Getting Started with the united-domains DNS API

Introduction

With the DNS API, you can technically configure the DNS settings of your domains via an interface (i.e., without accessing the united-domains portfolio). Several steps are required to use the API.

Order the DNS API

To gain access to the DNS API, you must first order the DNS API product.

You can order the DNS API on the united-domains website at https://www.united-domains.de/domain-dnsapi/. To do this, click „Order now“ in the product table to add the product to your cart and then complete the checkout process.

If you are already a customer, you can alternatively book the DNS API directly in your portfolio here: https://united-domains.de/portfolio/a/dns-api

Create API Key

Once the DNS API is active in your account, you can create API credentials. To do this, open the DNS API configuration page and click „Create new API key“.

create key

Assign a meaningful name for your API Key and click „Save“:

API key name

A new API Key will now be generated. The information for this API key will be displayed once. Please copy the API Key and store it in a secure location.
Confirm by checking the box that you have copied and securely stored the API Key, then click „Understood“.

copy key

Note: The API key consists of a public prefix and a secret, both separated by a dot.

Manage API Keys

In the overview, you can identify an API Key either by its public prefix (= the green highlighted value before the dot) or by the name you assigned.
The secret (= the yellow highlighted portion after the dot) is no longer visible and is not stored by united-domains for security reasons.

Overview keys

If you lose your API Key, there is no way to recover it. In this case, you must delete the API Key and create a new one.

Making API calls

To perform any API call, you will need to provide your API Key in an authentication header. The format is the following:

X-API-Key: publicprefix.secret

For example, for the API Key obtained above, the header would be:
X-API-Key: 014a58734f704b3fa254d3fb843ce371.nMiGBa0VK8EjbjImCvsQF9xPYKzlaHTKco9ix5j0InoBv8RxJpdlY_A3hEnk67ZiBrcVblNzeMdkLFTNiqjULg

An example API call:
curl -X GET "https://dnsapi.united-domains.de/dns/v1/zones" -H "X-API-Key: 014a58734f704b3fa254d3fb843ce371.
nMiGBa0VK8EjbjImCvsQF9xPYKzlaHTKco9ix5j0InoBv8RxJpdlY_A3hEnk67ZiBrcVblNzeMdkLFTNiqjULg"

Rate limits

The API has a rate limit for each customer API Key.
The rate limit for an API Key is 1,200 requests per hour and is reset hourly. All API requests with the „X-API-Key“ header are counted.
Upon reaching the rate limit, the request will not be processed, and the application will receive the status code „HTTP 429 – Too Many Requests“ with the following error message:
{"message":"API rate limit exceeded"}

API Documentation

A complete API documentation can be found here: API Documentation

Support

Support inquiries can be sent in German or English to the following email address: support@united-domains.de

For technical questions or to report a problem, please provide as detailed information as possible. This helps us process your request faster. Relevant information in this case includes:

  • Product API used (= DNS)
  • Problem description
  • API calls performed
  • Expected result
  • Actual result

We also welcome general feedback on the functions provided via the API, as well as suggestions for improvement or feature requests. We will gladly consider these for further development and future releases.