How is this different from the Namecheap ChatGPT App?

The App is OAuth and works only inside ChatGPT, and it can register domains. This server works in every MCP client and takes an API key, but does not register — it is read plus DNS, nameserver, forwarding and lock writes.

Why does it need my IP address?

Namecheap's API allowlists by source IP. `NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP` has to be the address the request actually leaves from, and the same address must be added in the Namecheap account. On a laptop with a changing IP this is the main setup friction.

Is it safe to let an agent edit DNS here?

Only with the merge caveat: `set_dns_hosts` is a full replace, not a patch. An agent that sets one record without reading the existing set first will delete everything else on the domain.

Namecheap API MCP

Name: Top MCPs — curated MCP directory
Creator: Top MCPs
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Read and edit a Namecheap portfolio from any MCP client — the non-ChatGPT path to the same account.

Score 53(?)Community (lanternrow)MIT 0Verified Sep 17, 2026Top MCPs for Domains →

Install View on GitHub

Quick answer

What it does

Exposes Namecheap's API as MCP tools: `list_domains`, `check_domains` (bulk availability plus premium pricing), `get_dns_hosts` / `set_dns_hosts`, `get_nameservers` / `set_custom_nameservers` / `set_default_dns`, `get_email_forwarding` / `set_email_forwarding`, `get_registrar_lock` / `set_registrar_lock`, `get_pricing`, and `list_ssl_certificates`.

Best for

Portfolio audits (expiry, lock, auto-renew, WhoisGuard)
Bulk availability checks, up to 50 per call
Switching nameservers to an external DNS provider
Email forwarding rules

Not for

Registering or renewing domains
Accounts at other registrars

Source: top-mcps.com/mcp/namecheap-mcp — verified Sep 2026

Setup recipe

Pick your client, then follow the three steps.

Install

claude_desktop_config.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "namecheap-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "namecheap-api-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NAMECHEAP_API_USER": "${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}",
        "NAMECHEAP_API_KEY": "${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}",
        "NAMECHEAP_USERNAME": "${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}",
        "NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP": "${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Paste under mcpServers. Fully quit and reopen Claude after editing.

CLI or .mcp.jsonshell

# export NAMECHEAP_API_USER=your_api_user
# export NAMECHEAP_API_KEY=your_api_key
# export NAMECHEAP_USERNAME=your_username
# export NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP=your_allowlisted_ip
claude mcp add namecheap-mcp -- npx -y namecheap-api-mcp@latest

Run from your repo. Commit .mcp.json to share with your team.

.cursor/mcp.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "namecheap-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "namecheap-api-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NAMECHEAP_API_USER": "${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}",
        "NAMECHEAP_API_KEY": "${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}",
        "NAMECHEAP_USERNAME": "${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}",
        "NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP": "${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Global path: ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Reload window after editing.

.vscode/mcp.jsonjsonc

{
  "servers": {
    "namecheap-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "namecheap-api-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NAMECHEAP_API_USER": "${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}",
        "NAMECHEAP_API_KEY": "${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}",
        "NAMECHEAP_USERNAME": "${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}",
        "NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP": "${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code uses the "servers" key (not "mcpServers").

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "namecheap-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "namecheap-api-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NAMECHEAP_API_USER": "${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}",
        "NAMECHEAP_API_KEY": "${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}",
        "NAMECHEAP_USERNAME": "${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}",
        "NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP": "${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open via Cascade → hammer icon → Configure.

cline_mcp_settings.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "namecheap-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "namecheap-api-mcp@latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NAMECHEAP_API_USER": "${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}",
        "NAMECHEAP_API_KEY": "${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}",
        "NAMECHEAP_USERNAME": "${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}",
        "NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP": "${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open via the Cline sidebar → MCP Servers → Edit.

~/.continue/config.jsonjson

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "npx",
          "args": [
            "-y",
            "namecheap-api-mcp@latest"
          ],
          "env": {
            "NAMECHEAP_API_USER": "${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}",
            "NAMECHEAP_API_KEY": "${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}",
            "NAMECHEAP_USERNAME": "${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}",
            "NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP": "${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}"
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Continue uses modelContextProtocolServers with a transport block.

~/.codex/config.tomlshell

# ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.namecheap-mcp]
command = "npx"
args = [
  "-y",
  "namecheap-api-mcp@latest",
]
env = { NAMECHEAP_API_USER = "${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}", NAMECHEAP_API_KEY = "${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}", NAMECHEAP_USERNAME = "${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}", NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP = "${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}" }

Codex uses TOML. Each server is a [mcp_servers.<name>] subtable.

~/.config/zed/settings.jsonjsonc

{
  "context_servers": {
    "namecheap-mcp": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "namecheap-api-mcp@latest"
        ]
      },
      "env": {
        "NAMECHEAP_API_USER": "${NAMECHEAP_API_USER}",
        "NAMECHEAP_API_KEY": "${NAMECHEAP_API_KEY}",
        "NAMECHEAP_USERNAME": "${NAMECHEAP_USERNAME}",
        "NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP": "${NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Zed calls them "context_servers". Settings live-reload on save.

ChatGPT → Apps directorynone

Namecheap API MCP doesn't ship a hosted HTTPS endpoint today. ChatGPT supports remote MCP servers only — to use this server in ChatGPT you'll need to deploy it to a public HTTPS URL first (e.g. via Cloudflare Workers or Vercel) or wait for an official remote build.

