hashicorp / hashicorp/mdns

mDNS queries sent via unicast connection instead of multicast - causes discovery failures for certain devices

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Go
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Description

### Problem
The [`sendQuery` function](https://github.com/hashicorp/mdns/blob/main/client.go#L402) (lines 402-420) sends mDNS queries using **unicast** connections instead of multicast connections.

### Impact
Some devices, e.g. the Alfen EV Charger only responds to queries sent via multicast

### RFC Compliance
According to RFC 6762 (Multicast DNS), service discovery queries should be sent to the multicast address (224.0.0.251 for IPv4, ff02::fb for IPv6). While the library correctly sends to ipv4Addr (which is the multicast address), it uses a unicast socket to do so, which some devices may filter or ignore.

### Question
Should mDNS queries be sent via the multicast connections ipv4MulticastConn/ipv6MulticastConn instead of unicast connections for better compatibility? Or is there a fork that already does this?

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start in client.go at sendQuery (lines 402-420), then trace how ipv4MulticastConn, ipv6MulticastConn, and the unicast connections are initialized and used. Confirm the RFC and device-compatibility implications, with completion defined as selecting the appropriate query transport and verifying discovery behavior for IPv4 and IPv6.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
go
Domain
networking
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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