How can I perform a WHOIS search for a domain?

Performing a WHOIS search allows you to see the registration details of a domain name, including who owns it, which registrar they used, and when the domain expires.

As of January 2025, the industry has largely transitioned from the traditional WHOIS protocol to the more secure and structured RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol), though most tools still use the term "WHOIS."

1. Using Web-Based Tools (Easiest)

The most common way to perform a search is through a dedicated lookup website. These tools aggregate data from various registries into a readable format.

ICANN Lookup: The official tool provided by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. It is the most authoritative source for gTLDs (like .com, .net, .org).
Whois.com: A popular third-party tool that often provides a cleaner interface and supports a wide variety of country-code extensions (like .uk or .jp)
Registrar Tools: Most major registrars (Namecheap, GoDaddy, Google Domains) have their own WHOIS search bars on their homepages.

2. Using the Command Line (For Developers)

If you are on macOS or Linux, you likely have a WHOIS client built into your terminal. This is often faster for quick checks.

Open your Terminal.
Type whois followed by the domain name.
Bash
```
whois example.com
```
Press Enter. You will see a text-based output of the domain's registration record.

Note for Windows Users: Windows does not include a WHOIS client by default. You can download the Whois utility from Microsoft Sysinternals to use it in Command Prompt or PowerShell.