whois apple.comRegistration details for apple.com, following the registry's referral.
When to use it
Use whois to check when a domain expires, which registrar it's with, which name servers it uses, or which organisation an IP address belongs to.
Steps
Look up a domain
whois asks the registry and, for .com, follows the referral to the registrar.whois apple.comFilter the important lines
Output is long; grep the fields you want.whois apple.com | grep -iE 'Registrar:|Creation Date|Expiry|Name Server'Look up an IP address
For IPs, whois queries the regional registry (ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC…) that assigned the block.whois 8.8.8.8Ask a specific server
-h queries a chosen whois server, such as IANA to find the registry for a TLD.whois -h whois.iana.org com
Output explained
Domain Name: APPLE.COM
Registrar: Nom-iq Ltd. dba COM LAUDE
Creation Date: 1987-02-19T05:00:00Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2027-02-20T05:00:00Z
Name Server: A.NS.APPLE.COM
Name Server: B.NS.APPLE.COM
- Registrar is where the domain is registered.
- Creation Date shows apple.com was registered in 1987.
- Registry Expiry Date is when it must be renewed.
- Name Server lines are where its DNS records are hosted.
Personal contact details are usually redacted since GDPR; organisation names sometimes remain.
Options and variations
| Flag | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -h HOST | Query a specific whois server | whois -h whois.arin.net 8.8.8.8 |
| -a / -r | Query ARIN / RIPE directly | whois -r 193.0.6.139 |
| | grep -i FIELD | Show only lines you care about | whois example.com | grep -i expir |
Common errors
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No match for domain | The domain isn't registered (or a typo) | Check the spelling; it may be available. |
| Output stops at the registry | Some TLDs don't refer to the registrar | Query the registrar's whois server with -h. |
| Rate limited / connection refused | Too many queries | Wait, or query RDAP directly, for example https://rdap.org/domain/example.com. |
Do it in the app
For the servers your Mac talks to, LightAtom's connections view already shows the domain behind each IP; use whois to find who owns the address.
Frequently asked questions
Is whois available on Mac?
Yes, macOS includes the whois command. Run whois example.com in Terminal.
How do I find when a domain expires?
Run whois example.com | grep -i expir. Registry Expiry Date is the date the registration ends unless renewed.
What's the difference between whois and RDAP?
RDAP is the modern, structured replacement for whois, returning JSON with consistent fields. The whois command returns free-form text that varies between registries.