WHOIS
Sign in to saveWHOIS (pronounced as the phrase "who is") is a query and response protocol that is used for querying databases that store an Internet resource's registered users or assignees. These resources include domain names, IP address blocks and autonomous systems, but it is also used for a wider range of other information. The protocol stores and delivers database content in a human-readable format. The current iteration of the WHOIS protocol was drafted by the Internet Society, and is documented in .
Key facts
- Software.name
- whois
- Software.screenshot
- Whois Mushoku Tensei screenshot.png
- Software.caption
- whois client on Linux showing the WHOIS information of website for Mushoku Tensei (with .jp ccTLD)
- Software.developer
- RIPE NCC (original BSD client), Marco d'Itri (modern Linux client)
- Software.latest release version
- 5.6.6
- Software.latest release date
- 2026-02-17
- Software.operating system
- Unix, Unix-like, ReactOS
- Software.programming language
- C
- Software.platform
- Cross-platform
- Software.genre
- Command
- Software.license
- BSD License (BSD and ReactOS), GPL (Linux)
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
26 sectionsContents
- History
- CRISP and IRIS
- WEIRDS and RDAP
- Protocol
- Augmentations
- Implementation
- Thin and thick lookups
- Software
- Web
- Servers
- Regional Internet registries
- Server discovery
- Query examples
- Referral Whois
- Criticism
- Accuracy of information
- Law and policy
- ICANN proposal to abolish WHOIS
- Standards documents
- See also
- References
- Sources
- Further reading
- IRIS
- RDAP
- External links
WHOIS (pronounced as the phrase "who is") is a query and response protocol that is used for querying databases that store an Internet resource's registered users or assignees. These resources include domain names, IP address blocks and autonomous systems, but it is also used for a wider range of other information. The protocol stores and delivers database content in a human-readable format. The current iteration of the WHOIS protocol was drafted by the Internet Society, and is documented in .
Whois is also the name of the command-line utility on most UNIX systems used to make WHOIS protocol queries. In addition, WHOIS has a sister protocol called Referral Whois (RWhois).