Hey everyone,
I wanted to share a side project I've been working on, something born out of my own frustration and, hopefully, something that might be useful to others here in the dev community.
The Backstory: A Domain Portfolio Manager Needs Accurate Data
I'm building a domain portfolio manager (it's still a work in progress!). As part of that project, I needed a reliable source of domain pricing data, specifically for comparing prices across different registrars. I was surprised at how difficult it was to find something that met my needs. Scraping was a nightmare (constantly breaking!), existing APIs were either incomplete, provided wrong data, or didn't offer the specific endpoints I was looking for.
So, like any indie hacker, I decided to build my own. That's how TLDSpy API came to life. I've now decided to make this stand-alone and provide this as a service.
TLDSpy API: What It Does
TLDSpy API is designed to provide accurate and comprehensive domain pricing and information. Here's a quick overview of what it offers:
- Price Comparison: Compare registration, renewal, and transfer prices across multiple registrars.
- Domain Info: Access WHOIS, DNS, SSL, and domain status data.
- Price History Tracking: Since February 2025 for historical insights.
A Little Technical Dive: Getting Started
The API is pretty straightforward to use. Here's an example of how you can find the cheapest registrars for a .com domain using curl:
curl -X GET "https://api.tldspy.com/api/v1/prices/cheapest?tlds=com&limit=3"
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
This returns a JSON response like this:
{
"results": {
"com": {
"registrar_count": 42,
"avg_prices": {
"register": 12.99,
"renew": 14.99,
"transfer": 12.99
},
"cheapest_register": [
{
"rank": 1,
"registrar_name": "Cloudflare",
"register_price": 8.57,
"renew_price": 8.57,
"transfer_price": 8.57,
"total_cost_1_year": 8.57,
"total_cost_3_year": 25.71,
"total_cost_5_year": 42.85
},
{
"rank": 2,
"registrar_name": "Porkbun",
"register_price": 8.88,
"renew_price": 9.48,
"transfer_price": 8.88,
"total_cost_1_year": 8.88,
"total_cost_3_year": 27.84,
"total_cost_5_year": 46.80
}
]
}
}
}
Here's another example to compare registrar prices for multiple TLDs:
curl -X GET "https://api.tldspy.com/api/v1/prices?tlds=com,net,org®istrars=namecheap,cloudflare" \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
This call would give you a JSON response like this:
{
"results": {
"com": {
"namecheap": {
"register_price": 9.99,
"renew_price": 12.99,
"transfer_price": 9.99,
"last_updated": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
},
"cloudflare": {
"register_price": 8.57,
"renew_price": 8.57,
"transfer_price": 8.57,
"last_updated": "2024-01-16T12:00:00Z"
}
},
"net": {
"namecheap": {
"register_price": 11.99,
"renew_price": 14.99,
"transfer_price": 11.99,
"last_updated": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
},
"cloudflare": null
},
"org": {
"namecheap": {
"register_price": 10.99,
"renew_price": 13.99,
"transfer_price": 10.99,
"last_updated": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
},
"cloudflare": null
}
},
"stats": {
"total_tlds": 3,
"time_elapsed": "2.186208ms",
"last_updated": "2024-01-16T12:00:00Z"
},
"unsupported_registrars": [],
"meta": {
"restricted_tlds": [],
"upgrade_message": null
}
}
For those needing to perform bulk lookups, the API offers a batch domain lookup endpoint. Here's an example of how to check WHOIS and SSL information for multiple domains:
curl -X POST "https://api.tldspy.com/api/v1/domains" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-d '{
"domains": ["example.com", "example.net"],
"options": {
"whois": true,
"ssl": true
}
}'
{
"results": {
"example.com": {
"domain": "example.com",
"whois": {
"domain": "example.com",
"registrar": "Namecheap, Inc.",
"registrar_key": "namecheap",
"registrar_iana_id": "1068",
"registrar_url": "https://www.namecheap.com",
"creation_date": "1995-03-16T05:00:00Z",
"expiry_date": "2025-03-17T05:00:00Z",
"last_updated": "2024-02-28T14:48:12Z",
"status": [
"clientTransferProhibited"
],
"nameservers": [
"ns1.example.com",
"ns2.example.com"
],
"source_library": "whois-go",
"is_available": false
},
"dns": {
"a_records": [
"93.184.216.34"
],
"aaaa_records": [
"2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946"
],
"mx_records": [
"10 mail.example.com"
],
"txt_records": [
"v=spf1 -all"
],
"ns_records": [
"ns1.example.com",
"ns2.example.com"
],
"cname_records": [
"www.example.com"
],
"dnssec": {
"enabled": true,
"ds_records": [
"12345 13 2 ABCDEF123456789..."
]
}
},
"ssl": {
"valid": true,
"issuer": "DigiCert Inc",
"subject": "example.com",
"version": "3",
"serial_number": "0123456789ABCDEF",
"not_before": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
"not_after": "2025-01-01T23:59:59Z",
"san_list": [
"example.com",
"www.example.com"
]
},
"status": {
"available": true,
"status_code": 200,
"response_time_ms": 245,
"protocol": "https",
"checked_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"error": null
},
"available": false,
"errors": null
},
"example.net": {
"domain": "example.net",
"whois": {
"domain": "example.net",
"registrar": "Namecheap, Inc.",
"registrar_key": "namecheap",
"registrar_iana_id": "1068",
"registrar_url": "https://www.namecheap.com",
"creation_date": "1997-01-29T05:00:00Z",
"expiry_date": "2025-01-30T05:00:00Z",
"last_updated": "2024-02-28T14:48:12Z",
"status": [
"clientTransferProhibited"
],
"nameservers": [
"ns1.example.net",
"ns2.example.net"
],
"source_library": "whois-go",
"is_available": false
},
"dns": {
"a_records": [
"93.184.216.34"
],
"aaaa_records": [
"2606:2800:220:1:248:1893:25c8:1946"
],
"mx_records": [
"10 mail.example.net"
],
"txt_records": [
"v=spf1 -all"
],
"ns_records": [
"ns1.example.net",
"ns2.example.net"
],
"cname_records": [
"www.example.net"
],
"dnssec": {
"enabled": true,
"ds_records": [
"12345 13 2 ABCDEF123456789..."
]
}
},
"ssl": {
"valid": true,
"issuer": "DigiCert Inc",
"subject": "example.net",
"version": "3",
"serial_number": "0123456789ABCDEF",
"not_before": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
"not_after": "2025-01-01T23:59:59Z",
"san_list": [
"example.net",
"www.example.net"
]
},
"status": {
"available": true,
"status_code": 200,
"response_time_ms": 245,
"protocol": "https",
"checked_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
"error": null
},
"available": false,
"errors": null
}
},
"stats": {
"total_domains": 2,
"successful": 2,
"failed": 0,
"time_elapsed": "1.234s"
}
}
More examples
You can find more detailed documentation, including endpoints for WHOIS, DNS lookups, and more examples in multiple languages (Python, JavaScript, Go, Ruby) here: https://api.tldspy.com/docs
Why I'm Sharing (and Asking for Feedback)
I've reached a point where I think TLDSpy API could be valuable to others, especially those working on domain-related projects, tools, or even just trying to make informed decisions about domain registration.
I'd love to get your feedback on this:
- Is this something you'd find useful in your projects?
- Are there any features or endpoints you'd like to see added?
- Any thoughts on the pricing structure?
I'm currently offering a free tier with access to several popular TLDs. You can get started here: https://tldspy.com No credit card required.
I'm really eager to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to read about my project!
Happy coding,
Arnaud
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