Namecheap Domain Manager

Manage domains via the Namecheap XML API. All commands require credentials configured in environment variables.

Setup & Authentication

Required environment variables. Put them in a .env file, your shell rc, or ~/.config/claude-skills/namecheap.env. The bundled script will pick them up.

First-time setup: run scripts/nc_api.sh --setup to be prompted for each value and have a ~/.config/claude-skills/namecheap.env file written for you.

Get an API key: sign in at namecheap.com, go to Profile → Tools → API Access, enable API access, then create a key. The key is shown only once — copy it.

IP Whitelisting: Namecheap requires the calling IP to be whitelisted. Only IPv4 is supported. The user must whitelist their IP at Profile > Tools > API Access > Whitelisted IPs.

Production API requirements (at least one must be met):

• 20+ domains in the account
• $50+ account balance
• $50+ in purchases within the last 2 years

Sandbox has no requirements — create a free account at https://www.sandbox.namecheap.com/.

API Base URLs

Rate Limits

• 20 requests/minute, 700/hour, 8,000/day
• Batch domain checks using comma-separated lists to conserve quota

Subcommands

/namecheap check <domain1> [domain2] [...]

Check domain availability.

Steps:

1. Validate credentials are set (run scripts/nc_api.sh check-env)
2. Accept one or more domain names as arguments (comma or space separated)
3. Call scripts/nc_api.sh check "domain1.com,domain2.com"
4. Parse XML response — display results as a table:

5. If any are available, ask if the user wants to register one

/namecheap search <keyword> [tlds]

Search for available domains across multiple TLDs.

Steps:

1. Take a keyword and optional TLD list (default: com,net,org,io,co,dev,app,ai)
2. Generate domain combinations: keyword.com, keyword.net, etc.
3. Call scripts/nc_api.sh check "<comma-separated-list>"
4. Display availability table sorted by: available first, then by TLD preference
5. Offer to check pricing for available domains

/namecheap register <domain> [years]

Register/purchase a new domain.

Steps:

1. Confirm domain is available first (call check if not already confirmed)
2. Check pricing: scripts/nc_api.sh pricing "com" "REGISTER" (use appropriate TLD)
3. Display price and ask for confirmation: "Register example.com for N year(s) at $X.XX?"
4. Ask the user for contact information OR check if they have a default address configured
   • If user wants to use an existing address: scripts/nc_api.sh get-address-list
   • Let user pick an address or enter new contact details
5. CRITICAL: Always ask for explicit confirmation before purchasing. Display the total cost.
6. Call scripts/nc_api.sh register "<domain>" "<years>" "<contact_params>"
7. Parse response — display: Domain, Order ID, Transaction ID, Charged Amount, WhoisGuard status
8. If AddFreeWhoisguard=yes and WGEnabled=yes were included, confirm privacy is active

Contact fields required (for Registrant, Tech, Admin, AuxBilling — all four): FirstName, LastName, Address1, City, StateProvince, PostalCode, Country, Phone (+1.2125551234 format), EmailAddress

Optional: OrganizationName, Address2

/namecheap list [filter]

List domains in the account.

Steps:

1. Call scripts/nc_api.sh list "[filter]" where filter can be: all (default), expiring, expired
2. Optional search term can be passed to filter by keyword
3. Parse XML — display as table:

4. Show paging info if more than one page of results

/namecheap info <domain>

Get detailed information about a domain.

Steps:

1. Call scripts/nc_api.sh info "<domain>"
2. Parse and display:
   • Domain status, ID, owner
   • Created/Expires dates, years registered
   • WhoisGuard status and expiration
   • DNS provider, nameservers list
   • Host record count
   • Modification rights

/namecheap dns <domain>

Show current DNS records for a domain.

Steps:

1. Split domain into SLD and TLD
2. Call scripts/nc_api.sh dns-get "<sld>" "<tld>"
3. Display records as table:

/namecheap dns-set <domain> <action> [records...]

Manage DNS records for a domain.

