# 🌐 Bulk WHOIS & DNS Lookup - Domain Records API (`renzomacar/whois-dns-lookup`) Actor Bulk WHOIS + DNS + SSL lookup for a list of domains: registrar, created/expiry dates, domain age, status, nameservers, A/AAAA/MX/TXT/NS/CNAME/SOA and the live TLS certificate. Keyless WhoisXML alternative. - **URL**: https://apify.com/renzomacar/whois-dns-lookup.md - **Developed by:** [Renzo Madueno](https://apify.com/renzomacar) (community) - **Categories:** Developer tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $5.00 / 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. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## 🌐 Bulk WHOIS & DNS Lookup β€” Domain Records API Paste a list of domains, get back one clean record per domain with everything you'd normally have to stitch together from three different tools: the **WHOIS / registration** record, the **live DNS zone**, and the **SSL certificate**. No API key, no per-lookup subscription, no scraping fragile HTML β€” this Actor talks to the same first-party, free data sources the registries and DNS themselves expose. It's a drop-in, pay-as-you-go alternative to WhoisXML API, DomainTools, and the various "DNS lookup API" services, priced per domain instead of per seat or per monthly quota. --- ### What this Actor tells you For every domain you pass in, three independent questions get answered in parallel: #### 1. Who owns it and when does it expire? (WHOIS via RDAP) WHOIS answers *"who registered this domain, through whom, and for how long?"* β€” the metadata a domain registry keeps. Instead of parsing the legacy free-text WHOIS protocol (rate-limited, unstructured, different on every TLD), this Actor uses **RDAP** (Registration Data Access Protocol), the modern JSON successor that every gTLD registry now runs. We bootstrap through `rdap.org`, which redirects to the authoritative registry for each domain, so `.com`, `.io`, `.dev`, `.co.uk` and hundreds of others all return structured data. From RDAP you get: | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `registrar` | The registrar the domain was registered through (e.g. *MarkMonitor Inc.*, *GoDaddy.com, LLC*). | | `createdDate` | When the domain was first registered (ISO 8601). | | `updatedDate` | When the registration record last changed. | | `expiresDate` | When the registration lapses if not renewed β€” the field domain-portfolio owners live and die by. | | `domainAgeYears` | Age in years, derived from `createdDate`. A trust/legitimacy signal. | | `domainStatus[]` | EPP status codes such as `client transfer prohibited`, `server delete prohibited`, `active`. Tells you if the domain is locked or in a risky state. | | `nameservers[]` | The delegated nameservers the registry has on file (authoritative). | | `registrantCountry` | The registrant's country, *when the registry publishes it* (many redact it under GDPR β€” you'll get `null`, not a crash). | #### 2. Where does it actually resolve? (live DNS) WHOIS is what the registry knows; **DNS is what the internet actually does right now**. Using Node's built-in resolver we pull the live zone: | Record | What it's for | |---|---| | `dns.a[]` | IPv4 addresses β€” where the site is hosted. | | `dns.aaaa[]` | IPv6 addresses. | | `dns.mx[]` | Mail exchangers, each with its `priority`. Reveals the email provider (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Proofpoint…). | | `dns.txt[]` | TXT records β€” SPF, domain-verification tokens, DKIM keys, arbitrary metadata. | | `dns.ns[]` | The nameservers actually answering for the zone. | | `dns.cname` | Any CNAME at the apex (rare, but present on some hosted setups). | | `dns.soa` | Start-of-Authority record: primary nameserver, hostmaster, serial, refresh/retry/expire/minttl. The zone's "heartbeat". | Every record type is resolved independently and any *no-data* / *not-found* / timeout degrades to an empty array or `null` β€” a domain that legitimately has no AAAA or no MX gives you an honest empty result, never an error. #### 3. Is its HTTPS healthy? (live SSL certificate) A single TLS handshake to `:443` (with SNI set to the domain) reads the **live leaf certificate** β€” the thing your users' browsers see: | Field | Meaning | |---|---| | `ssl.issuer` | The Certificate Authority (e.g. *Google Trust Services*, *DigiCert Inc*, *Let's Encrypt*). | | `ssl.validFrom` / `ssl.validTo` | The certificate's validity window (ISO 8601). | | `ssl.daysUntilExpiry` | Days until the cert expires β€” the number that pages your on-call at 2 a.m. when it's negative. | | `ssl.isValid` | Whether the chain validated against the system trust store **and** we're inside the validity window. | Domains with no HTTPS listener, a self-signed cert, or a handshake failure return a `null` cert with `isValid: false` β€” gracefully, in one short timeout. #### Derived convenience flags | Field | Logic | |---|---| | `hasWebsite` | `true` if any A or AAAA record exists. | | `hasMx` | `true` if the domain publishes MX records (it can receive mail). | | `isExpiringSoon` | `true` if the **domain registration** *or* the **SSL certificate** expires within 30 days β€” your single "needs