---
title: "GoDaddy’s DNS API now works with a single domain. Here’s how to use it."
date: "2026-04-28T09:54:07"
url: "https://www.godaddy.com/resources/news/godaddy-dns-api-now-works-with-a-single-domain"
---
# GoDaddy’s DNS API now works with a single domain. Here’s how to use it.

For most customers, managing DNS through a dashboard works perfectly well. With more customers and agencies leveraging accessible coding tools to manage projects, though, there’s more focus on APIs than ever before.

To keep pace with new tooling and user feedback, we’ve removed portfolio size restrictions. As of April 2026, accessing the DNS/Domain Management API requires just one domain in your account.

## What is the GoDaddy Domains API?

GoDaddy's API lets you manage domains and DNS records programmatically instead of clicking through a dashboard.

For developers, agencies, and domain investors, it’s a popular way to handle day-to-day admin for a larger portfolio.

The DNS/Domain Management API can:

- Update nameservers
- Retrieve domain details
- Configure forwarding

And much more. If you can do it in the GoDaddy portfolio manager, it’s likely you can do it through this API.

The DNS/Domain Management API lets you update and manage existing domain names in your GoDaddy account.

## What changed?

Based on user feedback, we’re excited to share that the DNS/Domain Management API access threshold dropped from 10 domains to 1.

Here’s what API access looks like now:

 | **Before** | **Now**
--- | --- | ---
**DNS/Domain Management API** | 10+ domains | 1+ domain
**Monthly quota** | 20,000 requests | No change
**Rate limit** | 60 requests/second | No change

This means that any GoDaddy customer with a single domain in their account can now generate API keys and start managing their domain and DNS records programmatically.

The Availability API allows customers to query domains available to register, along with pricing information. To avoid abuse, this maintains a higher threshold.

## How to get started

Getting from zero to a working API call takes about 15 minutes. Here’s the steps needed:

1. Make sure you have a GoDaddy account with at least one domain. If you already manage a domain through GoDaddy, you're set. If not, register one. That's the only prerequisite now.
2. Generate your API credentials. Go to [developer.godaddy.com/keys](https://developer.godaddy.com/keys) and create an API Key and Secret pair. Your first key will be for the OTE (test) environment. Create a separate production key when you're ready to go live.
3. Test in the OTE environment first. The test environment lives at [https://api.ote-godaddy.com](https://api.ote-godaddy.com/). Use it to verify your integration works before pointing anything at production. Authentication uses an Authorization header with the format:
  ```
  Authorization: sso-key {API_KEY}:{API_SECRET}
  ```
4. Explore the docs. Full endpoint documentation is at [developer.godaddy.com/doc](https://developer.godaddy.com/doc). The Domains API spec covers everything from listing DNS records to updating nameservers to managing domain contacts.

## What can you do with the API?

The abstract version is "manage DNS programmatically." Here's what that looks like in practice.

### Automate DNS updates during deployment

If you're shipping a web app and need to update A records, add CNAME entries, or configure TXT records for verification, you can wire that into your deployment pipeline. A CI/CD job that updates your DNS records after a successful build means one less manual step between "code merged" and "site live." For a side project running on a $5 VPS that occasionally changes IP addresses, a 14-line script can handle what used to require logging into a dashboard.

### Let AI coding tools manage your infrastructure

Tools like Claude Code, Cursor, and GitHub Copilot are increasingly handling infrastructure tasks alongside code. When a developer asks an AI assistant to "set up DNS for my new app," the assistant needs API access to follow through. With the old 10-domain minimum, that conversation hit a wall. Now it doesn't. If you're building with an AI coding assistant and your domain is on GoDaddy, the assistant can create records, update nameservers, and verify configurations without you ever opening a browser.

### Manage DNS for multiple client sites

Freelancers and small agencies managing 8 or 12 client domains can script bulk updates instead of clicking through each one individually. Need to add the same MX records across every client domain when migrating email providers? That's a loop and an API call, not 12 separate dashboard sessions. The 20,000 requests/month quota handles this comfortably for most small operations.

### Build internal tools around your domain portfolio

Domain investors and portfolio owners can build dashboards, monitoring scripts, and management tools that pull live DNS data. Check which domains are pointed where, verify that sales landers are configured correctly, or flag domains with stale records. The 60 requests/second rate limit gives you room to scan a sizable portfolio without throttling.

## Get started

Building domain and DNS management tools for your GoDaddy account has never been easier or more accessible. If you need a customized setup or are building tools to help manage your domains, our lower barrier to entry brings GoDaddy’s API to more users than ever.

Looking to explore the API? Our developer portal has everything you need to begin: [developer.godaddy.com/getstarted](https://developer.godaddy.com/getstarted).