domain

# /domain — Brainstorm + check available .com domains Multi-tool workflow to find a great, affordable, available .com for a new project. Built on Laura Roeder's rule: **work backwards from what's actually available — don't fall in love with a name first** ([source](https://lauraroeder.com/how-i-nabbed-the-com-for-my-bootstrapped-startup-without-spending-a-million-bucks-6dc35c4606e9)). Defaults to `.com` only. Only deviate (.dev, .co, .io, .ai) if the project is dev-tooling-only or the user explicitly asks. ## Step 0 — Environment checks Verify these before proceeding (surface install commands if missing, don't try to install silently): | Tool | Check | Install if missing | |---|---|---| | Vercel CLI | `vercel whoami` | `npm i -g vercel && vercel login` | | whois | `which whois` | `brew install whois` (macOS) | | Domainr API key | `[ -n "$DOMAINR_API_KEY" ]` | Get free key at rapidapi.com/domainr/api/domainr, add to `~/.zshenv` | | Namecheap API | `[ -n "$NAMECHEAP_API_KEY" ] && [ -n "$NAMECHEAP_API_USER" ] && [ -n "$NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP" ]` | Enable API at ap.www.namecheap.com/settings/tools/apiaccess/, add 3 env vars, whitelist your IP | Domainr + Namecheap are optional — the workflow degrades gracefully without them (skips the corresponding cross-check steps). ## Step 1 — Set the budget Ask: **what would you pay for a great .com on this project?** Anchor defaults: | Budget | What it buys | |---|---| | **$0** | Only unregistered domains (rare for anything good) | | *...