How to get list of expiring/dropping Domains

Question

How to get the list of Expiring or dropping domains ? Just like Park.io

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

First of all, you need to specify which extensions you're interested in. The possibilities will vary a lot depending on the extension.

Some registries provide so-called droplists (list of expiring domains). Others may provide zone files, from which it is possible to spot expiring domain names. For a few extensions, the whole zone file can be obtained using the zone transfer (AXFR) mechanism supported by name servers. By comparing two versions of the zone files at different dates, you can see which names are added/removed. Removed names are usually expired/pending deletion.

Out of the few extensions listed on park.io, .to (Tonga) is the only one that currently allows AXFR.

Most of the time the registries will give you nothing. You have to compile your own lists, then check once a year if the domains get renewed or not. That can involve lots of whois scraping.

Without cooperation from the registry, or a good source, it is hard to build a complete list. In .com it's no problem. Country code domain names (ccTLDs) tend to be more protective but practice varies from one country to another.

As an example: Sweden is very open. Expiring names in .se can be seen here: .se-domains to be released. The zone file can be downloaded too, for data mining or other purposes: Access to zonefiles for .se and .nu

But this is the exception, not the rule.

Answer 2

You going to need to create your own by querying the expire WHOIS info from an API service like domaintools. An example of how to do this via URL is below:

https://www.domaintools.com/resources/api-documentation/whois-lookup/

example:

 http://api.domaintools.com/v1/$myWebsite/whois/