How to run a WHOIS lookup
1. Type a domain, or paste a full link such as https://example.com/about. 2. Press Look up. GustKit strips the protocol and the path, and it turns an international name into punycode. 3. Read the registrar, the created, updated and expires dates, the status list, the nameservers and DNSSEC. 4. If the registry has no record, the card says the name appears available.
A subdomain such as www.example.com is checked as the registered domain, example.com. The card shows both names when they differ. An IP address is not a domain. Use the IP tool for a number.
What a domain lookup returns
A domain lookup reads the public registration record. The registrar is the company that sold the name. Created, updated and expires are the dates that registry publishes. Status lines such as client transfer prohibited are locks the registrar set. Nameservers are where the DNS for the domain is hosted. DNSSEC says whether that delegation is signed.
WHOIS lookup and domain lookup are the same job on this page. Older WHOIS was a plain text port. This tool uses RDAP, the current directory protocol, so the fields stay in a fixed shape.
Check domain availability
Check domain availability when you want a name for a site, a brand or email. A missing record means the name appears available. That is a strong hint, not a receipt. A registry can be slow, a name can be premium, or a grace period can still hold it. Confirm with the registrar you plan to use before you print a logo.
If the card fills in with a registrar, the name is registered. Availability is not the same as the site being down. A registered domain can have no website at all.
What stays public
Many registries hide the person who registered the name. GustKit shows the registrant organization and country only when the registry publishes them in the clear. A redacted or privacy protected field is left off the card. The registrar name is usually public, and so are the nameservers.
GustKit does not store WHOIS queries. The public answer may sit in a shared cache for about an hour so the same domain is not requested again and again. The query is not used to identify you on the file tools.
WHOIS lookup and the IP tool
A WHOIS lookup answers who registered a name. An IP lookup answers where a network address is registered. Open What is my IP when a log gives you a number, or when you want the public address of this connection. The two tools sit together under Network & Domains.