specification: API Commons Lifecycle
specificationVersion: '0.1'
provider: OnlineNIC
providerId: onlinenic
generated: '2026-09-17'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://www.onlinenic.com/cp_english/template_api/api_help.php ;
  https://www.onlinenic.com/cp_english/template_api/download/Onlinenic_API_v4.0.9.2_Reseller_Guide.pdf
description: >-
  Versioning, deprecation, support and availability posture for the OnlineNIC Reseller API, read from
  the provider's own API page and reference guide and confirmed by live probes.
versioning:
  strategy: path-segment
  location: URL path (/api4/) plus a build number on the guide
  current:
    version: '4.0.9'
    build: 4.0.9.2
    released: '2020-03-17'
    released_source: https://www.onlinenic.com/cp_english/template_api/api_help.php
    transport: HTTPS POST
    format: JSON
    scope: Domain + SSL
    status: current
  history:
    - version: '4.0.9'
      released: '2020-03-17'
      status: current
    - version: '4.0.5'
      status: superseded
      guide: https://www.onlinenic.com/cp_english/template_api/download/OnlinenNIC_API_SSL_Guide_V4.0.pdf
    - version: '3.4'
      released: '2015-10-08'
      status: deprecated
      status_source: >-
        The provider's own API page labels the 3.4 entry "Deprecated" beside its download, with the
        description "Domain Functions Only ... XML response".
      transport: raw TCP socket, port 30009
      format: XML
      scope: Domain only
      guide: https://onlinenic.com/cp_english/template_api/download/API_EN_Version_3.4.pdf
    - version: '3.1'
      status: superseded
      guide: https://onlinenic.com/cp_english/template_api/download/API_EN_Version_3.1.pdf
  note: >-
    Both major versions remain downloadable and the deprecated 3.4 protocol is still what OnlineNIC's
    own shipping WHMCS module and PHP SDK speak, so "deprecated" here labels the documentation, not the
    traffic.
deprecation:
  policy_published: false
  policy_url: null
  sunset_header: false
  deprecation_header: false
  rfc8594: false
  notice_period: null
  deprecated_versions:
    - version: '3.4'
      marked: 'Deprecated (label on the API download page)'
      sunset_date: null
      still_downloadable: true
      still_operational: true
  note: >-
    A version is LABELLED deprecated, but no deprecation POLICY exists: no notice period, no sunset
    date, no Sunset/Deprecation response headers, and no statement of how long a deprecated version is
    supported. No Deprecation pointer is wired into apis.yml — a label on one download is not a policy,
    and crediting it as one would misreport the provider's posture.
status_page:
  published: false
  url: null
  probed:
    - url: https://status.onlinenic.com/
      status: 0
      note: host does not resolve to a reachable service
  note: >-
    No status page, uptime history or incident feed was found on any OnlineNIC host. The site's
    "Maintenance Schedule" link on the legacy homepage is a marketing page, not a status surface. No
    StatusPage pointer is wired.
sla:
  published: false
  note: >-
    No uptime or response-time commitment is published. The reseller programme advertises "24/7
    support" and a "dedicated account manager" as service attributes, not as contractual targets.
support:
  channels:
    - kind: helpdesk
      url: https://helpdesk.onlinenic.com/portal/en/home
      status: 200
      note: Zoho-hosted partner help centre; ticket submission and knowledge base.
    - kind: ticket
      url: https://support.onlinenic.com/
      status: 302
      note: Redirects to helpdesk.onlinenic.com.
    - kind: live-chat
      url: https://www.onlinenic.com/english/livechat/live_index1.php
      note: Named in the API guide as the first-line channel for API integration questions.
    - kind: email
      address: sales@onlinenic.com
availability:
  api_host_probed:
    - url: https://api.onlinenic.com/api4/ssl/index.php
      status: 200
      body: '{"code":1001,"msg":"Invalid request."}'
      checked: '2026-09-17'
    - url: https://api.onlinenic.com/api4/domain/index.php?command=checkDomain
      status: 200
      body: '{"code":1004,"msg":"Required parameter missing(user)."}'
      checked: '2026-09-17'
  docs_host_probed:
    - url: https://wiki.onlinenic.com/
      status: 404
      body: No forward mapping for this host.
      note: >-
        The documentation host this catalogue recorded as the API's humanURL is GONE. It resolves to
        50.116.10.188, serves a certificate that does not match the hostname, and returns
        "No forward mapping for this host." The live reference moved to
        /cp_english/template_api/api_help.php on the main site; this record has been repointed.
      checked: '2026-09-17'
  last_published_change: '2020-08-04'
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com