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Naming a project: check GitHub, npm, PyPI and domains

A good project name needs to be free in more places than a personal handle: the GitHub organization, the package registry, the container registry, a domain, and ideally a social account for announcements. A search across 3,450+ sites, coding sites included, plus a domain check tells you early whether the name will work.

Free, no sign-up. Up to five usernames, 3,450+ sites. The username is not stored or logged.

What goes wrong with project names

You ship v0.1 under a name you like, then find out the npm package name is taken, the GitHub org belongs to an abandoned account, and the .dev domain points at someone else's blog. Renaming after people have installed your package means broken imports, redirects and confused users.

Registries don't share a namespace. A name can be free on PyPI and taken on npm. GitHub doesn't release usernames just because they look inactive; it reviews trademark complaints. A few minutes of checking up front saves a painful rename.

What the tool checks

The username search covers the coding category, including GitHub, GitLab, Codeberg, Bitbucket, npm, PyPI, Docker Hub (users and organizations) and Hugging Face. On GitHub, users and organizations share one namespace, so a free username is also a free org name. On npm and PyPI the search checks user profiles; your npm username is also the @scope you publish under. Package names are a separate list, so check those on the registry itself before you publish.

Each site comes back as Found, Not found, Blocked or Unknown. Treat every one of them as a lead to verify, not a verdict. For the domain side, the name checker looks up .com, .net, .org, .io, .us, .app and .dev through public RDAP data and shows popular platforms next to them, so you can weigh the domain and the handles together.

Step by step

  1. Shortlist up to five names. Pick short, pronounceable names that do not describe a competitor product or include a trademark owned by another project.
  2. Search them and filter to coding. Run all five in one search and filter to the coding category to see GitHub, GitLab, npm, PyPI and Docker Hub together.
  3. Check domains in the name checker. Run your top pick in the name checker to see .com, .io, .dev and the other supported domains, plus popular platforms.
  4. Check package names on the registry. Search the package name directly on npm, PyPI or crates.io, since package names and user names are separate lists.
  5. Claim everything the same day. Create the GitHub org, register the domain, publish a placeholder package if your registry allows it, and grab a social handle for release notes.

A quick naming checklist

  • Lowercase letters, numbers and single hyphens work almost everywhere. GitHub allows only alphanumerics and single hyphens, with no hyphen at the start or end.
  • Search the name with and without a hyphen. If quill-kit is free but quillkit belongs to an active project, users will mix them up.
  • Say the name out loud and type it from memory. If people misspell it, they will install the wrong package.
  • Search the web for the name plus your language or framework to catch projects that are not on the sites we check.

Frequently asked questions

Does this check npm package names?

No. It checks npm user profiles, which also define your @scope. Search package names directly on npmjs.com before publishing.

Is a free GitHub username also a free organization name?

Yes. GitHub users and organizations share one namespace, so the same check covers both.

Which domains can I check?

The name checker covers .com, .net, .org, .io, .us, .app and .dev, using public RDAP data.

Can I get a GitHub name from an inactive account?

GitHub does not release, transfer or reclaim usernames because they look inactive. It only reviews valid trademark complaints.

Is the name I search stored?

No. It is sent to our server only to run the check and is not stored or logged, so you can test unannounced names.

Related tools and guides

FreeUsername is an independent tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by the WhatsMyName project, Sherlock, Maigret or any site it checks. Results are leads to verify.