Linux Pocket Guide

Name

whois [options] domain_name — jwhois

Synopsis

/usr/bin stdin stdout - file -- opt --help --version

The whois command looks up the registration of an Internet domain:

$ whois redhat.com
Registrant:
Red Hat, Inc. (REDHAT-DOM)
   P.O. Box 13588
   Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
...

These days, you’ll see a few screensful of legal disclaimers from the registrar before or after the real information appears.

Useful options
-h registrar	Perform the lookup at the given registrar’s server. For example, whois -h whois.networksolutions.com yahoo.com.
-p port	Query the given the TCP port instead of the default, 43 (the whois service).