2
Set required secrets
Set NAMECHEAP_API_USER, NAMECHEAP_API_KEY, NAMECHEAP_USERNAME, NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP in your shell environment before launching your MCP client.
3
Try a minimum working prompt
Minimum working prompt pending verification. Try any prompt from the MCP’s README once installed.

Tools & permissions

Showing 12 of 16 tools the server reported. The rest are real, just not listed here.

Tool	Description	Args	Side effects
`check_connection`	Verify credentials and return the account balance summary.	—	Network
`list_domains`	List domains with expiry, lock, auto-renew and WhoisGuard status.	—	Read
`check_domains`	Bulk availability and premium pricing, max 50 per call.	—	Network
`get_domain_info`	Detailed status for one domain.	—	Read
`get_dns_hosts`	Read every DNS host record on a domain.	—	Read
`set_dns_hosts`	Replace ALL host records — anything omitted is deleted.	—	Write
`set_custom_nameservers`	Point a domain at external nameservers.	—	Write
`set_default_dns`	Switch a domain back to Namecheap BasicDNS.	—	Write
`set_email_forwarding`	Replace the full email-forwarding rule set.	—	Write
`set_registrar_lock`	Lock or unlock the domain at the registrar.	—	Write
`get_pricing`	Namecheap pricing for a product type. Heavy — cache it.	—	Network
`list_ssl_certificates`	List SSL certificates with type, host and expiry.	—	Read

Security & scope

Access scope: Read + write
Sandbox: Namecheap operates a sandbox at sandbox.namecheap.com; point the credentials there first.
Gotchas: `set_dns_hosts` replaces the entire record set. Namecheap deletes anything not included in the call, so an agent that sends a partial list silently wipes the rest of the zone. Read with `get_dns_hosts` first and send the merged set.
Namecheap requires the calling IP to be allowlisted in the account. `NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP` must match the machine actually making the request, which makes this awkward on a dynamic-IP laptop.
Third-party wrapper holding full API credentials — not a scoped token.

Agent prompt pack

— copy into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT.

Paste into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT. Edit the [brackets] before sending.

Recommend the best MCP servers for [task: e.g. domains work] in [client: Claude].

Constraints:
- Prefer tools that are [official | open-source | read-only] — pick what matters for my use case.
- Exclude MCPs that require [e.g. a paid plan, OAuth-only flows, remote-only transport].
- Return at most 3 picks, ranked.

For each pick include:
1. One-sentence rationale.
2. The ready-to-paste install snippet for my client.
3. Any required secrets I need to create before installing.

Cross-check the top-mcps.com listing: https://top-mcps.com/top-mcps-for-domains

Compare Namecheap API MCP against a real alternative. Swap the second MCP in [brackets] if you want a different match.

Compare Namecheap API MCP MCP vs [Namecheap MCP] for the following job: [describe the job, e.g. "let an agent create GitHub issues on bug triage"].

Judge them on:
- Setup time and complexity (what a new user hits first).
- Auth model (none / API key / OAuth 2.1) and credential risk.
- Transport (stdio / Streamable HTTP / SSE) and where the server runs.
- Required secrets and the blast radius if they leak.
- Operational risk in an unattended agent loop.
- Which one is "good enough" for a weekend prototype vs. production.

End with one sentence: which should I pick for my scenario, which is: [my scenario].

References:
- https://top-mcps.com/mcp/namecheap-mcp
- top-mcps.com listing for Namecheap

Asks the agent to install and verify. Works inside Claude Code, Cursor Agent, Codex CLI.

Install the Namecheap API MCP MCP server for my [client: Claude] at the default config path for that client.

Use the exact install snippet published at https://top-mcps.com/mcp/namecheap-mcp (fetch https://top-mcps.com/mcp/namecheap-mcp.json for the canonical server.json if you can read URLs).

Before finishing:
1. Create the required secrets (NAMECHEAP_API_USER, NAMECHEAP_API_KEY, NAMECHEAP_USERNAME, NAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP) and put them in the appropriate env block — do not hard-code them.
2. Restart or reload the client so it picks up the new server.
3. Verify the server is connected (green / running state) and at least one tool is listed.
4. If anything fails, read the client's MCP logs and report the exact error — do not silently retry.

Confirm when done and list the tools the server now exposes.

Frequently asked questions

What changed

— 1 update tracked.

Sep 17, 2026
Refreshed install snippets and fact sheet; verified for 2026.

At a glance

Maintainer: Community (lanternrow)
Transport: stdio
Auth model: API key
Required secrets: NAMECHEAP_API_USERNAMECHEAP_API_KEYNAMECHEAP_USERNAMENAMECHEAP_CLIENT_IP
Supported clients: ChatGPT
Claude Desktop
Claude Code
Cursor
VS Code
Windsurf
Cline
Continue
Zed
Codex CLI
License: MIT
Language: TypeScript
Latest version: latest
Last verified: Sep 17, 2026

GitHub repo

Rank badge

Maintainer of Namecheap API MCP? Embed the live badge — it re-renders with the current rank and score on every catalog refresh.

[![Ranked #7 in Domains on Top-MCPs](https://top-mcps.com/badge/namecheap-mcp.svg)](https://top-mcps.com/mcp/namecheap-mcp)

Alternatives

Namecheap →
Search, register, and manage Namecheap domains from inside ChatGPT — OAuth install, no API key.
Porkbun →
At-cost registration and full DNS control from an agent — read-only until you explicitly turn writes on.
Cloudflare →
Reach the whole Cloudflare API from an agent — DNS records, Workers, R2, and the Registrar beta — through one hosted Code Mode server.

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