Use the public node with BIRD or FRR

The UK community node is available at irrd.tools:43 over IPv4 and IPv6. These examples query the public service. You do not need to run a local daemon or use a local loopback address to query it.

Find IPv4 and IPv6 prefixes

# IPv4 originated by an ASN
whois -h irrd.tools '!gAS3333'
# IPv6 originated by an ASN
whois -h irrd.tools '!6AS3333'
# Every ASN in an AS-set, including nested membership
whois -h irrd.tools '!iAS-RIPENCC,1'
# IPv4 prefixes from the AS-set
whois -h irrd.tools '!a4AS-RIPENCC'
# IPv6 prefixes from the AS-set
whois -h irrd.tools '!a6AS-RIPENCC'

Use the interactive query tool to choose an example, change its source and copy an equivalent HTTP command. Prefix expansion has service limits. A timeout, error or rate limit must not be treated as an empty route list.

Generate candidate BIRD prefix sets

Install bgpq4 on your router-management host, then choose your actual peer ASN or AS-set. The examples use RIPE NCC data for an observable public test.

bgpq4 -4 -b -h irrd.tools:43 -S RIPE -l IRR_IN4 AS-RIPENCC
bgpq4 -6 -b -h irrd.tools:43 -S RIPE -l IRR_IN6 AS-RIPENCC

Reference the generated definitions in your BIRD policy. Compare them with the previous set and validate the complete candidate configuration with bird -p -c before applying a reviewed configuration. Keep the last known good policy if a query or validation step fails.

Generate candidate FRR prefix lists

bgpq4 -4 -h irrd.tools:43 -S RIPE -l IRR_IN4 AS-RIPENCC
bgpq4 -6 -h irrd.tools:43 -S RIPE -l IRR_IN6 AS-RIPENCC

Attach the generated IPv4/IPv6 lists to your chosen inbound route-map. Use a versioned candidate name, inspect additions and removals and validate against your installed FRR version before changing an active policy. These commands produce text; they do not modify the router.

Keep router policy under your control

IRR filters use registered routing policy. Cryptographic origin validation is a separate job for a dedicated RPKI validator; RIRRd does not provide RTR or ROA validation. No community account is needed to run your own IRR instance.

Check source health before depending on a public node. The service is experimental, with seven incremental feeds and twelve scheduled snapshot sources at this checkpoint. Full query/policy parity is incomplete.