# IndieHandle

> Check whether a username is free, taken, or could not be checked on GitHub, npm, X, Reddit, Bluesky, and more.

See whether one handle is free on the platforms an indie launch needs.

The canonical page is https://indiehandle.com/.

## Use the tool

Open [IndieHandle](https://indiehandle.com/) to complete the job. The questions below describe the supported input, result, and limits. Every answer names its source next to it.

Source: [Each platform's own API or profile page](https://indiehandle.com/blog/2026-09-02-why-indiehandle-exists/).

## Questions and limits

### How do I check if a username is available on all platforms?

Enter one handle, and the check asks every platform in its list at once: GitHub, GitLab, npm, PyPI, crates.io, RubyGems, Docker Hub, X, Bluesky, Mastodon at mastodon.social, Reddit, Hacker News, DEV Community, Indie Hackers, Product Hunt, YouTube, Substack, Gumroad, Linktree, and the matching `.com`, `.io`, and `.dev` domains. Each row says free, taken, or could not check, gives the reason, and links the exact address that answered.

### What does could not check mean?

The platform did not say free or taken. The row shows the HTTP status it gave: a 403 bot challenge, a 429 rate limit, a redirect to a consent or login page, a server error, or no answer within eight seconds. IndieHandle never rounds that up to free, because a wrong free costs a launch. Open the row's link in your browser and look yourself.

### Why is a handle marked not valid on one platform?

Each platform has its own rule for a name. X allows up to 15 letters, digits, and underscores. GitHub allows up to 39 with hyphens but no underscore. npm package names can run to 214 characters. A handle that breaks a platform's rule is marked not valid there, and that platform is not asked. The row quotes the rule, so you can see what to change.

### What should I do if my handle is taken somewhere?

Decide how much that platform matters. A taken GitHub or npm name blocks a developer tool; a taken Linktree does not. When the handle is taken anywhere, the result lists up to six variants that fit every platform the original fit: without separators, with underscores, with `hq`, `app`, `dev`, `io`, or `labs` after, or `get`, `try`, or `use` in front. None is checked until you pick it, and picking one runs one ordinary check.

### Does free mean I can register it?

Usually, but not always. Free means the platform answered not found at that moment, from Cloudflare's network. A name can be reserved by the platform, held after a deleted account, or registered a minute later. A domain marked free comes from the registry's RDAP record, so it is not registered, but a premium price or a registrar hold is still possible.

A successful check is cached for six hours, so a repeat lookup inside that window shows the same rows even if someone registered the name in between. Register the names you need as soon as you decide, starting with the platforms that would block a launch.

## Promises

- The core is free: no account, no card, no premium plan, no upgrade nag, no hidden paywall.
- Private lookup activity is never published.
- Analytics is currently off. Private lookup activity is never published or sent to a tracker. No lookup history becomes public inventory.

## More

- [Notes](https://indiehandle.com/blog.md): posts by the maker, newest first
- [More tools](https://indiehandle.com/tools.md): the other tools by turushan
- [security.txt](https://indiehandle.com/.well-known/security.txt): how to report a vulnerability

Made by turushan, https://twitter.com/turushan.