attention" flag. | --- ### Example input ```json { "domains": ["google.com", "github.com", "stripe.com"], "maxConcurrency": 5 } ```` You can also paste URLs (`https://github.com/features`) or emails (`jane@stripe.com`) β€” they're reduced to the bare domain automatically. Duplicates are removed. ### Example output (one record per domain) ```json { "domain": "stripe.com", "registrar": "SafeNames Ltd.", "createdDate": "1995-09-12T04:00:00.000Z", "updatedDate": "2024-08-10T12:00:00.000Z", "expiresDate": "2027-09-11T04:00:00.000Z", "domainAgeYears": 30.8, "domainStatus": ["client transfer prohibited", "server delete prohibited"], "nameservers": ["ns-1087.awsdns-07.org", "ns-1882.awsdns-43.co.uk", "ns-423.awsdns-52.com", "ns-705.awsdns-24.net"], "registrantCountry": null, "dns": { "a": ["198.202.176.231", "198.137.150.231"], "aaaa": [], "mx": [ { "exchange": "aspmx.l.google.com", "priority": 10 }, { "exchange": "alt1.aspmx.l.google.com", "priority": 20 } ], "txt": ["v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"], "ns": ["ns-423.awsdns-52.com", "ns-705.awsdns-24.net"], "cname": null, "soa": { "nsname": "ns-1882.awsdns-43.co.uk", "hostmaster": "awsdns-hostmaster.amazon.com", "serial": 1, "refresh": 900, "retry": 900, "expire": 1209600, "minttl": 3600 } }, "ssl": { "issuer": "DigiCert Inc", "validFrom": "2026-05-27T00:00:00.000Z", "validTo": "2026-09-03T23:59:59.000Z", "daysUntilExpiry": 62, "isValid": true }, "hasWebsite": true, "hasMx": true, "isExpiringSoon": false, "checkedAt": "2026-07-04T14:30:00.000Z" } ``` *** ### What people use it for - **Domain-portfolio monitoring** β€” run your whole portfolio on a schedule and watch `expiresDate`, `domainStatus` and `nameservers` for anything that drifted. Catch a domain about to lapse before a squatter does. - **Expiry alerting** β€” filter on `isExpiringSoon` (registration *or* SSL within 30 days) and pipe it into Slack, email or a ticket. One flag, both risks. - **Security & threat recon** β€” pull nameservers, mail providers, SSL issuers and registration age across a list of look-alike or phishing domains. A domain registered 4 days ago with a free cert and no MX is a very different animal from a 30-year-old domain on MarkMonitor. - **Lead qualification / enrichment** β€” attach registrar, domain age, MX provider and "has a real HTTPS site" to a list of prospect domains before your sales team touches them. Old domain + Google Workspace MX + valid EV-grade cert = a real business. - **Infra audits & migrations** β€” confirm every domain in an acquisition or migration points at the nameservers, MX and certs you expect. - **Bulk DNS/WHOIS API replacement** β€” wire the Actor's API endpoint into your own app and get structured WHOIS + DNS + SSL without running or paying for three separate services. *** ### A WhoisXML / DNS-Lookup-API alternative Services like **WhoisXML API**, **DomainTools**, and hosted **DNS Lookup APIs** sell WHOIS, DNS and SSL data behind monthly quotas and per-seat pricing, and each usually covers only *one* of the three. This Actor: - **Combines all three** (WHOIS + DNS + SSL) into one record per domain β€” one call, not three subscriptions. - **Charges per domain looked up** (pay-per-event), so a 40-domain check costs cents and a 40,000-domain portfolio scales linearly β€” no quota you have to size in advance. - **Uses 100% free, first-party sources** (RDAP registries, live DNS, live TLS), so there's no upstream API key to manage or rotate. - **Runs on Apify** β€” schedule it, hit it via API/webhook, export to JSON/CSV/Excel, or chain it into a larger pipeline. *** ### FAQ **Is RDAP the same as WHOIS?** RDAP is the modern, structured, JSON replacement for the legacy WHOIS protocol, mandated by ICANN for gTLDs. You get the same registration facts (registrar, dates, status, nameservers) in a clean, reliable format instead of scraping free text. A few ccTLDs don't yet run RDAP; for those you'll get the DNS + SSL data and `null` WHOIS fields. **Why is `registrantCountry` (or registrant name/email) often null?** Post-GDPR, most registries redact personal registrant data by default. When a registry does publish the country, you get it; when it doesn't, you get `null` β€” the Actor never guesses. **Why might a domain show `hasWebsite: false` but still have a valid SSL cert?** `hasWebsite` is based on A/AAAA records at the *exact* domain you passed. Some sites only serve on `www.` or route through a CDN CNAME. The SSL check connects to `:443` on the domain and reads whatever cert is presented, so the two can differ β€” both facts are reported honestly. **How fresh is the data?** Every field is fetched live at run time; `checkedAt` timestamps each record. DNS and SSL are real-time; RDAP reflects the registry's current record. **Will it crash on a dead or malformed domain?** No. Invalid input, NXDOMAIN, no-HTTPS, RDAP misses and timeouts all degrade to empty arrays / `null` fields. You always get exactly one record per input domain. **How is it priced?