# Domain RDAP Lookup — Authoritative Registration Data (`workfoundry/workfoundry-domain-rdap-lookup`) Actor

Look up one domain through the IANA RDAP bootstrap and return a compact, normalized registration record for security triage, brand research, and automated domain checks.

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

## Pricing

from $0.50 / 1,000 domain record returneds

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 RDAP Lookup

Look up one fully qualified domain name and receive a compact, normalized view of its public registration data. Domain RDAP Lookup uses the IANA RDAP DNS bootstrap to find the authoritative registry for the domain's top-level domain, then queries that registry directly. It is a practical, modern alternative to parsing inconsistent WHOIS text.

### What this Actor does

For each run, the Actor accepts one domain and returns one record. A record states whether the authoritative RDAP service found the domain and, when it did, includes the registry handle, domain status values, selected registration lifecycle events, nameservers, and the exact authoritative RDAP URL used. The default input is `example.com`, so you can run the Actor without a credential or additional configuration.

### Why use it

RDAP is a structured registration-data protocol. This Actor removes the routing step: you do not need to maintain a list of registry endpoints or write custom parsers for each registry. The normalized result is small enough for an API workflow, a security playbook, a brand-research process, or an AI agent that needs traceable public registration data.

### Common use cases

- Check whether a domain is registered before a brand, partner, or vendor review.
- Add registration status and nameserver context to a security investigation.
- Route a domain to its authoritative RDAP record from an automation or agent workflow.
- Build a bounded domain-enrichment step without scraping web pages or parsing WHOIS output.

### Input

Provide a fully qualified domain name in `domain`. The Actor lowercases the value and accepts a URL-like input only to remove its scheme and path; use a normal hostname such as `example.com` for predictable results. Internationalized names, bare labels such as `localhost`, IP addresses, DNS lookups, subdomain discovery, bulk lists, and WHOIS fallback are not supported.

```json
{
  "domain": "example.com"
}
```

### Verified example

The following shape is the result produced by a successful validated `example.com` run. Registration handles, status values, lifecycle dates, and nameservers are registry-owned live data and can change; the Actor only includes event types returned by the registry for `registration`, `expiration`, and `last changed`.

```json
{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "registered": true,
  "handle": "<registry-supplied handle>",
  "status": ["<registry-supplied status>"],
  "events": [
    { "eventAction": "registration", "eventDate": "<registry-supplied ISO 8601 date>" },
    { "eventAction": "expiration", "eventDate": "<registry-supplied ISO 8601 date>" }
  ],
  "nameservers": ["<registry-supplied hostname>"],
  "source_url": "<IANA-routed authoritative RDAP URL>"
}
```

The example is intentionally shown with registry-supplied values rather than fixed copied values. Run the default input to obtain the current authoritative response and its exact `source_url`.

### Output fields

| Field | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `domain` | The normalized domain submitted to the authoritative registry. |
| `registered` | `true` if the registry returned a domain record. |
| `handle` | The registry's domain-object identifier, when it supplies one. |
| `status` | Registry-provided domain status values; wording and availability vary by registry. |
| `events` | Registration lifecycle events returned by the registry, restricted to registration, expiration, and last-changed events. |
| `nameservers` | Hostnames supplied in the registry's RDAP response. |
| `source_url` | The authoritative registry endpoint used for this result. Use it for auditability or to inspect the full native RDAP record. |

### Pricing

Pricing is **US$0.00005 per Actor start** plus **US$0.0005 for each returned domain record** (US$0.50 per 1,000 returned records, excluding the small start charge). A successfully completed lookup returns at most one record. Invalid input, unavailable upstream services, and runs that cannot authorize delivery do not return a paid record.

### Limitations and coverage

Coverage depends on the IANA bootstrap and on the authoritative RDAP service for the requested top-level domain. Public RDAP data is not a guarantee of domain ownership, availability, identity, DNS resolution, trademark rights, or legal status. Privacy redaction and registry policy can omit or alter fields. This Actor does not provide historical records, registrant contact enrichment, DNS records, TLS data, web crawling, monitoring, alerts, or a WHOIS fallback.

### Errors and troubleshooting

Use a valid fully qualified domain, for example `example.com`. Invalid values fail before a paid record is returned. A registry can temporarily be unavailable or can decline a request; retry later rather than assuming a registration state. If the result is incomplete, check `source_url`: it is the registry's own public record and explains the fields that were available for that domain.

### Data source and provenance

The Actor fetches the public [IANA RDAP DNS bootstrap](https://data.iana.org/rdap/dns.json) on each run, identifies the requested top-level domain's registered service, and queries that service. `source_url` in every result preserves the exact authoritative endpoint. No login, proxy, scraped search page, or customer-supplied contact detail is required.

### API and integration

Run the Actor from the Apify console, via the Apify API, or as a step in an automation. Supply the same JSON input shown above. Read the default dataset after a successful run; it contains at most one normalized record. For API authentication and dataset retrieval, use your own Apify token according to the [Apify API documentation](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2).

### FAQ

**Is this WHOIS?** No. It uses RDAP, the structured successor to traditional WHOIS services where an authoritative RDAP service is available.

**Does `registered: false` mean I can buy the domain?** No. It only means the authoritative RDAP lookup did not return a domain object. Confirm availability with an accredited registrar before making a business decision.

**Can I look up many domains at once?** No. This Actor deliberately processes one domain per run so the response, pricing, and provenance stay unambiguous.

# Actor input Schema

## `domain` (type: `string`):

A fully qualified domain name.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "domain": "example.com"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("workfoundry/workfoundry-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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("workfoundry/workfoundry-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 '{}' |
apify call workfoundry/workfoundry-domain-rdap-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,workfoundry/workfoundry-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/VcORHcWg1HwlweWLH/builds/sxFlBfddEO5Agvy8T/openapi.json