Special-use & reserved TLDs
Names like .local, .onion, .test and .internal look like TLDs but never resolve on the public internet. Here is what each one is reserved for.
| Name | Reserved for |
|---|---|
| .alt | Used for alternative naming systems outside the global Domain Name System (DNS). |
| .arpa | Supports infrastructure identifier spaces |
| .example | Reserved for use in documentation and examples. |
| .internal | Used within private networks not intended for the global Internet |
| .invalid | Used for clearly invalid domain names. |
| .local | Used by Multicast DNS (mDNS) to allow devices to find each other on local networks |
| .localhost | Refers to the same device |
| .onion | Used to access devices over the Tor network |
| .test | For testing purposes |
9 entries. Sources: IANA Root Zone Database and ICANN gTLD registry data.