Quick domain name lookup?
Until further notice, this is the fastest and simpler way to find free domain names…
dig domain_name +short
Just type it in your linux/unix/os x console or exec from your script.
If this returns an IP address, then it’s taken.
If it comes out empty, then it’s most likely available.
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i usually do it with “whois domain.com”
Sure, it works. But for automated requests (eg. to use in scripts) that has 2 problems.
1. It provides inconsistent results across different .TLDs
2. It’s also more difficult to parse because of the longer text output
So that’s why dig with +short it’s simpler. IP or empty. That’s it.