.forge

Is .forge a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?

AI & tech
applicants
  • Starlight RegistryAnnounced
on the record since Aug 19, 2026 · updated Aug 19, 2026
AI score
46/ 100
Usable but limited

A strong builder-flavored word for dev tools and maker brands, but most serious projects would still pick .com or .dev first.

assessed by claude-fable-5 · Aug 19, 2026
AI score 46 of 100. .com scores 96, .ai scores 84.
who it’s for

developer-tool and infrastructure startups, open-source project hosts, maker/crafts brands, and gaming communities that want a "built here" identity

techBrandCultureCommerce
applicants
1 on file
Starlight RegistryAnnounced
Aug 19, 2026

One of 40 strings Starlight Registry (established by registrar Namecheap) applied for in the ICANN 2026 round, reported by Domain Name Wire on 2026-08-19.

closest 2012 bets
3 of 1,408

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.

.buildstrong parallel
delegated 2014 · live

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.

uncontested · scored 45* in 2012 · run by Plan Bee LLC

.worksstrong parallel
delegated 2014 · live

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.

uncontested · scored 40* in 2012 · run by Little Dynamite, LLC

.studiomoderate
delegated 2015 · live

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.

2 applicants contested it · scored 50* in 2012 · run by Spring Goodbye, LLC

* A separate 2012-only read, time-locked to what was public that year. Different scale from this page’s score — the two are not comparable.

history
  1. Starlight Registry · first recordedAug 19, 2026
    Domain Name Wire
news & sources
NewsNamecheap's Starlight Registry applies for 40 TLDs
Aug 19, 2026
For us, moving into the registry side is a natural extension of what we have been building.
Domain Name Wire
Considering a name on .forge?Appraise a name on this TLD →

This record is corrected in the open. See the changelog and methodology.