Usernames often look like a small implementation detail when you’re building a product. You add a uniqueness check, maybe block a couple of obvious cases like admin, and move on.
But as products grow, usernames quietly turn into a real problem.
People register admin, support, or system. Brand and impersonation-prone usernames slip through. Short or high-value handles get taken early. To fix it, teams start maintaining internal “reserved username” lists that keep growing over time. What began as a simple array slowly becomes brittle logic, scattered rules, and long-term tech debt.
username.dev exists to solve that problem properly.
It’s a focused, API-first service that helps apps govern usernames from day one. Instead of hardcoding rules or constantly patching edge cases, teams can rely on a single API to detect and block reserved, premium, or risky usernames during signup.
The goal isn’t just validation — it’s prevention. Username.dev helps reduce impersonation risk, protect high-value handles, and keep internal roles and system names out of user hands, before issues show up in production.
This project grew out of firsthand experience maintaining messy username rules across multiple products. Rather than every team reinventing their own approach, username.dev provides a clean, maintainable way to treat username governance as a first-class concern.
It’s built for developers, indie founders, and teams working on social apps, marketplaces, communities, or any platform where usernames matter. Whether you’re launching something new or scaling an existing product, username.dev helps you avoid future headaches — and the tech debt that comes with them.
