.ship
Is .ship a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.ship is contested: 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 8 October 2026. They are Starlight (Namecheap), GoDaddy Registry and Link Freedom Group. Radix named .ship as a backup string for its .flow application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A catchy 'ship it' address for dev tools, launches, and logistics; fun for domain hacks but rarely a serious primary identity.
developer-tools startups and indie hackers who want a launch-themed identity or verb hack (we.ship, just.ship), plus maritime and logistics businesses as a secondary noun-sense market
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “Ship it, send it, done.”
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .flow 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: an open generic English action-word for the movement of goods, where the primary identity holders are couriers, freight and fulfillment operators who need the word itself rather than a brand, and it only works if that industry will re-anchor its identity off .com.
Also a short, speed-and-logistics generic that courier/shipping businesses would put their name on, but it is heavily shadowed by incumbent brand usage, so the registry's job is reclaiming a word buyers already associate with specific companies rather than owning a clean verb.
Structurally the same kind of bet — a one-syllable English verb sold as an open generic that straddles a physical trade and developer culture ('ship it' / 'build it') — so its buyer is likewise split between an industry vertical and the tech crowd, with the same risk that neither side treats it as their primary home.
What a .ship domain is
.ship is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our AI & tech category. 3 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .ship domain extension real yet?
.ship 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 .ship domain?
You can’t yet. A .ship 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 .ship was .delivery, delegated on 1 November 2014.
Is .ship a real TLD?
Not yet. .ship is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .ship 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
- Radix · first recordedICANN
- Starlight (Namecheap) · first recordedICANN
- GoDaddy Registry · first recordedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now confirmedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“LFGL2683T-T74740 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-211 NA2631T-T26726 · Registry Services, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-211 PEI2685T-T63063 · Procyon Exploration, Inc. · primary · contention set 2026-211 RTIS2674T-T36032 · Radix Technologies Inc SEZC · replacement string of .flow · Deactivated”ICANN
“LFGL2683T-T74740 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-211 NA2631T-T26726 · Registry Services, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-211 PEI2685T-T63063 · Procyon Exploration, Inc. · primary · contention set 2026-211”ICANN
“For us, moving into the registry side is a natural extension of what we have been building.”Domain Name Wire
“.ship · AI & Tech · “Ship it, send it, done.””Link Freedom Group
- Band chosen: 30-49, usable but limited. The string has two real senses: the verb from developer culture ('ship it' as shorthand for releasing software) and the noun for maritime/logistics. The verb sense gives it genuine memetic energy with builders, and the applicant's own catalog leans into that (category 'AI & Tech', tagline 'Ship it, send it, done.'). But by analogy with other verb and trade TLDs that lacked a major platform sponsor (.build, .codes, .live as analogies), such strings have tended to see hack-driven and price-driven registrations, defensive or redirect use, and thin aftermarkets rather than primary-identity adoption; that inference is from analogy, since this string is announced-only and has no market history. It is not in the 50-69 band because there is no observable sustained demand yet and no category where a .ship address would read as a default rather than a clever choice needing explanation; the conservative logistics industry, by analogy with other industry-vertical TLDs, has been slow to move off legacy namespaces. It is not in the 10-29 band because the dual verb/noun meaning, short memorable string, and clear buyer archetypes (devtools branding, launch pages, shipping companies) support more than vanity or event-driven demand. Applicant context, stated neutrally: Link Freedom Group filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round before the window closed 2026-08-12, was the largest applicant of the round, and voluntarily published its full list ahead of ICANN Reveal Day (press-corroborated by Domain Name Wire, 2026-08-13); a portfolio-scale applicant suggests registry-channel distribution rather than a single-category evangelism push, which tempers expectations of category-standard adoption. Main market uncertainty: whether developer culture will actually use a verb TLD as a primary production identity, or treat .ship names as redirects and campaign pages while keeping .com/.dev as the real address.