.forge
Is .forge a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.forge is not contested. One application for it is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 8 October 2026. It is Starlight (Namecheap). Suffix named .forge as a backup string for its .visit application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. GoDaddy Registry named .forge as a backup string for its .maker application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A strong builder-flavored word for dev tools and maker brands, but most serious projects would still pick .com or .dev first.
developer-tool and infrastructure startups, open-source project hosts, maker/crafts brands, and gaming communities that want a "built here" identity
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .maker application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .visit application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet: a short English making/creating verb-noun with no incumbent industry that owns it, sold as primary identity to builders and makers and working equally as a standalone brand or as the tail of a two-word name.
Same bet on a workshop-metaphor noun rather than a literal category — nobody's business is classified as a "works" or a "forge," so both monetize as evocative brand suffixes for shops that make things.
Same evocative place-where-work-gets-made word aimed at creative and technical shops putting their whole identity on it, but weaker as a parallel because "studio" is already a literal, self-applied business type with a large ready-made registrant base, whereas "forge" is pure metaphor.
What a .forge domain is
.forge is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, filed under AI & tech. One application for it is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .forge domain extension real yet?
.forge is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .forge domain?
You can’t yet. A .forge name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .forge was .build, delegated on 18 January 2014.
Is .forge a real TLD?
Not yet. .forge is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .forge is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- Starlight (Namecheap) · noteDomain Name Wire
- Suffix · first recordedICANN
- GoDaddy Registry · first recordedICANN
- Starlight (Namecheap) · first recordedICANN
“DEI2680T-T53761 · Deneb Exploration, Inc. · primary”ICANN
“DEI2680T-T53761 · Deneb Exploration, Inc. · primary NA2631T-T71478 · Registry Services, LLC · replacement string of .maker · Deactivated SI2639T-T26609 · Suffix Inc. · replacement string of .visit · Deactivated”ICANN
“For us, moving into the registry side is a natural extension of what we have been building.”Domain Name Wire
- The string benefits from real naming momentum: "forge" is a common element in developer and gaming product names, and "software forge" is an established term for code-hosting platforms, so the semantic fit with tech buyers is genuine. By analogy, craft/dev-adjacent TLDs such as .build, .tools, and .codes have seen volume registrations but weak brand signal and thin aftermarkets, while .dev's stronger outcome leaned on a major platform anchor — .forge as proposed has no such anchor, so I place it at the top of the usable-but-limited band rather than in the niche band above, where sustained primary-identity demand would need to be demonstrated. It clears the vanity band below because the word is a serious, positive product-naming term with a large natural buyer pool, not event-driven or joke demand. The applicant being a registry venture of a large registrar (per the verified facts) plausibly improves distribution and retail visibility, which supports adoption likelihood at the margin. Main market uncertainty: whether developer-tool founders treat .forge as a credible primary identity or only as a redirect/project namespace, and whether the mild "forgery" connotation dampens mainstream brand use.