Actions:

• add — Add a record (merges with existing)
• remove — Remove a record by index or match
• replace — Replace all records with the provided set
• reset — Reset to Namecheap default DNS

Steps for add:

1. Export env vars from ~/.claude/settings.local.json (see Critical DNS Gotchas §4)
2. Get existing records: scripts/nc_api.sh dns-get "<sld>" "<tld>"
3. Parse existing records into a list
4. Ask user for new record details if not provided:
   • Type (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, URL, URL301, FRAME)
   • Host (@ for root, www, subdomain name, * for wildcard)
   • Value (IP address, target domain, TXT content, etc.)
   • TTL (default: 1800)
   • MX Priority (only for MX records, default: 10)
5. Merge new record into existing list
6. CRITICAL: setHosts is destructive — it replaces ALL records. Always send the complete desired record set including all existing records.
7. If any record contains special characters (+, /, =, spaces) in its value — especially TXT records (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) — use curl --data-urlencode directly instead of the nc_api.sh script. See safe pattern below.
8. If any MX records are present, include EmailType=MX in the POST body (see Critical DNS Gotchas §2).
9. Confirm success and display updated record table

Safe curl pattern for DNS with special characters:

curl -s -X POST "https://api.namecheap.com/xml.response" \
  --data-urlencode "ApiUser=${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}" \
  --data-urlencode "ApiKey=${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}" \
  --data-urlencode "UserName=${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}" \
  --data-urlencode "ClientIp=${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}" \
  --data-urlencode "Command=namecheap.domains.dns.setHosts" \
  --data-urlencode "SLD=example" \
  --data-urlencode "TLD=com" \
  --data-urlencode "EmailType=MX" \
  --data-urlencode "HostName1=@" \
  --data-urlencode "RecordType1=A" \
  --data-urlencode "Address1=1.2.3.4" \
  --data-urlencode "TTL1=1800" \
  --data-urlencode "HostName2=resend._domainkey" \
  --data-urlencode "RecordType2=TXT" \
  --data-urlencode "Address2=p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEB..." \
  --data-urlencode "TTL2=1800"

Steps for remove:

1. Get and display existing records (numbered)
2. Ask which record to remove (by number)
3. Remove from list, send remaining records via dns-set

Steps for reset:

1. Confirm with user
2. Call scripts/nc_api.sh dns-default "<sld>" "<tld>"

/namecheap ns <domain> <action> [nameservers]

Manage nameservers.

Actions:

• get — Show current nameservers
• set — Set custom nameservers (comma-separated)
• reset — Reset to Namecheap default nameservers
• create — Create a personal/child nameserver (e.g., ns1.example.com -> IP)

Steps for set:

1. Call scripts/nc_api.sh ns-set "<sld>" "<tld>" "ns1.example.com,ns2.example.com"
2. Warn: Custom nameservers disable URL forwarding, email forwarding, and dynamic DNS

Steps for create:

1. Ask for nameserver hostname and IP
2. Call scripts/nc_api.sh ns-create "<sld>" "<tld>" "<nameserver>" "<ip>"

/namecheap renew <domain> [years]

Renew a domain registration.

Steps:

1. Get domain info to check current expiry
2. Check renewal pricing: scripts/nc_api.sh pricing "<tld>" "RENEW"
3. Display: "Renew example.com for N year(s) at $X.XX? Current expiry: YYYY-MM-DD"
4. Ask for explicit confirmation before charging.
5. Call scripts/nc_api.sh renew "<domain>" "<years>"
6. Display: new expiry, order ID, charged amount

/namecheap transfer <domain>

Transfer a domain to Namecheap.

Steps:

1. Check transfer pricing: scripts/nc_api.sh pricing "<tld>" "TRANSFER"
2. Ask for the EPP/authorization code from the current registrar
3. Display cost and confirm
4. Call scripts/nc_api.sh transfer "<domain>" "<years>" "<epp_code>"
5. Display transfer ID and status
6. Note: Transfer typically takes 5-7 days

/namecheap pricing <tld> [action]

Check pricing for a TLD.

Steps:

1. Action defaults to REGISTER. Options: REGISTER, RENEW, TRANSFER, REACTIVATE
2. Call scripts/nc_api.sh pricing "<tld>" "<action>"
3. Display pricing table:

/namecheap email <domain> [action]

Manage email forwarding.

