# Domain WHOIS & Website Watch: SSL, DNS, Expiry, Uptime (`tudorlane/domain-watch`) Actor

Monitor domains between runs: A/MX/NS DNS changes, SSL certificate replaced or expiring within 14 days, registrar and expiry changes (RDAP), site down/up, redirect changes, homepage title and content changes. Schedule it daily; only changes are charged extra.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/tudorlane/domain-watch.md
- **Developed by:** [Tudor Lane](https://apify.com/tudorlane) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **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 checks

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

## Domain WHOIS & Website Watch: SSL, DNS, Expiry, Uptime

### Use when…

- You need WHOIS/RDAP expiry, SSL, DNS or uptime-style signals for a domain list.
- A brand-protection or ops agent watches domains for expiry or certificate changes.
- You want a watchlist that reports only changes since the previous run.

### Try this input

Copy-paste this JSON as the Actor input (it matches a successful run / the default schema):

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "bbc.co.uk",
    "python.org"
  ],
  "watchlistId": "default"
}
```

### Sample output (real run 2026-10-26)

One dataset item, shortened:

```json
{
  "domain": "python.org",
  "baseline": false,
  "changed": false,
  "change_count": 0,
  "changes": [],
  "change_types": [],
  "a": [
    "151.101.0.223",
    "151.101.128.223",
    "… +2 more"
  ],
  "mx": [
    "mail.python.org"
  ],
  "ns": [
    "ns-1134.awsdns-13.org",
    "ns-2046.awsdns-63.co.uk",
    "… +2 more"
  ],
  "ssl_valid": true,
  "ssl_issuer": "GlobalSign nv-sa",
  "ssl_valid_to": "2027-02-14",
  "…": "+10 more keys"
}
```

Give it domains; schedule it daily. First run saves a baseline; each later run reports changes:
A / MX / NS records, SSL certificate replaced or invalid or **SSL expiry** within 14 days, **domain expiry** within 30 days (`domain_expiring`), registrar or domain-expiry-date change (RDAP/WHOIS),
site down / back up, homepage redirect change, homepage title change, homepage text change (digits ignored). Use `ignoreChanges` to mute noisy types.

### Quick start

1. Leave the default input (it is prefilled) and click **Start**:

```json
{"domains": ["bbc.co.uk", "python.org"], "watchlistId": "default"}
```

2. The first run saves a baseline. Schedule it daily (Apify Schedules) and later runs report only what changed.

### Sample output (real run, 26 Oct 2026, default input)

| domain | changed | ssl_valid | ssl_issuer | ssl_valid_to | ssl_days_left | registrar | expires | up | http_status | title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| python.org | false | true | GlobalSign nv-sa | 2027-02-14 | 111 | Gandi SAS | 2033-03-28 | true | 200 | Welcome to Python.org |
| bbc.co.uk | false | true | GlobalSign nv-sa | 2027-01-24 | 89 | British Broadcasting Corporation | 2034-12-13 | true | 200 | BBC - Home |

Each row also has `a`, `mx` and `ns` records, `final_url`, `content_hash`, `changes` (list of what changed, with old and new values), `change_types` and `checked_at`.

### Use cases

- Get warned before an SSL certificate or domain registration expires.
- Spot DNS (A/MX/NS) or registrar changes on your own or clients' domains.
- Simple daily uptime and redirect check for a portfolio of sites.
- Watch competitor or supplier domains for site changes.

### Pricing

- **$0.002 per domain checked**
- **+$0.01 per domain with a detected change.** Baseline runs never charge for changes.

### FAQ

**Do I need an API key?** No.

**How does it remember the last run?** It saves a snapshot in your own named key-value store `domain-watch`, under the `watchlistId`. Use a different ID for each list.

**Busy sites keep showing content changes.** Add `content` or `title` to `ignoreChanges`.

**Can I get alerts?** Use Apify integrations (email, Slack, webhook) on runs, or filter the dataset on `changed = true`.

### Limits & failure modes

- One check per run: it is not a minute-by-minute uptime monitor. A site down at the moment of the check is reported as down.
- Registrar and expiry dates come from RDAP/WHOIS. Some country-code domains do not publish them, so those fields can be empty.
- Content change only looks at the homepage text (digits ignored), not the whole site.
- Pages that need JavaScript or block cloud servers may show as down or with an empty title.
- WHOIS/RDAP privacy redacts registrant details on many TLDs.
- Some registries rate-limit or return thin data; those fields stay empty rather than guessed.

# Actor input Schema

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

Max 1000 domains or URLs.

## `watchlistId` (type: `string`):

Name for this watchlist; the snapshot is kept in your named key-value store 'domain-watch' under this ID.

## `ignoreChanges` (type: `array`):

e.g. content, title, ssl_renewed, dns_a (busy sites change content often).

## `previousSnapshot` (type: `object`):

Optional: pass the SNAPSHOT record from an earlier run instead of the saved watchlist.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domains": [
    "bbc.co.uk",
    "python.org"
  ],
  "watchlistId": "default"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

One item per request.

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

No description

# 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": [
        "bbc.co.uk",
        "python.org"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("tudorlane/domain-watch").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": [
        "bbc.co.uk",
        "python.org",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("tudorlane/domain-watch").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": [
    "bbc.co.uk",
    "python.org"
  ]
}' |
apify call tudorlane/domain-watch --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/Fdi9HT0cHQSjg5ouL/builds/IuaedQXACMeAlfMdL/openapi.json