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WHOIS

Look up registration and ownership data for domain names, IP addresses, and autonomous system numbers (ASNs).

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Overview​

WHOIS lets you look up public registration information for any domain name (like apple.com), IP address, or ASN (Autonomous System Number). When a domain is registered, the owner provides contact and administrative information to a registrar, and much of this data is publicly available through WHOIS databases. This tool queries those databases and displays the results, which can include the registrant organization, registration and expiration dates, name servers, and the registrar used. It is useful for checking who owns a domain, when it was registered, when it expires, or which organization controls an IP address block.

Table of Contents​

Lookup Card​

The lookup card at the top of the screen is where you enter your query:

  • Status Pill -- a colored badge showing the current state (Idle, Looking Up, Finished, or Error).
  • Query Input -- type or paste the domain name, IP address, or ASN you want to look up. Examples:
    • Domain: apple.com
    • IP address: 17.253.144.10
    • ASN: AS714 (Apple's autonomous system)
  • Paste Button -- quickly paste a value from your clipboard into the query field.
  • Lookup Mode -- choose how the WHOIS server is selected:
    • Automatic (recommended) -- the tool automatically determines the correct WHOIS server to query based on the domain extension (such as .com, .org, or .uk), IP address range, or ASN. It follows referrals to find the most authoritative source.
    • Manual Server -- lets you specify exactly which WHOIS server to query. This is useful for advanced users who need to query a specific registry directly.

Manual Server Configuration​

When you select Manual Server mode, additional settings appear:

  • Host -- the hostname or IP address of the WHOIS server to query (e.g., whois.verisign-grs.com).
  • Port -- the port number to connect to (the standard WHOIS port is 43).
  • Preset Server Picker -- a list of well-known WHOIS servers you can select instead of typing the address manually:
PresetOrganizationCoverage
ARINAmerican Registry for Internet NumbersIP addresses and ASNs allocated in North America
RIPERIPE Network Coordination CentreIP addresses and ASNs allocated in Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia
APNICAsia-Pacific Network Information CentreIP addresses and ASNs allocated in the Asia-Pacific region
LACNICLatin America and Caribbean Network Information CentreIP addresses and ASNs allocated in Latin America and the Caribbean
AfriNICAfrican Network Information CentreIP addresses and ASNs allocated in Africa

These are the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that manage IP address allocation worldwide. In Automatic mode, the tool determines which RIR to query based on the IP address or ASN.

Advanced Options​

Fine-tune how the lookup is performed:

  • Follow Referrals toggle -- when a WHOIS server responds with a referral to another server (common for many domain lookups), the tool can automatically follow that referral to get more detailed results. This is enabled by default and is recommended for most lookups.
  • Follow Registrar WHOIS toggle -- some domain registrars operate their own WHOIS servers with additional detail. When enabled, the tool will also query the registrar's WHOIS server after the initial lookup. This can provide extra information like detailed contact data or domain status flags.
  • Max Hops -- the maximum number of referrals the tool will follow. This prevents infinite loops in case of circular referrals. The default value is sufficient for virtually all queries.
  • Timeout -- how long to wait for a response from each WHOIS server before giving up (in seconds). Increase this if you are on a slow network or querying a distant server.

Results​

WHOIS results are displayed as one or more response blocks. When referrals are followed, each server's response appears separately, so you can see the full chain of lookups:

Each response block includes:

  • Server Name -- the hostname of the WHOIS server that provided this response (e.g., whois.verisign-grs.com).
  • Address and Port -- the server's address and port number that were queried.
  • Query Sent -- the exact query string that was sent to this server. This is useful for understanding what the tool asked.
  • Referral Hints -- if the server's response included a referral to another WHOIS server, the referral target is shown here.
  • Response Text -- the full WHOIS response from the server. This typically includes:
    • Domain Name -- the queried domain (e.g., APPLE.COM).
    • Registrar -- the company where the domain is registered.
    • Registration Date -- when the domain was first registered.
    • Expiration Date -- when the domain registration expires.
    • Updated Date -- when the registration was last modified.
    • Name Servers -- the DNS servers authoritative for the domain.
    • Status -- domain status codes (such as clientTransferProhibited, which means the domain cannot be transferred to another registrar without authorization).
    • Registrant / Admin / Tech Contacts -- contact information for the domain owner and administrators (when not redacted for privacy).

For IP address lookups, results typically show the organization that controls the IP range, the range itself (in CIDR notation), and the regional registry that allocated it.

Toolbar Actions​

The toolbar provides buttons for managing your results:

  • Share -- share the WHOIS results with other apps or save them to a file.
  • Copy -- copy the full WHOIS response text to your clipboard.
  • Clear -- remove all results and reset the tool for a new query.

Notes And Limitations​

  • WHOIS data is public registration information provided by domain registrars and regional registries. The accuracy and completeness of this data depends on the registrar and the domain owner.
  • Many domain registrations now use privacy protection services that redact personal contact information (name, email, phone, address) from WHOIS results. This is standard practice and does not indicate anything suspicious about a domain.
  • WHOIS is not offered in the Apple TV (tvOS) build of Lirum.
  • Response times vary depending on which WHOIS server is queried and your network connection. Some servers may take several seconds to respond.
  • Rate limiting may apply. If you perform many lookups in rapid succession, some WHOIS servers may temporarily block your queries or return an error message asking you to slow down.
  • The information returned varies significantly depending on the domain extension (TLD). Some country-code TLDs (like .de for Germany) provide very limited WHOIS information, while generic TLDs (like .com) tend to provide more detail.
  • ASN lookups show which organization operates a specific autonomous system on the internet. An autonomous system is a large network or group of networks managed by a single organization (such as an internet provider or large company).
Last updated on by Rogerio Hirooka