Actions:

• get — Show current email forwarding rules
• set — Set email forwarding (mailbox -> forward-to pairs)

Steps for set:

1. Ask for mailbox name (e.g., info) and forward-to address
2. Can set multiple rules at once
3. Call scripts/nc_api.sh email-set "<domain>" "<mailbox1>=<forward1>,<mailbox2>=<forward2>"

/namecheap balance

Check account balance.

Steps:

1. Call scripts/nc_api.sh balance
2. Display: Available Balance, Account Balance, Earned Amount, Withdrawable Amount

Critical DNS Gotchas

These are hard-won lessons. Read before touching DNS records.

1. setHosts is DESTRUCTIVE

The setHosts API replaces ALL records on the domain. If you send 2 records, every other record is deleted. Always read existing records first (dns-get), then include them in the dns-set call alongside new records.

2. MX records silently dropped in EmailType=FWD mode

By default, Namecheap domains use EmailType=FWD (email forwarding). In this mode, MX records are silently dropped — the API returns IsSuccess="true" but the MX record is simply not created. To fix: include EmailType=MX in the setHosts POST body when any MX record is present. This disables Namecheap's email forwarding feature.

3. Special characters in TXT values break curl -d

DKIM keys, SPF records, and other TXT values often contain +, /, =, spaces, and ~. These are special in URL-encoded form data (+ becomes space, = delimits params). The nc_api.sh script uses plain curl -d which does NOT encode values.

For DNS operations with TXT/DKIM/SPF values, use curl --data-urlencode directly instead of going through the script. See the dns-set section for the safe pattern.

4. Env vars must be exported to the script's process

Some users put credentials in a Claude settings file or a vault. Those files don't automatically export to a shell. Either source them into the shell before invoking nc_api.sh, or rely on the ~/.config/claude-skills/namecheap.env file the --setup flow creates.

Anti-patterns

• Registering or renewing a domain without explicit user confirmation and a price display.
• Calling dns-set without first reading existing records. It is destructive — all records not included in the call get deleted.
• Storing API keys in skill files or scripts. They belong in environment variables.
• Hammering the API. Batch domain checks. Add delays for bulk operations.
• Testing against production. Always sandbox-first.
• Guessing contact information. Ask the user or use a saved address.

Error handling

• If API returns Status="ERROR", extract Error@Number and Error text
• Common errors:
  • 2011150 — Missing required parameter
  • 2030280 — Domain not available
  • 2011170 — Invalid domain name
  • 2016166 — Domain locked / cannot modify
  • 4022288 — API access disabled
  • 5050900 — Too many requests (rate limited)
• On rate limit: wait 60 seconds, then retry once
• On auth error: prompt user to verify credentials and IP whitelist

Known gotchas

• setHosts is destructive — replaces ALL DNS records on the domain. Read existing records first, then send the complete desired set.
• MX records silently dropped in EmailType=FWD mode. API returns success but the record is never created. Include EmailType=MX in the call when any MX is present.
• Special characters in TXT values break curl -d. DKIM, SPF, and DMARC values contain +, /, =, spaces. Use curl --data-urlencode for DNS writes.
• Production API requirements: 20+ domains, $50+ balance, or $50+ in 2-year purchases. Sandbox is unrestricted.

Validated patterns

• Always check availability and price before registering. Display the total cost and ask for explicit confirmation. The 30-second pause between check and register has saved registrations more than once.
• Use the sandbox endpoint for the first run of any new DNS script. The XML API errors in production are not always clear; the sandbox surfaces them faster.

Self-improvement

This skill ships with a lightweight feedback loop. Adopt or ignore — the skill works without it.

Trigger a review when:

• The user explicitly disagrees with a DNS change (strongest signal — log immediately; 2–3 corrections on the same theme → promote to body).
• A new Namecheap API behavior surfaces (silent dropped records, new auth error code).
• learnings.md crosses ~100 bullets (consolidation time).
• The skill mis-triggers or fails to trigger.
• Namecheap publishes a breaking API change.

Consolidation pass (5–10 min, weekly or threshold-driven):

• Each entry gets one fate: apply, capture, or dismiss.
• Apply = merge into Known gotchas / Anti-patterns / Validated patterns.
• Capture = leave in learnings.md for now.
• Dismiss = delete.
• Bump last-consolidated: in frontmatter.