Obtain domain ‘whois’ information using nothing but OS X Terminal

Mike Hudson Blog, General, How-To's, OS X How To's, OSX Tips

Mike Hudson WhoIs ScreenshotDid you know that you can obtain domain whois information for any web domain using
nothing but OS X Terminal?

For years I’ve used many web services including (and probably my favourite) CentralOps, however, sometimes its handy to be able to do things without leaving the comfort of your current terminal session!

So.. To get some of the information web services can provide, launch Terminal and type:

whois google.co.uk

NOTE: You can replace google.co.uk with the domain name of your choice.

WHOIS (pronounced as the phrase who is) is a query and response protocol that is widely used for querying databases that store the registered users or assignees of an Internet resource, such as a domain name, an IP address block, or an autonomous system, but is also used for a wider range of other information. The protocol stores and delivers database content in a human-readable format. The WHOIS protocol is documented in RFC 3912.

Source

Mike Hudson

Mike Hudson is a Lead Cyber Security Analyst living and working in Kingston Upon Hull. With extensive experience in Microsoft and Apple technologies, ranging from desktop OS’s to Server OS’s and hardware. By day working as part of an infrastructure team, and by night ridding the world of IT issues through blog posts..

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