WhatRuns API Key: Free Alternative + 30-Second Setup

Does WhatRuns have an API key?

No. WhatRuns is a Chrome and Firefox browser extension only. It has no public REST API, no documented endpoints, no API tokens or keys, and no programmatic access. Searches for "WhatRuns API key" or "WhatRuns API documentation" return nothing because the product was built for manual in-browser lookups, not automation.

What is the closest free WhatRuns alternative with an API key?

DetectZeStack is a free REST API for the same tech-detection use case. It uses the same Wappalyzer fingerprint database WhatRuns is based on, plus DNS CNAME inspection, TLS certificate analysis, and HTTP header pattern matching. The free tier is 100 requests per month with no credit card. Paid tiers start at $9/month for 1,000 requests — compared to BuiltWith's $995/month and Wappalyzer's $450/month.

How do I get a DetectZeStack API key?

Sign up at rapidapi.com/mlugoapx/api/detectzestack for an instant key tied to your RapidAPI account, or sign up directly at detectzestack.com/signup with email-magic-link verification. Either path gives you a key in under a minute. The first API call you'll make is curl -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" https://detectzestack.com/analyze?url=stripe.com and returns JSON with the full detected tech stack.

Why this article exists

The "WhatRuns API key" search query is high-volume and unanswered. WhatRuns built a useful browser extension, never shipped an API, and was acquired in 2023 with the product effectively unchanged. Developers searching for an API key keep finding tutorials that don't apply. The rest of this page covers what WhatRuns lacks, what an API for this use case actually looks like, and how to get started in under a minute.

Why WhatRuns Has No API

WhatRuns was built as a Chrome and Firefox browser extension for manual tech lookups. You visit a website, click the extension icon, and see what technologies the site uses. That's the entire product.

There is no:

• REST API or API documentation
• API keys or authentication system
• Programmatic access of any kind
• Batch processing or bulk analysis
• Webhook or notification API
• Paid plans with developer features

WhatRuns works well for what it is—quick, manual lookups while browsing. But if you need to detect technologies from a script, CI/CD pipeline, backend service, or any automated workflow, you need an actual API.

What Developers Actually Need

When people search for a "WhatRuns API key," they're usually trying to solve one of these problems:

• Automated tech detection: Scan hundreds or thousands of sites without clicking through each one manually.
• Lead enrichment: Add technology data to CRM records or prospect lists programmatically.
• Security auditing: Check what technologies (and versions) a site exposes, then map to known vulnerabilities.
• Competitive monitoring: Track when competitors add, remove, or change their tech stack over time.
• CI/CD integration: Verify deployed technologies match expected configurations after each release.

All of these require an API. WhatRuns can't help with any of them.

DetectZeStack: The API Alternative

DetectZeStack is a REST API built for exactly this use case. You get an API key, make HTTP requests, and receive structured JSON responses with detected technologies.

Get your free API key

Sign up on RapidAPI (free, no credit card required) and make your first request:

curl -s "https://detectzestack.p.rapidapi.com/analyze?url=example.com" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: detectzestack.p.rapidapi.com" | jq '.'

The response includes every detected technology with categories, confidence scores, and CPE identifiers when available.

Batch analysis

Analyze up to 10 sites in a single request:

curl -X POST "https://detectzestack.p.rapidapi.com/analyze/batch" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "X-RapidAPI-Host: detectzestack.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls": ["stripe.com", "shopify.com", "github.com"]}'

Python example

import requests

headers = {
    "X-RapidAPI-Key": "YOUR_KEY",
    "X-RapidAPI-Host": "detectzestack.p.rapidapi.com"
}

resp = requests.get(
    "https://detectzestack.p.rapidapi.com/analyze",
    headers=headers,
    params={"url": "example.com"}
)

for tech in resp.json().get("technologies", []):
    print(f"{tech['name']} ({tech['category']})")

WhatRuns vs DetectZeStack

Frequently Asked Questions