| Introduced | 1999 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Reserved top-level domain |
| Status | Reserved to prevent conflict and confusion |
| Intended use | In documentation or for internal testing |
| Structure | Those using it for testing can use it in any desired structure |
| Documents | RFC 2606 |
.test is a reservedtop-level domain used to testwebsites orweb applications as an alternative to testing webpages using the defaultlocalhost. It is guaranteed to never be registered into the Internet.[1][2]
Along with.test, there are 11 other reserved test domains:.测试,.परीक्षा,.испытание,.테스트,.טעסט,.測試,.آزمایشی,.பரிட்சை,.δοκιμή,.إختبار, and.テスト.[3]
In June 1999, theInternet Engineering Task Force reserved the DNS labels.example,.invalid,.localhost, and.test so that they may not be installed into theroot zone of the Domain Name System.[1]
These top-level domain names were reserved to reduce the likelihood of conflict and confusion.[2]This allows their usage for either documentation purposes or in local testing scenarios. IANA.org states "Domains which are described as registered to IANA or ICANN on policy grounds are not available for registration or transfer, with the exception ofcountry-name.info domains. These domains are available for release by the ICANN Governmental Advisory Committee Secretariat."[4]
As a way to avoid this problem, the IETF published Best Current Practice (BCP) 32 in 1999. BCP 32, also known as RFC 2606, defines four reserved TLDs — .test, .example, .invalid, and .localhost ... that are guaranteed never to be assigned so that researchers and developers can always use them for example and testing purposes without concern.
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