# Bulk WHOIS Lookup (RDAP): Domain Availability & Expiry Checker (`jtpalms/domain-rdap-lookup`) Actor

WHOIS lookup for thousands of domains through RDAP, the official successor to WHOIS: available or registered, registrar, creation date, expiry date, days to expiry, status codes, nameservers and DNSSEC, across 1,200+ TLDs. USD 2.50 per 1,000 domains.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jtpalms/domain-rdap-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [JT Palms](https://apify.com/jtpalms) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, SEO tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 domain looked ups

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Bulk WHOIS Lookup and Domain Availability Checker (RDAP, the WHOIS successor)

A bulk WHOIS lookup, domain availability and domain expiry checker: check thousands of domains in one run. For each one you get whether it is available or registered, the registrar, creation and expiry dates, days until expiry, domain age, status codes (for example `client transfer prohibited`, `redemption period`), nameservers and DNSSEC.

It uses **RDAP**, the structured JSON protocol that replaced WHOIS for gTLDs in 2025, and routes each domain to its official registry through the IANA bootstrap list (1,200+ TLDs). No WHOIS text parsing, no guessing.

**USD 2.50 per 1,000 domains.** Invalid domains, and TLDs whose registry has no RDAP service, are reported free.

### What people use it for

- **Name ideas.** Paste 500 candidate names and turn on **Only return available domains**.
- **Expiring-domain watch.** Schedule a list weekly and sort by `daysUntilExpiry`.
- **Portfolio audits.** Check the registrar, expiry, transfer locks and DNSSEC on every domain you own or manage.
- **Lead scoring and fraud checks.** Domain age is a strong signal. Brand-new domains get flagged.
- **Brand protection.** See who registered look-alike domains, and when.

### Sample output

```json
{
  "domain": "google.com",
  "tld": "com",
  "registered": true,
  "available": false,
  "registrar": "MarkMonitor Inc.",
  "registrarIanaId": "292",
  "createdAt": "1997-09-15T04:00:00Z",
  "updatedAt": "2019-09-09T15:39:04Z",
  "expiresAt": "2028-09-14T04:00:00Z",
  "daysUntilExpiry": 716,
  "domainAgeDays": 10606,
  "status": ["client delete prohibited", "client transfer prohibited", "client update prohibited", "server delete prohibited", "server transfer prohibited", "server update prohibited"],
  "nameservers": ["ns1.google.com", "ns2.google.com", "ns3.google.com", "ns4.google.com"],
  "dnssec": false
}
```

An unregistered name returns `"registered": false, "available": true`.

### How to use it

1. Put domains or URLs in **Domains**, one per line. `https://www.example.com/page` becomes `example.com`. Duplicates are removed.
2. Optionally turn on **Only return available domains**.
3. Click **Start**. Export as CSV, JSON or Excel, or use the Apify API, Make, Zapier or n8n.

### Pricing

| What | Price |
|---|---|
| Domain looked up (registered or available) | USD 0.0025 (USD 2.50 per 1,000) |
| Invalid domain, or TLD without RDAP | Free |

With **Only return available domains** on, you pay only for the available ones.

### Limits

- **The actor identifies itself.** Every request carries the user agent `Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; domain-rdap-lookup/1.0; +https://apify.com/JTPalms/domain-rdap-lookup)`, with plain request headers. It never pretends to be a browser. Some sites block bots; a blocked request is reported as an error, not hidden.
- Some country-code TLDs (for example `.io`) do not run a public RDAP service. Those come back with a clear `error` and are not charged.
- `available: true` means the registry has no record. Premium, reserved or blocked names can still be restricted at the registrar.
- Registrant names, emails and addresses are not returned. Registries mostly redact them anyway, and this actor does not collect personal data.
- Registries rate-limit. The defaults stay well within typical limits. For lists above 50,000, add a proxy under **Advanced**.

### Related actors

- [Website Tech Stack Detector (Wappalyzer Alternative)](https://apify.com/JTPalms/tech-stack-detector): Find the technology behind any website in bulk: CMS, ecommerce platform, analytics, frameworks, CDN, hosting, payment, email and...
- [Company Profile From Domain: Tech Stack, Socials & Hiring](https://apify.com/JTPalms/company-profile): Turn a list of website domains into company profiles: name, description, official social links, tech stack (CMS, ecommerce, analytics),...

### FAQ

**Why RDAP and not WHOIS?** ICANN retired the WHOIS requirement for gTLD registries and registrars in January 2025. RDAP returns standardized JSON with real dates and status codes, so results are consistent across registries.

**Is it legal?** RDAP is the official public lookup service that registries run for exactly this purpose. Lookups are made at polite rates.

**Something wrong for a TLD?** Open an issue with an example domain.

# Actor input Schema

## `domains` (type: `array`):

Domain names or URLs, one per line. www. and paths are stripped; international names are supported.

## `onlyAvailable` (type: `boolean`):

Output (and pay for) only domains that are not registered. Useful for checking long lists of name ideas.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

How many items to process at the same time.

## `perServerConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Registries rate-limit. Keep this low unless you use a proxy.

## `timeoutSecs` (type: `integer`):

How long to wait for one request before giving up.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional. Spreads requests for very large lists.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "google.com",
    "shopify.ca",
    "my-new-startup-idea-2026.com"
  ],
  "onlyAvailable": false,
  "maxConcurrency": 8,
  "perServerConcurrency": 3,
  "timeoutSecs": 20
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All output rows in the default dataset (JSON, CSV, Excel via the format parameter).

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Counts and per-input status for this run.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "domains": [
        "google.com",
        "shopify.ca",
        "my-new-startup-idea-2026.com"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jtpalms/domain-rdap-lookup").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "domains": [
        "google.com",
        "shopify.ca",
        "my-new-startup-idea-2026.com",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jtpalms/domain-rdap-lookup").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "domains": [
    "google.com",
    "shopify.ca",
    "my-new-startup-idea-2026.com"
  ]
}' |
apify call jtpalms/domain-rdap-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,jtpalms/domain-rdap-lookup"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/fvsifWYVkG3xyghVx/builds/y9N9yWqo5NvqBIaMF/openapi.json