A free, open-source tool for exploring your public IP, approximate location, timezone, and network.
A visit to a website starts with a connection. Sometimes, a little information about that connection is all you need: a suggested country, a timezone to display, or a clearer picture of which network you are using.
I created Who Arrives to make that information easy to explore. It brings your public IP, approximate location, timezone, and network details together in one place, without asking you to create an account or obtain an API key.
You can try it at https://who-arrives.fthux.com/. The open-source project is available at https://github.com/fthux/who-arrives.
Start with your own connection
The easiest way to understand Who Arrives is to open the website and try it yourself.
The page begins with a labeled example. Click Run request to see information about your current connection instead. You can explore your public IP, the country or region associated with it, available city information, your detected timezone, and the network organization.
You do not need to set anything up first. That makes it useful for a quick check, whether you are curious about your connection or exploring an idea for your own website.
The tool describes the connection you are using to access it. It is intended for checking your own connection, rather than searching a list of other people's IP addresses.
Get a little more context
An IP address is useful, but it rarely tells the whole story at a glance. A country name is easier to read. A local time can make a timezone easier to understand. A network name can help explain which provider your connection appears to use.
Who Arrives offers those details alongside optional country reference information, including flags, capitals, currencies, official languages, and international calling codes.
On the website, selecting Include all enrichment fields lets you explore the additional information together. It is a simple way to discover which details would actually be useful to you.
For a quick connection check, the basics may be enough. For a regional information panel, readable country names and local time might be more helpful. You can decide how much context belongs in your experience.
Choose what to include with fields
You can also explore the API directly. Open the basic result to see the current connection's public IP, country or region code, location, timezone, and network information.
The query parameter fields lets you request additional context. The names below are choices for that one parameter, rather than separate parameters. Omit fields, or leave it empty, to keep the basic result.
Value for fields
|
What it adds | When it is useful |
|---|---|---|
names |
English names for the country or region and the continent. | Readable labels alongside location information. |
flag |
A flag emoji for the country or region. | A visual cue next to a country name. |
ipVersion |
Whether the public IP is IPv4 or IPv6. | A quick connection overview. |
time |
The current local date and time, plus the UTC offset, for the detected timezone. | A local-time display or timezone suggestion. |
capitals |
The country or region's capital cities; there may be more than one. | A regional reference panel. |
currencies |
Currency codes, names, and symbols for the country or region. | Country information or currency suggestions. |
languages |
Official language codes and names for the country or region. | A regional reference or language suggestions. |
callingCodes |
International country calling codes, such as +1 or +49; these do not include local area codes. |
Country reference information or a suggested dialing prefix. |
all |
All eight options above. | Exploring the full set of available information. |
For a readable connection summary, try fields=names,flag,time. For the address type, try fields=ipVersion. To explore every option, try fields=all.
The options are case-sensitive: use ipVersion and callingCodes exactly as written. Separate multiple values with commas, as in ?fields=names,flag,time. Repeated fields parameters are combined, and repeated values do not add duplicate information. Unknown values or unsupported query parameters return a 400 error.
These selections add information without changing the basic connection details. A requested value may be null when it is unavailable. Country languages, currencies, and calling codes describe the country or region, rather than an individual's preferences.
A few places it could be useful
A country selector could offer a starting suggestion while still allowing the visitor to choose another country. A support page could help someone check their public IP and the network they appear to be using. A personal dashboard could display the timezone associated with the current connection.
These are modest features, but modest features can remove everyday friction. They save someone a small amount of work or help answer a question that would otherwise require opening another tool.
Who Arrives is also useful on its own. You do not have to be building an application to open it and explore your connection.
Leave room for the person behind the connection
Connection information is a useful starting point. It cannot tell you everything about a visitor.
An IP-based location is approximate. A VPN or proxy may make a connection appear to come from somewhere else. Someone visiting from a particular country may prefer a different language, use another currency, or be traveling.
For that reason, a suggested country should stay editable. A detected timezone can be presented as a suggestion. Country reference information can provide background without becoming a claim about an individual's preferences.
Some details may also be unavailable. An interface should remain useful even when it has less context to display.
Try it before deciding where it fits
I wanted Who Arrives to be easy to experience before you decide whether you need it. The website gives you a place to explore the information and see which parts answer a real question for you.
It is also open source, so you can follow the project, share feedback, or contribute ideas.
Visit https://who-arrives.fthux.com/ to check your connection. You can find the project at https://github.com/fthux/who-arrives.
What would be most useful to you: a quick IP check, a country suggestion, or a clearer view of your network?
Top comments (0)