Domain extension

.shell

Brand · Shell Information Technology International Inc

.shell

🔒 Signed (DS in the root)

Category: Brand
IANA type: Generic
Manager: Shell Information Technology International Inc
Script: Latin
Delegated: 2015-12-15
DS in root: 1 record(s)
Algorithm: 8 · RSASHA256
IDN names: yes, 44 scripts/languages
WHOIS: none (RDAP only)
RDAP: yes

Checked 26 Oct 2026 by our weekly check.

Is a .shell name registered?

Looked up from your browser in the registry's RDAP service; if that does not answer, in DNS. Nothing is stored on dnssec.in.

What this means

The root zone holds a DS record for .shell, so the extension is signed and anchored. A domain under .shell can use DNSSEC with a full chain of trust: it needs to be signed at its DNS host and have its own DS at the registrar. .shell is a brand extension: only Shell Information Technology International Inc registers names under it. See popular sites on brand extensions.

IDN names under .shell

The registry publishes IDN tables at IANA for 44 scripts or languages, so names can use these characters (stored as xn-- in the DNS):

Arabic Script
Armenian Script
Belarusian Language
Bengali Script
Bulgarian Language
Chinese Language
Cyrillic Script
Devanagari Script
Ethiopic Script
French Language
Georgian (Mkhedruli and Mtavruli) Script
German Language
Greek Language
Greek Script
Gujarati Script
Gurmukhi Script
Han Script
Hangul Script
Hebrew Script
Hiragana Script
Japanese Language
Kannada Script
Katakana Script
Khmer Script
Korean Language
Kurdish Language
Lao Script
Latin Script
Macedonian Language
Malayalam Script
Myanmar Script
Oriya Script
Polish Language
Romanian Language
Russian Language
Serbian Language
Sinhala Script
Spanish Language
Swedish Language
Tamil Script
Telugu Script
Thaana Script
Thai Script
Ukrainian Language

Length

DNS limits are the same everywhere: each label is 1 to 63 characters, the whole name at most 253, letters, digits and hyphens, not starting or ending with a hyphen. IDN labels count their xn-- form, so fewer native characters fit. A registry can set a higher minimum (often 2 or 3 characters) or reserve short names: that is in its own policy.

WHOIS and RDAP

RDAP (the JSON successor to WHOIS) answers at https://rdap.nominet.uk/shell/. There is no classic WHOIS server (port 43): since January 2025 ICANN lets gTLD registries offer RDAP only. For most gTLD names the owner's contact details are redacted for privacy; the registrar, dates and status are public.

Lifecycle and drop

Names under this extension are held by the brand owner. They are not sold to the public, so there is no public expiry or drop cycle.

More: Brand

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