jwhois

Additional Notes

jwhois is a client for the WHOIS protocol used to query domain name registration details and IP address allocation information. It connects to WHOIS servers, follows referrals between servers automatically, and displays registration data such as registrant contact info, name servers, and expiration dates.

It is useful for checking domain availability, investigating domain ownership, looking up abuse contacts for IP addresses, and diagnosing DNS or registration issues. On many modern distributions, jwhois has been replaced by the whois command.

Syntax

jwhois [options] query

Parameters

• query: The domain name, IP address, or AS number to look up.

Common Options

• -h server, --whois-server server: Use a specific WHOIS server instead of the default.
• -p port, --port port: Connect to a specific port.
• -r, --raw: Show the raw WHOIS response without any reformatting.
• --verbose: Show detailed information about the lookup process.
• --version: Display version information.

Examples

jwhois example.com

Look up WHOIS information for example.com.

jwhois -h whois.verisign-grs.com example.com

Query a specific WHOIS server.

jwhois -r example.com

Show raw, unformatted WHOIS output.

Practical Notes

• WHOIS data varies by TLD and registrar. Some domains use privacy services that hide registrant details.
• The -r flag is useful when the formatted output omits fields you need.
• On many systems jwhois and whois are separate packages; install jwhois explicitly if it is not the default.