Getting Started with the No-IP API
No-IP provides access to some of its services via API to complement its web interface. Managing DNS via the API has many benefits. Customers who have a large DNS presence or need to automate tasks will find it to be a powerful tool. Developers can even use the API to create management infrastructure, such as a web console or administrative systems.
Access
The base URL for all production API requests
Authentication
To begin you will need an API key generated through the website. Sign into your No-IP account and navigate to the API Key management page to create a new key.
The API key is presented in the authorization header of the HTTP requests using HTTP Basic scheme where the API key is the password or using the Bearer scheme.
Example using HTTP Basic Authentication
curl -u ":<api key>" https://api.noip.com/v1/aboutExample using HTTP Bearer Authentication
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <api key>" https://api.noip.com/v1/aboutAPI and HTTP Update Protocol: What’s the Difference?
HTTP Update Protocol is the ability to update the address associated with a hostname via HTTP. Strictly speaking it is an API, but one with a limited scope. It’s existed for a long time, having been developed in an ad hoc manner (and in a few different forms) in the early commercial days of the Internet. In fact, No-IP was founded around the technology. It is simple, works well for its use case and is included in many embedded devices (routers, cable modems and the like). No-IP continues to actively support HTTP Update Protocol. To learn more about HTTP Update Protocol see our device intergration information.
The API is a much more comprehensive solution. It allows complete management of DNS and other resources: the ability to create, modify and delete DNS data of any supported type, as well as perform more sophisticated tasks such as searching it and adding metadata. Those features keep large amounts of data manageable. The capabilities of the API are essentially a superset of HTTP Update Protocol, and it has a better security model. Some commonly needed operations are expedited by HTTP Update Protocol, but in general the API is much more powerful.