cordlesssteve/namecheap-mcp-server

Namecheap MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for managing Namecheap domains and DNS records through AI assistants like Claude.

Features

• Domain Availability Checking: Check if domains are available for registration
• Domain Management: List and get detailed information about your domains
• DNS Management: View and modify DNS host records (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT, etc.)
• Nameserver Configuration: Get and set custom nameservers for domains
• Premium Domain Detection: Identify premium domains with pricing information

Prerequisites

Namecheap Account Requirements

To use this MCP server, your Namecheap account must meet one of the following:

• Have at least 20 domains under your account
• Have at least $50 on your account balance
• Have at least $50 spent within the last 2 years

API Access

1. Log into your Namecheap account
2. Navigate to Profile → Tools → Business & Dev Tools → API Access
3. Enable API access
4. Whitelist your IP address (this is the IP that will make API calls)
5. Copy your API key

Installation

npm install
npm run build

Configuration

Create a .env file based on .env.example:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env with your Namecheap credentials:

NAMECHEAP_API_USER=your_namecheap_username
NAMECHEAP_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
NAMECHEAP_USERNAME=your_namecheap_username
NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP=your_whitelisted_ip_address
NAMECHEAP_SANDBOX=false  # Set to true for testing with sandbox API

Important Notes:

• NAMECHEAP_API_USER and NAMECHEAP_USERNAME are typically the same (your Namecheap username)
• NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP must be whitelisted in your Namecheap account settings
• For testing, set NAMECHEAP_SANDBOX=true to use the sandbox environment

Usage

Standalone

npm start

With Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "namecheap": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/namecheap-mcp-server/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "NAMECHEAP_API_USER": "your_username",
        "NAMECHEAP_API_KEY": "your_api_key",
        "NAMECHEAP_USERNAME": "your_username",
        "NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP": "your_ip",
        "NAMECHEAP_SANDBOX": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

With metaMCP-RAG

This server is designed to integrate with the metaMCP-RAG orchestration layer. See integration instructions below.

Available Tools

namecheap_check_domain

Check if domain names are available for registration.

Parameters:

• domains (array of strings): Domain names to check

Example:

{
  "domains": ["example.com", "example.net", "example.org"]
}

namecheap_list_domains

List all domains in your account with pagination support.

Parameters:

• page (number, optional): Page number (default: 1)
• pageSize (number, optional): Results per page (default: 100)

namecheap_get_domain_info

Get detailed information about a specific domain.

Parameters:

• domain (string): Domain name (e.g., "example.com")

namecheap_get_dns_hosts

Get all DNS host records for a domain.

Parameters:

• domain (string): Domain name

namecheap_set_dns_hosts

Set DNS host records for a domain. Warning: This replaces all existing records.

Parameters:

• domain (string): Domain name
• hosts (array): DNS records to set

Example:

{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "hosts": [
    {
      "name": "@",
      "type": "A",
      "address": "192.0.2.1",
      "ttl": "1800"
    },
    {
      "name": "www",
      "type": "CNAME",
      "address": "example.com.",
      "ttl": "1800"
    }
  ]
}

namecheap_get_nameservers

Get the current nameservers for a domain.

Parameters:

• domain (string): Domain name

namecheap_set_nameservers

Set custom nameservers for a domain.

Parameters:

• domain (string): Domain name
• nameservers (array of strings): Nameserver hostnames

Example:

{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "nameservers": [
    "ns1.cloudflare.com",
    "ns2.cloudflare.com"
  ]
}

API Rate Limits

Namecheap enforces the following rate limits:

• 50 calls per minute
• 700 calls per hour
• 8000 calls per day

The limits apply across all API calls for your API key.

Testing with Sandbox

Namecheap provides a sandbox environment for testing:

1. Set NAMECHEAP_SANDBOX=true in your .env
2. The sandbox uses https://api.sandbox.namecheap.com/xml.response
3. No real domains are registered or modified in sandbox mode
4. Use test credit card numbers for domain registration tests

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build project
npm run build

# Watch mode for development
npm run dev

# Test the server directly
echo '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "tools/list"}' | node dist/index.js

Integration with metaMCP-RAG

To integrate with the metaMCP-RAG orchestration layer:

1. Build this server: npm run build
2. Edit ~/projects/Utility/DEV-TOOLS/custom-mcp-servers/metamcp-rag-server/src/index.ts
3. Add the server configuration to the serverConfigs array
4. Rebuild metaMCP-RAG: cd ~/projects/Utility/DEV-TOOLS/custom-mcp-servers/metamcp-rag-server && npm run build

Troubleshooting

Authentication Errors

• Verify your API key is correct
• Ensure your IP address is whitelisted in Namecheap settings
• Check that API access is enabled for your account

API Errors

• Check that you meet the account requirements (20 domains, $50 balance, or $50 spent)
• Verify you're not exceeding rate limits
• For sandbox testing, ensure NAMECHEAP_SANDBOX=true

DNS Changes Not Applying

• DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate globally
• Use a DNS checker tool to verify changes
• Ensure you're not using cached DNS results

Security Notes

• Never commit your .env file - it contains sensitive API credentials
• Store API keys securely
• Use environment variables for production deployments
• Whitelist only the IP addresses that need API access
• Consider using the sandbox environment for testing

Resources

• Namecheap API Documentation
• Namecheap API Methods
• Model Context Protocol Documentation

License

MIT