns.
3. Wait for "Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache."
4. Verify resolution with nslookup myproject.test or ipconfig /displaydns.
5. Reload the page in a fresh browser tab.

If Windows returns an elevation or access error, reopen the terminal with Run as administrator.

The same command works on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Flush DNS with PowerShell (Clear-DnsClientCache)

If you prefer PowerShell, it ships a native cmdlet that does the same job as ipconfig /flushdns:

Clear-DnsClientCache

Inspect what is cached before you clear it with Get-DnsClientCache. Both cmdlets are convenient in scripts and CI runners where you automate a DNS reset.

When to flush DNS on Windows

• You edited C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts but the browser still opens the old site.
• You switched DNS resolvers (Cloudflare 1.1.1.1, Google 8.8.8.8, a VPN).
• You moved a staging site to a new server before DNS propagation.

For the full editing workflow, see how to edit the hosts file on Windows.

Verify the result

ipconfig /displaydns
nslookup myproject.test

If the command line resolves correctly but the browser does not, the browser is caching the old result.

Clear the browser DNS cache too

• Chrome / Edge: when available, open chrome://net-internals/#dns (or edge://net-internals/#dns) and click Clear host cache. Otherwise restart the browser.
• Firefox: open about:networking#dns and click Clear DNS Cache.

Reload in a new tab after clearing the browser cache.

Troubleshooting

• "The requested operation requires elevation": reopen the prompt as administrator.
• Change still ignored: confirm the hosts line is IP<space>hostname with no http:// or port, then flush again.
• Only one app affected: restart that app; some keep long-lived connections.
• WSL2 still resolves the old IP: WSL2 keeps its own resolver, separate from Windows. Inside the distro run sudo resolvectl flush-caches, or run wsl --shutdown from Windows to restart it cleanly.

If you switch local domains often, a visual hosts manager like ToggleHosts edits the file safely and flushes DNS for you, avoiding malformed lines and forgotten flushes.

Prefer a one-click demo on Windows 11?

_Last tested: June 2026 on Windows 11 23H2 and Windows 10 22H2._

Sources and further reading

• How DNS works (Cloudflare Learning)
• ipconfig command reference (Microsoft Learn)
• The hosts file explained (Wikipedia)