# Bulk Domain Search — Availability Checker for 1,075 TLDs (`oswaldocarabano/domain-availability-screen`) Actor

Bulk domain search and availability checker: paste up to 5,000 names and get a verdict for each, across 1,075 gTLDs. No WHOIS, no registrar API, no rate limits and no per-lookup fee — it reads the registries' own zone files, so a taken domain is certain and the rest are probably free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/oswaldocarabano/domain-availability-screen.md
- **Developed by:** [Oswaldo Carabano](https://apify.com/oswaldocarabano) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, AI, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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 Domain Search — Availability Checker for 1,075 TLDs

Screens thousands of candidate domains in one run against the registries' own zone
files. No registrar API, no rate limits, no per-lookup fee.

Built for the moment before you decide: you have 300 name ideas across 12 TLDs and you
want the dead ones gone before you look at the rest by hand.

### Coverage

**1,075 gTLDs**, including `.com`, `.net`, `.org`, `.info`, `.biz`, `.xyz`, `.top`,
`.shop`, `.online`, `.site`, `.store`, `.app`, `.dev` and `.cloud` — **255,631,856
delegated domains**, counted from the zone files themselves and refreshed daily.

Coverage is real but it is not evenly spread, and you should know the shape of it
before you rely on it: `.com` alone is 166 million of that total, and while all 1,075
TLDs are included, 481 of them hold fewer than a thousand domains each. Breadth helps
you catch something in an obscure TLD; it is not 1,075 equally busy namespaces.

**Not covered:** `.io`, `.ai`, `.co`, `.me`, `.tv`, `.cc` and every other country-code
TLD. These are not available from ICANN's zone file service at any price — they are run
outside ICANN's contracts. They are also exactly the TLDs a startup expects, so we say
it here rather than letting you find out from an empty result.

**What a zone file does not contain, and no run will ever return:** the registrant,
their email, the registrar, the registration date, the expiry date, or the domain's own
A, MX and TXT records. Any tool promising those needs a different source, and at scale
that source is prohibited by the agreement behind this data.

### Input

Every run is anchored on something you provide. There is no way to ask this Actor for
the whole namespace, and that is a design decision rather than a limitation: the data
agreement behind it forbids handing over a substantial portion of a zone, so the
product simply has no shape that could.

See **Example runs** below for fifteen worked inputs.

### Output

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `candidate` | The name you asked about, exactly as we normalised it |
| `domain` | The domain, when it exists in the zone |
| `tld` | Its top-level domain |
| `status` | `taken` or `probably_free` — read the asymmetry below |
| `nameservers` | Where it delegates, when it is taken |
| `dns_provider` | Who runs the DNS, inferred from the nameserver. **69.1%** filled. This is a hosting fact, not a technology one — see below |
| `parked_for_sale` | True when the nameserver belongs to a parking or domain-sale service. **2.0%** of domains, and exact when it fires |

### Reading the results

**The two answers are not equally strong, and that is the whole point.**

| `status` | What it means |
|---|---|
| `taken` | The domain is delegated in the registry's own zone file. **Certain.** |
| `probably_free` | Not in the zone file. Usually unregistered — but a domain can be registered and absent, for example if it is suspended, newly bought, or has no nameservers set. |

About 1.6% of registered `.com` domains are not in the zone file at any given time. We
checked that figure against ICANN's monthly registry reports rather than taking it
on trust: 169,209,254 `.com` domains registered against 166,467,808 in the zone, which
is 1.62%.

**That rate is not the same everywhere.** It is roughly 2.4% in `.net` and 3.1% in
`.org`, so `probably_free` is a little less reliable outside `.com` than inside it.

Treat this as a **screening pass** that removes the vast majority of dead candidates
cheaply, then confirm the handful you actually want at a registrar. It is not a
purchase decision, and we would rather say so than let you find out at checkout.

**`parked_for_sale` is worth reading on the `taken` rows.** A taken domain sitting on a
sale service is one you might still be able to buy.

**`dns_provider` says who runs the DNS, not what the site is built with.** We measured
every domain in the zone: the nameserver identifies the DNS operator for 69% of them,
but that is a hosting fact. A domain on Cloudflare can be running anything at all.
Website platforms are configured with A and CNAME records, which a zone file does not
contain, so we cannot see them and we do not guess — Shopify, for instance, is visible
on 185 domains out of 64 million. We would rather ship a column that is true than one
that looks impressive.

