Getting Started with the WhoisExtractor API

How the API Works

The WhoisExtractor API does not return WHOIS data as JSON. Instead, each successful request triggers an instant file download - a ZIP archive containing the structured CSV database you requested. Your HTTP client (curl, wget, Python requests) receives the file directly.

Only errors return a JSON body. If your request downloads a file, it worked.

Prerequisites

Before making API calls you need:

1. A WhoisExtractor account (sign up here if you don't have one)
2. An active paid plan that includes the product you want to access
3. Your API key - shown in the API documentation page after you log in

Authentication

Pass your API key as the api query parameter. There are no headers, no OAuth tokens, and no Bearer authentication.

https://get.whoisextractor.com/?api=YOUR_API_KEY&pid=1

Keep your API key private. Never expose it in client-side code or public repositories.

The Single Endpoint

All requests go to one endpoint:

GET https://get.whoisextractor.com/

Parameters:

All dates use India Standard Time (IST, GMT+5:30).

Product IDs

Use the pid parameter to select which database you want:

Some products are download-only and do not have API access (pid 4, 5, 9). Check the API page for the current status of each product.

Your First Request

Download today's India WHOIS database:

curl "https://get.whoisextractor.com/?api=YOUR_API_KEY&pid=1" \
  --output whois-india-today.zip

Download the global WHOIS database for a specific date:

curl "https://get.whoisextractor.com/?api=YOUR_API_KEY&pid=3&date=2026-04-10" \
  --output whois-global-2026-04-10.zip

A successful request delivers the ZIP file immediately. No JSON, no redirect page.

Code Examples

PHP:

<?php
$apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY';
$date   = date('Y-m-d', strtotime('-1 day'));
$url    = "https://get.whoisextractor.com/?api={$apiKey}&pid=3&date={$date}";

$ch = curl_init($url);
$fp = fopen("whois-{$date}.zip", 'wb');
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_FILE           => $fp,
    CURLOPT_FOLLOWLOCATION => true,
    CURLOPT_FAILONERROR    => true,
]);
curl_exec($ch);
$httpCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);
curl_close($ch);
fclose($fp);

echo $httpCode === 200 ? "Downloaded whois-{$date}.zip" : "Error: HTTP {$httpCode}";

Python:

import requests

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
date = "2026-04-10"
url = f"https://get.whoisextractor.com/?api={api_key}&pid=3&date={date}"

response = requests.get(url, stream=True)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open(f"whois-{date}.zip", "wb") as f:
        for chunk in response.iter_content(chunk_size=8192):
            f.write(chunk)
    print(f"Downloaded whois-{date}.zip")
else:
    print(response.json())  # error details as JSON

Error Responses

When a request fails, the API returns a JSON object with an error key. A successful request never returns JSON - it delivers the file directly.

Data Updates and Schedule

Data is refreshed once per day at 6:00 AM IST. Calling the API more than once per day for the same pid and date returns the same file - no additional data will have been added between calls.

Next Steps

View the full API documentation for the live endpoint tester and an up-to-date product ID list. If you run into issues, open a support ticket.