WHOIS(1)                   OpenBSD Reference Manual                   WHOIS(1)

NAME
     whois - Internet domain name and network number directory service

SYNOPSIS
     whois [-adgipqQrR] [-h host] name [...]

DESCRIPTION
     whois looks up records in the databases maintained by several Network In-
     formation Centers (NICs).

     The options are as follows:

     -a      Use the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) database.
             It contains network numbers used in those parts of the world cov-
             ered neither by APNIC nor by RIPE.

     -d      Use the (US Military) Defense Data Network (DDN) database.  It
             contains points of contact for subdomains of .MIL.

     -g      Use the US non-military federal government database, which con-
             tains points of contact for subdomains of .GOV.

     -h host
             Use the specified host instead of the default NIC
             (whois.crsnic.net).  Either a host name or an IP address may be
             specified.

     -i      Use the Network Solutions Registry for Internet Numbers
             (InterNIC) database.  It contains network numbers and domain con-
             tact information for most of .COM, .NET, .ORG and .EDU domains.

     -m      Use the Route Arbiter Database (RADB) database.  It contains
             route policy specifications for a large number of operators' net-
             works.

     -p      Use the Asia/Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) database.
             It contains network numbers used in East Asia, Australia, New
             Zealand, and the Pacific islands.

     -q      Construct the name of a whois server to use from the top-level
             domain (TLD) of the supplied (single) argument, and appending
             ".whois-servers.net".  This effectively allows a suitable whois
             server to be selected automatically for a large number of TLDs,
             i.e., all of the following will `just work':

                     whois -q patho.gen.nz
                     whois -q microsoft.com
                     whois -q nasa.gov
                     whois -q nic.fr
                     whois -q demon.co.uk

             This option is now the default.

     -Q      Do a quick lookup.  This means that whois will not attempt to
             lookup the name in the authoratative whois server (if one is
             listed) nor will it contact InterNic if a lookup fails.  This
             flag has no effect when combined with any other flag.

     -r      Use the R'eseaux IP Europ'eens (RIPE) database.  It contains net-
             work numbers and domain contact information for Europe.

     -R      Use the Russia Network Information Center (RIPN) database.  It
             contains network numbers and domain contact information for sub-
             domains of .RU.

     The operands specified to whois are concatenated together (separated by
     whitespace) and presented to the whois server.

     The default action, unless directed otherwise with a special name, is to
     do a very broad search, looking for matches to name in all types of
     records and most fields (name, nicknames, hostname, net address, etc.) in
     the database.  For more information as to what name operands have special
     meaning, and how to guide the search, use the special name ``help''.

SEE ALSO
     RFC 812: Nicname/Whois

HISTORY
     The whois command appeared in 4.3BSD.

OpenBSD 3.0                      June 20, 1994                               2
