`lookup_whois`

Looks up a domain's registration record through WHOIS or RDAP. It returns the same data as the WHOIS tool on namebeta.com, parsed into fields, plus the raw record.

Read-only · Open world

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Who is the registrar of example.com, and when does it expire?

Your assistant calls lookup_whois and reads registrar and expiration.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Constraints
`domain`	`string`	Yes	1–253 characters; Matches `\.`

Output

Returned as structuredContent, and repeated as JSON in a text content block.

Field	Type	Required	Constraints
`domain`	`string`	Yes
`status`	`string`	Yes	One of `available`, `taken`, `unknown`, `forsale`, `reserved`, `tld`, `sld`, `publicsuffix`
`registrar`	`string`	No
`registrar_iana_id`	`number`	No
`expiration`	`string`	No	Format `date-time`
`nameservers`	`string[]`	No
`epp_status`	`string[]`	No
`lifecycle`	`string`	No	One of `active`, `autorenew`, `redemption`, `pendingdelete`
`raw`	`string`	No

Behavior

domain must be a full domain name.
Only domain and status are always present. Every other field is included only when the registry's record provides it; for an unregistered domain you typically get status: "available", an empty nameservers array and the registry's "no match" reply in raw.
expiration is the registry expiry date in ISO 8601, UTC.
epp_status holds the EPP status codes as the registry reports them, such as clientTransferProhibited.

lifecycle is the stage of the registration, which matters most around expiry:

`lifecycle`	Meaning
`active`	Registered and within its term
`autorenew`	Past its expiration date, in the registrar's grace period
`redemption`	Deleted by the registrar; the owner can still restore it, at a fee
`pendingdelete`	About to be released by the registry; it can no longer be restored

raw is the full record as the server returned it. It can be several kilobytes long and includes the registry's terms of use.
Many registries redact contact details for privacy, so the record does not include the registrant's name or email.
Records are cached for up to 1 hour. A repeat lookup of the same domain within that hour returns the same record, whoever made the first lookup, and the registry is not queried again. A change at the registry — a domain that was just registered, dropped, or moved into redemption — can therefore take up to an hour to show.
The lookup also records the domain's status for check_availability, which returns it for the same hour instead of running its own check.

Example

Arguments:

{ "domain": "example.com" }

Result, with raw shortened:

{
    "domain": "example.com",
    "status": "taken",
    "registrar": "RESERVED-Internet Assigned Numbers Authority",
    "registrar_iana_id": 376,
    "expiration": "2027-08-13T04:00:00.000Z",
    "nameservers": ["ELLIOTT.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM", "HERA.NS.CLOUDFLARE.COM"],
    "epp_status": [
        "clientDeleteProhibited",
        "clientTransferProhibited",
        "clientUpdateProhibited"
    ],
    "lifecycle": "active",
    "raw": "   Domain Name: EXAMPLE.COM\r\n   Registry Domain ID: 2336799_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN\r\n…"
}

Quota

WHOIS has the tightest limits of all tools.

Tool	Bucket	Free (hour / day)	Pro (hour / day)	Business (hour / day)	Enterprise (hour / day)
`lookup_whois`	`whois`	5 / 15	60 / 200	150 / 500	Unlimited

Errors

Errors specific to this tool. Errors covers the rest, including how each kind reaches your client.

Situation	Result
`domain` has no dot	Tool error `MCP error -32602: Input validation error: …` (`A full domain name is required`)
`domain` is not a valid domain	Tool error `Invalid domain format`
The WHOIS or RDAP lookup fails	Tool error with the reason, for example when the registry does not answer in time

Ask your assistant​

Input​

Output​

Behavior​

Example​

Quota​

Errors​

See also​