Internet Names MCP Server

An MCP server for checking availability of domain names, social media handles, and subreddits. Returns clean JSON responses suitable for programmatic use.

Features

• Domain names - Check availability via RDAP (free) or NameSilo API (free, but requires API key - responses include domain prices too)
• Social media handles - Instagram, Twitter/X, Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, Threads
• Subreddits - Check if subreddit names are available on Reddit
• Comprehensive search - Generate name combinations and check everything at once

Quick Start

1. Add to Claude Code (Recommended)

claude mcp add --scope user internet-names-mcp uvx internet-names-mcp

That's it! The server works immediately using RDAP for domain lookups.

2. Optional: Configure NameSilo API (for domain pricing)

Checking domain name availability works best if you configure a NameSilo API key. It's free and requires just a basic registration. Otherwise we fall back to using RDAP, which has some significant limitations (see below).

Set up your NameSilo API key

1. Create an account at namesilo.com (or log in)
2. Go to API Manager
3. Click Generate New API Key
4. Copy the key and run:

uvx internet-names-mcp --setup

You'll be prompted to paste your API key. On macOS, your API key is stored safely in your iCloud or login keychain as internet-names-mcp.namesilo. On other platforms, it's stored in ~/.config/internet-names-mcp/config.json.

Using --setup is the preferred method as it stores the key securely. Alternatively, you can set it via environment variable (see Manual Configuration below).

Manual Configuration

If you're not using Claude Code, or prefer to configure MCP servers manually, add this to your MCP client's configuration file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json for Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "internet-names-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["internet-names-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

To include a NameSilo API key via environment variable (if you haven't used --setup):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "internet-names-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["internet-names-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "NAMESILO_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Using uvx internet-names-mcp --setup to store the API key is preferred over environment variables, as it uses secure storage (macOS Keychain) when available.

CLI Commands

uvx internet-names-mcp --setup         # Configure API keys interactively
uvx internet-names-mcp --show-config   # Show current configuration
uvx internet-names-mcp --version       # Show version
uvx internet-names-mcp --help          # Show help

Tools

get_supported_socials()

Returns list of supported social media platforms.

Response:

{
  "platforms": ["instagram", "twitter", "reddit", "youtube", "tiktok", "twitch", "threads", "subreddit"]
}

Note: subreddit is checked via check_subreddits(), not check_handles().

---

check_domains(names, tlds?, method?, only_report_available?)

Check domain name availability and pricing.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
names	list[str]	required	Domain names or base names to check
tlds	list[str]	["com", "io", "ai", "co", "app", "dev", "net", "org"]	TLDs to check
method	str	"auto"	"auto", "rdap", or "namesilo"
only_report_available	bool	false	If true, omit unavailable domains from response

If a name contains a dot, it's treated as a full domain. Otherwise, it's combined with each TLD.

Response:

{
  "available": [
    {"domain": "myapp.com", "price": 17.29},
    {"domain": "myapp.io", "price": 34.99}
  ],
  "unavailable": ["myapp.ai"],
  "summary": {
    "cheapestAvailable": {"domain": "myapp.com", "price": 17.29},
    "shortestAvailable": {"domain": "myapp.io", "price": 34.99}
  }
}

---

check_handles(username, platforms?, only_report_available?)

Check social media handle availability across platforms.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
username	str	required	The username/handle to check
platforms	list[str]	all platforms	Platforms to check
only_report_available	bool	false	If true, omit unavailable handles from response

Supported platforms: instagram, twitter, reddit, youtube, tiktok, twitch, threads

Note: Twitter/X checking uses a headless browser and takes ~4 seconds.

Response:

{
  "available": ["instagram", "tiktok", "youtube"],
  "unavailable": [
    {"platform": "twitter", "url": "https://x.com/myapp"},
    {"platform": "reddit", "url": "https://reddit.com/user/myapp"}
  ]
}

---

check_subreddits(names, only_report_available?)

Check subreddit name availability on Reddit.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
names	list[str]	required	Subreddit names to check (with or without r/ prefix)
only_report_available	bool	false	If true, omit unavailable subreddits from response

Response:

{
  "available": ["mynewsubreddit"],
  "unavailable": [
    {"name": "programming", "subscribers": 6835000},
    {"name": "privatesubreddit", "note": "private"}
  ]
}

---

check_everything(components, tlds?, platforms?, method?, require_all_tlds_available?, only_report_available?, also_include_hyphens?)

Comprehensive check across domains and social media. Generates name combinations from components, checks domains first (fast), then checks social handles for names that pass the domain check.

Parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
components	list[str]	required	Name components to combine (e.g., ["red", "sweater"])
tlds	list[str]	["com", "net", "org", "io", "ai"]	TLDs to check
platforms	list[str]	all platforms	Social platforms to check
method	str	"auto"	"auto", "rdap", or "namesilo"
require_all_tlds_available	bool	false	If true, name must be available in ALL TLDs to qualify for handle checking
only_report_available	bool	false	If true, omit unavailable items from response
also_include_hyphens	bool	false	If true, also check hyphenated versions

Name Generation: From components ["red", "sweater"], generates:

• Single components: red, sweater
• Concatenations: redsweater, sweaterred

Response:

{
  "available_domains": [
    {"domain": "redsweater.com", "price": 17.29},
    {"domain": "redsweater.io", "price": 34.99}
  ],
  "domain_successful_basenames": ["redsweater", "sweaterred"],
  "available_handles": {
    "redsweater": ["instagram", "twitter", "youtube"],
    "sweaterred": ["instagram", "tiktok"]
  },
  "unavailable_handles": {
    "redsweater": [{"platform": "reddit", "url": "..."}]
  },
  "summary": {
    "fully_available": ["sweaterred"],
    "cheapest_domain": {"domain": "redsweater.com", "price": 17.29}
  }
}

The fully_available list contains names that are available on ALL checked platforms.

Domain Lookup Methods

Method	Description	Pricing	Speed
auto	Uses NameSilo if API key configured, otherwise RDAP	With NameSilo	Fast
rdap	Direct registry queries via IANA bootstrap	No	Fast
namesilo	NameSilo API (requires API key)	Yes	Fast

RDAP Limitations

RDAP is free and requires no API key, but has some limitations:

• TLD coverage - Not all top level domains (TLDs) have RDAP servers. Queries for unsupported TLDs will fail. RDAP works for .com, .net, .org, .app, .ai and more. See deployment.rdap.org for an up-to-date list (look for 'Yes' in the 'RDAP' column).
• No pricing - RDAP only reports availability, not the cost to register the domain.
• False positives - A domain may appear available via RDAP but actually be reserved or considered "premium" by registrars, making it effectively unavailable or prohibitively expensive to purchase.

For reliable results with pricing, configure a NameSilo API key.

Configuration

API key storage:

• macOS: Keychain (as internet-names-mcp.namesilo)
• Linux: ~/.config/internet-names-mcp/config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%/internet-names-mcp/config.json

API key lookup order (first match wins):

1. macOS Keychain (on macOS only)
2. Environment variable (NAMESILO_API_KEY)
3. Config file (fallback)

Development

Local Setup

The devsetup.sh script handles virtual environment creation and dependency installation:

git clone <repo-url> InternetNamesMCP
cd InternetNamesMCP
source devsetup.sh          # Creates .venv, activates it, installs dependencies
playwright install chromium # Required for Twitter/X handle checking

Options:

• source devsetup.sh - Set up environment (default)
• source devsetup.sh --clean - Delete venv and caches
• source devsetup.sh --clean --setup - Clean rebuild

API Key Configuration (Development)

When running from source, use the module directly instead of uvx:

source devsetup.sh  # Activate environment first

python -m internet_names_mcp --setup       # Configure API keys interactively
python -m internet_names_mcp --show-config # Show current configuration and key source
python -m internet_names_mcp --version     # Show version

Running Tests

source devsetup.sh  # Activate environment first

# Main test suites
python test_server.py         # Full test suite - offline validation + online API tests
python test_mcp_interface.py  # Tests via MCP protocol (stdio transport)
python test_rdap_client.py    # Async RDAP client, rate limiter, batch queries

# Comparison/diagnostic tests
python test_methods.py        # Compare RDAP vs NameSilo results for discrepancies
python test_rdap.py           # Quick RDAP-only domain check

Test File	Description
test_server.py	Main test suite covering all MCP tools, edge cases, and API calls
test_mcp_interface.py	Tests the server through actual MCP protocol via stdio
test_rdap_client.py	Tests async RDAP client, rate limiting, and batch queries
test_methods.py	Compares RDAP vs NameSilo to detect availability discrepancies
test_rdap.py	Simple RDAP-only test for quick domain availability checks

Interactive Testing

Use MCP Inspector for interactive debugging with a web UI:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector .venv/bin/python -m internet_names_mcp

Project Structure

├── src/internet_names_mcp/
│   ├── __init__.py       # CLI entry point
│   ├── __main__.py       # Module runner
│   ├── server.py         # MCP server
│   ├── config.py         # Configuration management
│   ├── rdap_bootstrap.py # RDAP bootstrap cache
│   └── rdap_client.py    # Async RDAP client
├── pyproject.toml       # Package configuration
└── README.md

Data Files

RDAP Bootstrap Cache - Maps TLDs to their authoritative RDAP servers (auto-downloaded from IANA):

• macOS/Linux: ~/.cache/internet-names-mcp/rdap_bootstrap.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%/internet-names-mcp/rdap_bootstrap.json

The cache is automatically refreshed when expired (default 24h TTL from IANA's Cache-Control headers).

Troubleshooting

"sherlock not found"

Sherlock is installed automatically as a dependency. If you see this error, reinstall:

uvx --reinstall internet-names-mcp

"playwright not installed" or Chromium errors

Install Playwright browser:

playwright install chromium

Or with uvx:

uvx --from playwright install chromium

Twitter checks fail or timeout

Twitter/X checks use a headless browser which can be slow or blocked. If checks consistently fail, Twitter may be rate-limiting or blocking automated access.

Copyright

Copyright (C) 2026 Nuclear Cyborg Corp

License

MIT