# Watch a domain

> Add a domain to your watch list to track it as it heads toward expiry.

Source: https://infranest.io/docs/watch-a-domain
Last updated: 2026-09-14

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Watch a domain to track it as it heads toward expiry, so you know exactly when it might become available — for anyone who wants a specific domain and needs to keep an eye on its status.

## Overview
- Adding a domain to your watch list shows its status, estimated drop date and quality scores in one place.
- InfraNest checks watched domains automatically, more often as the estimated drop date approaches.
- You can review a domain's history, its WHOIS record, and refresh its details at any time.

## Add a watch
1. Go to **Drop Catch**.
2. In the **Add a tag…** — no, in the **Watch a domain** field, type the full domain (for example `example.com`). InfraNest splits it into the name and ending for you.

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3. Add optional **Tags** and **Notes (optional)** to organise your list.

   > [!NOTE]
   > If the ending isn't a real one, InfraNest refuses the watch and tells you why. Endings like `.mail` or `.con` look like typos for `.com` but will never be released by any registry, so a watch on them could never fire. Endings with accents or in another script (like `.рф` or `.中国`) are real and accepted, whether you type them as-is or in their `xn--` form.
4. Select **Start watching**. The domain appears in your watch list with its **Status**, estimated drop date and scores.

## Follow a watch
1. Go to **Drop Catch** and open the domain from your watch list.
2. Check the lifecycle timeline (active → expiring → grace → redemption → pending delete → available), which shows the estimated drop date and next check.
3. Review the domain-quality (**Quality**) and **Catchability** scores.
4. Open the WHOIS tab to see the current record and a timeline of changes. It shows when the record was last read — if it looks out of date, select **Check now** to refresh both together.
5. Open the History tab to see the checks worth keeping: the first check, any errors, any change in availability, and any check you ran yourself. Routine checks that found nothing new aren't listed, so the newest entry can be older than the **Last checked** time shown above it — that's normal, the domain is still being checked on its schedule.
6. Select **Check now** at any time to refresh everything immediately.

## Tips
> [!TIP]
> Want the domain registered the moment it becomes free, without watching it yourself? Look into the automatic catching option described in **Catch a dropping domain automatically**.

## Good to know
- InfraNest checks a watched domain rarely while the drop is far off, then far more frequently — by the minute — as it gets close.