Domain Details - Chrome Extension

Get instant, private domain lookups right in your browser. View RDAP/WHOIS data, expiration dates, nameservers, and registrar details without leaving your current tab.

Features

🔍 Instant Domain Lookups

• RDAP-First Approach: Fast, structured data from official registries
• Smart WHOIS Fallback: Automatic fallback for TLDs without RDAP
• 1,500+ TLDs Supported: Universal coverage via IANA RDAP bootstrap

🌐 Intelligent URL Handling

• Auto-Detection: Automatically detects the domain of your current tab
• Subdomain Support: Smart detection and toggle between subdomain and root domain
• URL Normalization: Handles complex URLs with ports, paths, and query parameters
• Multi-Level TLD Support: Properly handles .co.uk, .com.au, .co.nz, and more

🚀 Performance Optimized

• Hardcoded Top 25 TLDs: Zero-latency lookups for popular TLDs
• Smart Caching: IANA bootstrap data cached for 7 days
• Three-Tier Lookup Strategy:
  1. Hardcoded servers (instant)
  2. Cached IANA data (fast)
  3. Dynamic IANA fetch (comprehensive)

🔐 Privacy-Focused

• No Tracking: Your lookups are private
• Direct to Source: RDAP queries go straight to registries
• Local-First: Processing happens in your browser

Installation

From Chrome Web Store

1. Visit the Domain Details extension page
2. Click "Add to Chrome"
3. Start looking up domains!

Manual Installation (Developer Mode)

1. Download the latest release from Releases
2. Extract the ZIP file
3. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
4. Enable "Developer mode" in the top-right corner
5. Click "Load unpacked"
6. Select the extracted extension folder
7. The extension icon should appear in your toolbar

Usage

Basic Lookup

1. Click the extension icon while on any website
2. The domain is automatically detected and looked up
3. View comprehensive domain information instantly

Subdomain Toggle

When on a subdomain (e.g., blog.example.com):

1. Extension displays: **blog.**example.com
   • Blue text = subdomain
   • Black text = root domain
2. Click "Switch to example.com" to lookup the root domain
3. Click again to switch back to full subdomain lookup

Examples

Example 1: Simple Domain

• Visit https://google.com
• Extension auto-lookups google.com
• View registrar, expiration date, nameservers, etc.

Example 2: Subdomain

• Visit https://mail.google.com
• Extension shows: **mail.**google.com
• Toggle to lookup google.com instead

Example 3: Complex URL

• Visit https://www.support.example.co.uk:8080/help?id=123
• Extension normalizes to: **support.**example.co.uk
• Correctly identifies root domain as example.co.uk

Technical Details

Architecture

Lookup Flow

User clicks extension
    ↓
Extract current tab URL
    ↓
Normalize domain (remove www, protocol, port, path)
    ↓
Detect subdomain vs root domain
    ↓
Check TLD RDAP support (3-tier strategy)
    ↓
1. Hardcoded bootstrap (instant) → RDAP lookup
2. Cached IANA data (fast) → RDAP lookup
3. Dynamic IANA fetch (comprehensive) → RDAP lookup
    ↓
If RDAP unavailable → WHOIS API fallback
    ↓
Parse and display results

RDAP Support Detection

The extension uses the official IANA RDAP bootstrap service:

• Top 25 TLDs: Hardcoded servers for instant lookups
• Cached TLDs: Previously queried TLDs stored for 7 days
• Dynamic TLDs: Fetches IANA data for new TLDs on-demand

Key Components

• DomainNormalizer: URL parsing and domain extraction
• RegistryDetector: RDAP support detection via IANA bootstrap
• RdapClient: RDAP query execution
• WhoisApiClient: Fallback WHOIS API integration

Supported TLDs

Top 25 Hardcoded TLDs (Instant Lookup)

• Generic: .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz
• New gTLDs: .io, .ai, .co, .me, .xyz, .online, .dev, .app, .cloud, .tech
• Country Codes: .uk, .de, .cn, .nl, .fr, .au, .ca, .jp, .br, .it, .es, .ru, .in

Multi-Level TLDs

• UK: .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .ltd.uk, .plc.uk, .net.uk, .ac.uk
• Australia: .com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .edu.au, .gov.au
• New Zealand: .co.nz, .net.nz, .org.nz, .govt.nz
• South Africa: .co.za, .org.za, .net.za
• And many more!

API Integration

The extension uses the DomainDetails.com API as a fallback for WHOIS lookups when RDAP is unavailable:

• Endpoint: https://api.domaindetails.com/api/whois?domain=<domain>
• Method: GET
• Purpose: WHOIS data for TLDs without RDAP support
• No API Key Required: Public endpoint

Development

Project Structure

chrome-extension/
├── manifest.json          # Extension configuration
├── popup.html            # Extension popup UI
├── popup.css             # Styling
├── popup.js              # Main logic
├── icons/                # Extension icons
└── CHANGELOG.md          # Version history

Building

No build step required - this is a vanilla JavaScript extension.

Testing

1. Load the extension in developer mode
2. Visit various websites with different domain structures
3. Test subdomain detection, multi-level TLDs, and edge cases
4. Check console for debug logs

Making Changes

1. Edit the relevant files (popup.js, popup.html, popup.css)
2. Go to chrome://extensions/
3. Click the refresh icon on the extension card
4. Test your changes

Version History

See CHANGELOG.md for detailed version history.

Latest: v1.2.0 (2025-10-25)

• IANA RDAP bootstrap integration
• Smart caching system
• Support for 1,500+ TLDs
• Performance optimizations

Releasing New Versions

For Maintainers

We use an automated release process. Here's how to publish a new version:

Option 1: Automated Release (Recommended)

# 1. Update version in manifest.json
# Edit manifest.json and change "version": "1.3.0"

# 2. Update CHANGELOG.md
# Add a new version section at the top

# 3. Commit changes
git add manifest.json CHANGELOG.md
git commit -m "chore: Bump version to 1.3.0"
git push origin main

# 4. Create and push tag
git tag -a v1.3.0 -m "Release v1.3.0"
git push origin v1.3.0

# 🎉 GitHub Action automatically creates the release!

The GitHub Action will:

• Build the extension ZIP file
• Extract changelog for the release notes
• Create a GitHub Release
• Upload the ZIP as a release asset

Option 2: Manual Release

# 1. Build the extension
./build.sh

# 2. Create and push tag
git tag -a v1.3.0 -m "Release v1.3.0"
git push origin v1.3.0

# 3. Go to GitHub Releases page and upload the ZIP manually

Note: Regular pushes to main do NOT trigger releases. Only pushing version tags (e.g., v1.3.0) creates releases.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

1. Report Bugs: Open an issue with details about the problem
2. Suggest Features: Share ideas for improvements
3. Submit PRs: Fork, make changes, and submit a pull request
4. Improve Docs: Help us make documentation better

Guidelines

• Follow existing code style
• Test thoroughly before submitting
• Update CHANGELOG.md for new features
• Keep commits focused and descriptive

For detailed contribution guidelines, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Support

• Website: domaindetails.com
• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Email: [email protected]

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Credits

• Built with ❤️ by the DomainDetails team
• Uses official IANA RDAP bootstrap service
• RDAP data from official TLD registries
• WHOIS fallback via DomainDetails.com API

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Privacy Notice: This extension does not track your activity. RDAP queries go directly to official registries. WHOIS fallback queries are sent to DomainDetails.com but are not logged or stored.