Developers frustrated by recent GoDaddy API restrictions

Developers gripe after GoDaddy cuts off API access; one says a customer’s app went down as a result.

GoDaddy is taking heat from some customers after cutting access to its APIs.

On Reddit, one customer wrote:

If you use godaddy as a domain registrar and are using their DNS api to validate your ssl cert, please take notice…Found out today when a client called frantically because their locally hosted web app is down. I log into their local server and run the acme wizard trying to manually renew, only to get a “Forbidden”.

A post on The Awesome Garage explains what happened and some alternatives.

It seems that the issue is impacting people who used the API to validate SSL certificates, and many developers were caught off guard.

I reached out to GoDaddy for comment. A spokesperson stated via email:

GoDaddy is constantly looking for ways to provide services our customers need. We have observed a high volume of misuse of our APIs recently, potentially impacting our platforms’ performance and hence our customers. For example, we made the decision to put reasonable controls in place to access our Domains API. GoDaddy customers, including Domain Investors, who have 10 or more domain names or are part of the Discount Domain Club can continue accessing the API to manage their domains. We are monitoring usage and will update controls as needed to make sure legitimate traffic is able to access our APIs.