.source
Is .source a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.source is not contested. One applicant has said publicly that it applied to run it, and nobody else has, as of 15 August 2026. It is Link Freedom Group.
A clever word for developers, open-source projects, and data publishers, but existing developer domains already fill that role, so demand stays modest.
open-source maintainers, developer-tool companies, and data/AI provenance projects wanting a name that literally says 'source'; secondarily journalism and research outlets branding themselves as a trusted source
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “The root of it all.”
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 as .source: an abstract, tech-inflected common noun that no single industry owns, sold as a concept namespace to technical organizations that want the word itself rather than a category label.
Same buyer as the open-source reading of .source, namely builders putting a project's primary identity on a short builder-vocabulary word, which only works if developer culture adopts the namespace instead of defensively parking in it.
Covers the procurement sense of the target: a generic B2B function noun betting that suppliers and sourcing firms will brand on the function they perform.
What a .source domain is
.source is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, filed under AI & tech. One applicant has said publicly that it applied for .source.
Is the .source domain extension real yet?
.source 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 .source domain?
You can’t yet. ICANN publishes every applied-for string on Reveal Day, 7 October 2026 at 18:00 UTC. A .source name can only be registered after that, once the string is delegated and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .source was .data, delegated on .
Is .source a real TLD?
Not yet. .source is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because an applicant said publicly that it applied for .source in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round. Every claim on this page links to its source.
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“.source · AI & Tech · “The root of it all.””Link Freedom Group
“LFG voluntarily published its full list of submissions ahead of ICANN’s official Reveal Day.”PR Newswire (Link Freedom Group)
“Top level domain registry Link Freedom Group (LFG) has disclosed more than 300 strings submitted as part of the ICANN new top level domain name program.”Domain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
- Band: usable but limited (30-49). The string is a genuinely meaningful English word with strong semantic fit for software (source code, open source), AI-era provenance ('the source of this claim'), and media ('a trusted source'), which puts it above the vanity/joke band: real projects could plausibly register names here for descriptive value, and some hack-style names (project.source, open.source-style phrasing) are memorable. It does not reach the strong-niche band because, by analogy, developer identity is already concentrated in incumbent developer-oriented TLDs, and generic-word tech TLDs of similar shape have historically settled into volume-and-price registrations rather than primary-identity use with a liquid aftermarket; nothing in the verified facts suggests an anchor community, registry marketing muscle, or category where .source would become the expected choice rather than a choice that needs explaining twice (once for the TLD, once for why not the incumbent). The applicant, Link Freedom Group, filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round (the largest applicant of the round, per its voluntarily published list, press-corroborated by Domain Name Wire, 2026-08-13), and lists this string under 'AI & Tech' with the tagline 'The root of it all.'; a large-portfolio applicant is a neutral fact, but it implies this string is one of many rather than a single-string community bid, which tempers expectations of dedicated ecosystem-building. Main market uncertainty: whether AI-content provenance/attribution becomes a distinct commercial category over the next 5 years that wants a namespace of its own — if 'cite your .source' style infrastructure emerges, this string is unusually well positioned and could jump a band; if not, it likely trades as a mid-tail descriptive TLD.