** Pay-per-event: you're charged once per domain successfully looked up (`domain-looked-up`). Set `ACTOR_MAX_TOTAL_CHARGE_USD` to hard-cap spend on huge lists. *** ### Automate it - **Schedule** the Actor (daily/weekly) over your domain portfolio and route `isExpiringSoon === true` records to Slack or email β€” never miss a registration or certificate renewal again. - **Call it via API/webhook** from your own backend to enrich domains on demand, and read results straight from the dataset as JSON or CSV. - **Chain it**: feed the output into a spreadsheet, a BI tool, or the next Actor in an Apify task flow. *** ### Related Actors - **[Domain & Email Deliverability Enricher](https://apify.com/renzomacar/domain-health-enricher)** β€” goes deeper on the *email* side of the same domains: MX + provider, SPF, DMARC (+ policy), DKIM, and a 0–100 email-security score with low/medium/high deliverability risk. Use it to score domains before cold outreach; use *this* Actor for the WHOIS/DNS/SSL registration picture. - **Company Enrichment** β€” turn a domain into firmographics (company name, size, industry, socials). Pair it with this Actor to go from a raw domain list to fully-qualified, verified B2B records. *** *Built for developers, sales-ops and security teams who need WHOIS + DNS + SSL in bulk, priced by the domain instead of by the seat.* # Actor input Schema ## `domains` (type: `array`): One domain per line (e.g. google.com). URLs (https://google.com/search) and emails (jane@google.com) are accepted too β€” they're reduced to the bare domain automatically. Each domain is looked up for: WHOIS/RDAP registration data (registrar, created/updated/expiry dates, domain age, status codes, nameservers, registrant country), live DNS records (A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, SOA), and its live SSL/TLS certificate (issuer, validity window, days-until-expiry). One clean record is returned per domain. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): How many domains to look up in parallel. Higher = faster on big lists; the default is a friendly value for public DNS resolvers, RDAP and TLS endpoints. ## Actor input object example ```json { "domains": [ "google.com", "github.com", "stripe.com" ], "maxConcurrency": 5 } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "domains": [ "google.com", "github.com", "stripe.com" ], "maxConcurrency": 5 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("renzomacar/whois-dns-lookup").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`πŸ’Ύ 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); }); // πŸ“š Want to learn more πŸ“–? Go to β†’ 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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "domains": [ "google.com", "github.com", "stripe.com", ], "maxConcurrency": 5, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("renzomacar/whois-dns-lookup").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("πŸ’Ύ Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # πŸ“š Want to learn more πŸ“–? Go to β†’ https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "domains": [ "google.com", "github.com", "stripe.com" ], "maxConcurrency": 5 }' | apify call renzomacar/whois-dns-lookup --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=renzomacar/whois-dns-lookup", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "🌐 Bulk WHOIS & DNS Lookup - Domain Records API", "description": "Bulk WHOIS + DNS + SSL lookup for a list of domains: registrar, created/expiry dates, domain age, status, nameservers, A/AAAA/MX/TXT/NS/CNAME/SOA and the live TLS certificate. Keyless WhoisXML alternative.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "yQR1tJGGbpTIFPLTO" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/renzomacar~whois-dns-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-renzomacar-whois-dns-lookup", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/renzomacar~whois-dns-lookup/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-renzomacar-whois-dns-lookup", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/renzomacar~whois-dns-lookup/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-renzomacar-whois-dns-lookup", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "domains" ], "properties": { "domains": { "title": "Domains to look up", "type": "array", "description": "One domain per line (e.g. google.com). URLs (https://google.com/search) and emails (jane@google.com) are accepted too β€” they're reduced to the bare domain automatically. Each domain is looked up for: WHOIS/RDAP registration data (registrar, created/updated/expiry dates, domain age, status codes, nameservers, registrant country), live DNS records (A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, SOA), and its live SSL/TLS certificate (issuer, validity window, days-until-expiry). One clean record is returned per domain.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxConcurrency": { "title": "Max concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 25, "type": "integer", "description": "How many domains to look up in parallel. Higher = faster on big lists; the default is a friendly value for public DNS resolvers, RDAP and TLS endpoints.", "default": 5 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```