### Example runs

**1. Bulk domain search for one name across five TLDs**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "myawesomeapp.com",
    "myawesomeapp.net",
    "myawesomeapp.org",
    "myawesomeapp.app",
    "myawesomeapp.dev"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**2. Find which domains in a list are still available**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "trylaunch.com",
    "trylaunch.net",
    "trylaunch.app"
  ],
  "onlyFree": true,
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**3. Check a startup name shortlist for availability**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "kavu.com",
    "kavu.io",
    "hexly.com",
    "hexly.app",
    "nordic.dev"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**4. Bulk check brand plus modifier domain ideas**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "getstripe.com",
    "trystripe.com",
    "usestripe.com",
    "stripehq.com"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**5. Check a rebrand name across five TLDs**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "northwind.com",
    "northwind.co.uk",
    "northwind.shop",
    "northwind.store",
    "northwind.online"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**6. Bulk availability check for two-word product names**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "cloudforge.com",
    "cloudforge.dev",
    "dataforge.com",
    "dataforge.dev"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**7. See which short domains on your wishlist are already gone**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "zyla.com",
    "vexo.com",
    "quix.com",
    "nyla.com",
    "xqoz.com",
    "vurq.com"
  ],
  "maxResults": 200
}
```

**8. Check a domain investor watchlist in bulk**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "crypto.shop",
    "crypto.store",
    "crypto.online",
    "crypto.site"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**9. Bulk check local business domain names**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "berlinbakery.shop",
    "berlinbakery.store",
    "berlinbakery.online"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**10. Screen a naming shortlist and keep only the free ones**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "lumenbarrow.com",
    "lumenmantle.com",
    "lumenfathom.com",
    "lumenwright.com",
    "lumenforge.com",
    "vertexbarrow.com",
    "vertexquill.com",
    "vertexforge.com",
    "quantabarrow.com",
    "quantahollow.com",
    "nimbusbarrow.com",
    "cobaltquill.com"
  ],
  "onlyFree": true,
  "maxResults": 500
}
```

**11. Check AI product name availability in bulk**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "askly.ai",
    "askly.com",
    "askly.app",
    "askly.dev"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**12. Defensive domain registration check before launch**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "acmepay.com",
    "acmepay.net",
    "acmepay.org",
    "acmepay.shop",
    "acmepay.app",
    "acmepay.dev"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**13. Bulk domain availability check from a spreadsheet**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "idea001.com",
    "idea002.com",
    "idea003.com",
    "idea004.com",
    "idea005.com"
  ],
  "onlyFree": true,
  "maxResults": 5000
}
```

**14. Compare hyphenated and non-hyphenated domains**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "my-app.com",
    "my-app.dev",
    "myapp.com",
    "myapp.dev"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

**15. Check numeric and mixed domain names in bulk**

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "shop24.store",
    "shop24.online",
    "24shop.store"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

### Pricing

**$0.00001 to start, then $0.001 per candidate screened** — **$1 per 1,000**. Screening
5,000 candidates costs **$5.00**, and a 300-name shortlist costs **30 cents**.

WHOIS-based bulk checkers in the Store charge **$0.02 to $0.003 per domain — $20 to $3
per 1,000**. This is three to twenty times cheaper because it costs us almost nothing to
answer: there is no WHOIS lookup, no proxy and no rate limit behind each row, just a
query against a file we already hold. Screening 5,000 names here is **$5**; the same
work against a WHOIS-based Actor is **$100**.

⚠️ **One honest comparison we lose.** There is a flat-rate checker at $0.035 per run
with no per-domain charge. For a single large batch it is cheaper than this Actor, and
we are not going to pretend otherwise. What you get here instead is 1,075 TLDs in one
pass, an answer in seconds rather than minutes, and a stated error rate — 1.62%,
measured against ICANN's monthly registry reports — instead of a promise.

### Data source

> 🛡️ **Sourced from the Registry Operators' own zone files**, obtained through ICANN's
> Centralized Zone Data Service under agreement with those operators. ICANN does not
> endorse, sponsor or review this Actor.

Built for security research, brand protection and domain analytics. The access behind
this data was granted one TLD at a time, which is why the coverage is what it is.

### Support

Found a domain the Actor missed, or a row that looks wrong? Open an issue on the Actor
page with the exact input you used. Zone data is refreshed once a day, so a domain
delegated this morning may not appear until tomorrow's snapshot.

# Actor input Schema

## `candidates` (type: `array`):

The domains you want screened, one per line, with the TLD. Up to 5,000 per run. This list is what anchors the run.

## `onlyFree` (type: `boolean`):

Hide the candidates that are definitely taken and return only the ones absent from the zone.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on rows returned. Kept low on purpose so a first run cannot burn your free credit. Raise it deliberately. The service will never return more than 50,000 rows in one run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "candidates": [
    "myawesomeapp.com",
    "myawesomeapp.net",
    "myawesomeapp.io"
  ],
  "onlyFree": false,
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

Bulk domain search and availability checker: paste up to 5,000 names and get a verdict for each, across 1,075 gTLDs. No WHOIS, no registrar API, no rate limits and no per-lookup fee — it reads the registries' own zone files, so a taken domain is certain and the rest are probably free.

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

How many rows matched, whether the row cap truncated the answer, and the date of the zone data used. If truncated is true, you are seeing a partial answer.

# 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 = {
    "candidates": [
        "myawesomeapp.com",
        "myawesomeapp.net",
        "myawesomeapp.io"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("oswaldocarabano/domain-availability-screen").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 = { "candidates": [
        "myawesomeapp.com",
        "myawesomeapp.net",
        "myawesomeapp.io",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("oswaldocarabano/domain-availability-screen").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 '{
  "candidates": [
    "myawesomeapp.com",
    "myawesomeapp.net",
    "myawesomeapp.io"
  ]
}' |
apify call oswaldocarabano/domain-availability-screen --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/CoHgBN3bPrHMuexTm/builds/kkjhp0PD617nXVa9N/openapi.json