Before.sh API - Domain Availability Check

Simple API to check domain name availability. Check one name across many TLDs or run bulk checks. Supports compact or detailed responses and optional name encoding. Authentication via API key is required.

Domain Check

Check domain availability

Authorization

X-API-Key<token>

API key authentication via header (recommended)

In: header

Query Parameters

domainstring

Single domain name to check (without TLD)

Length1 <= length <= 63

tldsstring

Comma-separated list of TLDs to check (without dots)

format?string

Response format - compact (default) or detailed

Default"compact"

Value in"compact" | "detailed"

encoding?string

Domain name encoding in response - original (default), lowercase, or punycode

Default"original"

Value in"original" | "lowercase" | "punycode"

token?string

API key for authentication (alternative to X-API-Key header)

Response Body

<?php

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\GuzzleException;

$client = new Client();

$options = [
  'headers' => [

  ],
] ;

try {
  $response = $client->request('GET', 'https://testapi.before.sh/v1/check?domain=test&tlds=com%2Cde%2Cai&format=compact&encoding=original&token=string', $options);
  echo (string) $response->getBody();
} catch (GuzzleException $e) {
  echo $e->getMessage();
}

<?phprequire 'vendor/autoload.php';use GuzzleHttp\Client;use GuzzleHttp\Exception\GuzzleException;$client = new Client();$options = [  'headers' => [  ],] ;try {  $response = $client->request('GET', 'https://testapi.before.sh/v1/check?domain=test&tlds=com%2Cde%2Cai&format=compact&encoding=original&token=string', $options);  echo (string) $response->getBody();} catch (GuzzleException $e) {  echo $e->getMessage();}

{
  "status": "success",
  "timestamp": "2025-10-10T22:06:04.014Z",
  "domain": "test",
  "results": {
    ".com": false,
    ".de": true,
    ".ai": false
  }
}

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Validation failed",
    "validation_errors": [
      {
        "field": "domain",
        "message": "The 'domain' parameter is required",
        "code": "MISSING_REQUIRED_FIELD"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "MISSING_API_KEY",
    "message": "Please provide an API key via the 'X-API-Key' header or 'token' query parameter"
  }
}

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "TIMEOUT",
    "message": "Domain check timed out",
    "details": "Check exceeded 10000ms timeout"
  }
}

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded"
  },
  "retry_after": 3600
}

Check domain availability (POST)

Authorization

X-API-Key<token>

API key authentication via header (recommended)

In: header

Request Body

domainstring

Single domain name to check (without TLD)

Length1 <= length <= 63

tldsstring

Comma-separated list of TLDs to check (without dots)

format?string

Response format

Default"compact"

Value in"compact" | "detailed"

encoding?string

Domain name encoding in response

Default"original"

Value in"original" | "lowercase" | "punycode"

Response Body

<?php

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\GuzzleException;

$client = new Client();

$options = [
  'headers' => [
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
  ],
    'json' => json_decode('{"domain":"test","tlds":"com,de,ai","format":"compact","encoding":"original"}', true),
] ;

try {
  $response = $client->request('POST', 'https://testapi.before.sh/v1/check', $options);
  echo (string) $response->getBody();
} catch (GuzzleException $e) {
  echo $e->getMessage();
}

<?phprequire 'vendor/autoload.php';use GuzzleHttp\Client;use GuzzleHttp\Exception\GuzzleException;$client = new Client();$options = [  'headers' => [    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',  ],    'json' => json_decode('{"domain":"test","tlds":"com,de,ai","format":"compact","encoding":"original"}', true),] ;try {  $response = $client->request('POST', 'https://testapi.before.sh/v1/check', $options);  echo (string) $response->getBody();} catch (GuzzleException $e) {  echo $e->getMessage();}

{
  "status": "success",
  "timestamp": "2025-10-10T22:06:04.014Z",
  "domain": "test",
  "results": {
    ".com": false,
    ".de": true,
    ".ai": false
  }
}

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "VALIDATION_ERROR",
    "message": "Validation failed",
    "validation_errors": [
      {
        "field": "domain",
        "message": "The 'domain' parameter is required",
        "code": "MISSING_REQUIRED_FIELD"
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "MISSING_API_KEY",
    "message": "Please provide an API key via the 'X-API-Key' header or 'token' query parameter"
  }
}

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "TIMEOUT",
    "message": "Domain check timed out",
    "details": "Check exceeded 10000ms timeout"
  }
}

{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
    "message": "Rate limit exceeded"
  },
  "retry_after": 3600
}

Before.sh API - Domain Availability Check

200

400

401

408

429

Compact format response

Detailed format response

Missing required parameter

Invalid TLD format

Missing API key

Invalid API key

Example default

Example default

200

400

401

408

429

Missing required parameter

Invalid TLD format

Missing API key

Invalid API key

Example default

Example default

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