4 ms·
How do you check if domains are available? I searched a little for a domain name API not too long ago, but all I found were things that required you to sign up
by jackowayed 16y ago
How do you check if domains are available? I searched a little for a domain name API not too long ago, but all I found were things that required you to sign up (and almost always pay money, I think).
- il 16y agoThe quickest way, without hammering anyone's server is to download the Verisign zone file daily and just search it. They frown on using it for domain lookups, but you might be able to get access anyway.
- rubyrescue 16y agobustaname just uses a DNS lookup for an A record at the root of the domain. they say it's not 100% reliable but it's much faster than whois and i guess they don't want to use the zone file.
- js4all 16y agoYou can do Whois lookups. This standard is as old as the Internet.
- mike-cardwell 16y agoDNS is much faster. whois is usually rate limited and a lot of whois services have restrictions on automated querying. Obviously, whois is more accurate though. So. When I need to test if a bunch of domain names exist, I first of all do a DNS NS lookup. If you get a result, you know the domain exists. If you don't get a result, then do a whois.
- treitnauer 16y agoWe'll have one soon at http://iwantmyname.com http://iwantmyname.com The only reliable way for domain checks is to query the registry database directly through a registrar instead of going through whois / DNS.