Automation

Check domain expiry from Claude, Cursor or VS Code with an MCP server

The free DropPerch MCP server lets an AI assistant answer "when does this domain expire?" from the registry itself. It reads expiry, lifecycle stage, drop date and SSL certificate expiry live over RDAP and TLS, with no API key and no account.

Published 3 November 2026 · Figures checked against primary sources, not recalled.

Check it now: the free domain expiry checker will look a domain up in the browser, no assistant needed.

Ask an assistant when a domain expires and, without a tool, it guesses from training data that may be a year old. An MCP server gives it a way to look the answer up. The DropPerch server asks the domain's own registry, so the date it reports is the one the registry holds today.

What it can answer

Tool	What it returns
`check_domain`	Expiry date and days left, lifecycle stage (active, auto-renew grace, redemption, pending delete), registrar, nameservers, registry status codes, registration date and a drop estimate
`check_domains`	The same for up to 50 domains in one call, with the soonest expiry called out
`domain_drop_date`	When an expiring or expired domain would be deleted and become registrable
`ssl_certificate`	The certificate's issuer and expiry date, days left, and whether browsers trust it

Questions that work well: "When does github.com expire and who is the registrar?", "Which of these client domains expire in the next 60 days?", "Is old-brand.com in redemption, and when would it drop?", "Is the SSL certificate on our site about to run out?"

Install it

You need Node.js 20 or later. In Claude Code:

claude mcp add dropperch -- npx -y dropperch-mcp

In Claude Desktop, Cursor or Windsurf, add it to the client's MCP configuration file (claude_desktop_config.json, ~/.cursor/mcp.json and so on):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dropperch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "dropperch-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

In VS Code, put the same server in .vscode/mcp.json under "servers", with "type": "stdio". Restart the client and the four tools appear.

How the lookup works

There is no DropPerch service in the middle. For each domain the server reads IANA's RDAP bootstrap file to find the authoritative registry for that TLD, then asks it directly over RDAP (RFC 9083). It runs on your own machine, so neither the domains you ask about nor your assistant's conversation reach us. Certificates are read with an ordinary TLS handshake to the site, on the bare domain and then www.

The source is MIT-licensed on GitHub.

What it will not guess

TLDs with no RDAP service. A few, .de among them, publish none in IANA's bootstrap file, and the server says so rather than inventing an answer.
Registries that publish no expiry date. SIDN's .nl returns registration and status only, so there is no date to report.
Country-code drop dates. The drop estimate uses ICANN's gTLD timeline (up to 45 days of grace, 30 of redemption, about 5 of pending delete). Country-code registries set their own rules, so no date is estimated for them.

An answer is a snapshot. The assistant knows what the registry said when you asked. A domain can enter redemption the next day and nobody will know until someone asks again. Each result includes a monitor_url that opens DropPerch signup with the domain filled in, for when you want to be told instead.

Common questions

What is an MCP server?

A Model Context Protocol server is a small program that gives an AI assistant tools it can call, such as a live lookup. The assistant decides when to call a tool and uses the answer in its reply.

Does the DropPerch MCP server need an API key?

No. It queries public registry data over RDAP from your own machine, so there is no key, no account and no rate-limited service in between.

Which AI assistants can use it?

Any MCP client that runs local stdio servers, including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and Windsurf.

Can it watch domains and alert me?

No. It answers when you ask. For alerts before a domain expires, when it enters redemption or pending delete, and when its SSL certificate is about to lapse, watch the domain on DropPerch.

Sources

Want to be told, not to have to ask?

The MCP server answers when you ask. DropPerch watches the same names every day and emails you before a renewal is missed, then through grace, redemption and the drop.

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