WhatRuns API Key: Why It Doesn't Exist & What to Use Instead

There is no WhatRuns API key. If you've been searching for "WhatRuns API key," "WhatRuns API documentation," or "how to get WhatRuns API access," here's the short answer: WhatRuns is a browser extension only. It has no API, no API keys, no endpoints, and no way to integrate it into code.

This page explains why, what developers actually need instead, and how to get a free tech stack detection API key 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