autoreg-skills-max: initial public release (restored, redacted, hardened)

skills/nodeloc-free-domain/references/free-domain-alternatives-2026.md

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+# Free Domain Alternatives — September 2026
+
+## Freenom is Dead (do NOT waste time)
+- .tk/.cf/.gq: 12.6M domains dropped in 2024 (Netcraft documented). Site alive but no new registrations.
+- .ml/.ga: same fate, governments reclaimed TLDs
+
+## Genuinely Free TLDs (full DNS, your domain forever)
+
+### .pp.ua — мгновенно бесплатно
+- Registrar: https://nic.ua/ru/domains/.pp.ua
+- Purpose: personal pages, Ukraine
+- Cost: FREE, instant registration
+- Full DNS (A/AAAA/CNAME/MX/NS), Cloudflare compatible
+- Pitfall: may require UA phone for account (5sim solves)
+
+### .eu.org — European free TLD since 1996
+- Site: https://nic.eu.org
+- Free forever, full DNS control
+- Pitfall: MANUAL review by moderator — 2 weeks to 3 months wait
+- Max 2 zones per person. Don't spam registrations (ban risk)
+
+### .nom.za — South African personal TLD
+- Site: https://secure.nom.za
+- Free, 19 years active
+- Status Sep 2026: ad-supported trial
+- Pitfall: personal use only, may be geo-restricted to ZA residents
+
+### .eu.cc — NEW Sep 2026 (GNAME + Rayname)
+- GNAME: https://www.gname.com/tld-eu-cc.html — 3 domains FREE, instant
+- Rayname: https://www.rayname.com — also free .eu.cc registration
+- Not ICANN-approved TLD but functionally identical: DNS, renewal, transfer
+- Combined: 6+ free domains from two registrars
+
+## Premium Domains FREE for 1 Year
+
+### iFreeDomains
+- Site: https://ifreedomains.com
+- FREE gTLDs: .online, .blog, .bio, .link, .info — 1 year
+- Flow: register → profile → cart shows $0.00 → may ask card for verification
+- After 1 year: standard renewal pricing applies
+
+### Wix Free Domain
+- Site: https://wix.com/domain/
+- Create trial site → get free domain for 1 year
+
+### GitHub Student Pack
+- https://education.github.com/pack
+- Namecheap .me domain free 1 year + .tech/.live domains
+- Requires edu email or SheerID bypass
+- Also includes: Azure $100, JetBrains, GitHub Pro
+
+## Nodeloc (domain.nodeloc.com)
+- .loc.cc and .rr.kg domains: 10 years
+- Promo "FREEJUL" expired 2026-07-16
+- API flow documented in skill; watch forum for new coupons
+- DNS must be configured manually (domain resolves only after adding records)
+
+## Subdomain Services (not TLDs but useful)
+
+### FreeDNS (afraid.org)
+- https://freedns.afraid.org
+- 6.7M users, 21,462 domains — largest shared domain registry
+- Top domains: mooo.com (867k hosts), chickenkiller.com (444k), strangled.net (118k)
+- your_account.any_domain.com, full DNS, active since 2001
+
+### Cloudflare Pages (100 custom domains!)
+- https://pages.cloudflare.com
+- FREE: 100 custom domains per project (official docs confirmed)
+- pages.dev subdomain, auto-SSL, unlimited traffic
+
+### Vercel / Netlify / GitHub Pages
+- vercel.app / netlify.app / github.io — all free with auto-SSL
+- Custom domains supported on free tiers
+- Vercel: personal use only (commercial = Pro $20/mo)
+
+### DuckDNS / dynv6 / No-IP / DNSExit
+- DDNS services for dynamic IPs
+- DNSExit: 20+ free subdomain zones (.ipq.co, .linkpc.net, etc.)
+
+## Tunnels (instant public domain, no registration)
+- Cloudflare TryCloudflare: `cloudflared tunnel` → random trycloudflare.com with HTTPS
+- nip.io: `<IP>.nip.io` resolves to IP — no DNS, no registration
+- srv.us / ngrok / localhost.run — SSH-based tunnels
+
+## ICANN Add Grace Period Abuse
+- Register any gTLD → use 4 days → cancel within 5 days → full refund
+- gTLD registrars MUST honour AGP (ICANN policy)
+- Risk: account ban if abused. Use for short-term tests/KYC only.
+
+## "Almost free" TLDs ($0.80-$2/year)
+- .xyz: $1/year promotions (Porkbun, Namecheap)
+- .link/.click: $0.80-1.50 (Spaceship, Porkbun)
+- .ovh: $3/year
+- .ru: 199₽/year (~$2)