Get Started

IANLAN Tools · Documentation

Internal notes and API references for the self-hosted network tools. This page documents the layout system, shared styles, and each tool's HTTP interface, along with the global status API.

Layout & structure

Layout system & shared styles

All tool UIs under /tools/ share a common PHP layout wrapper and a single CSS file. Individual pages can add small inline styles but should avoid redefining the core palette and typography.

Shared layout (PHP)

The main layout file lives at: /tools/layout.php
Tools include it like this:

<?php include $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/tools/layout.php'; start_section(); ?> <!-- page content here --> <?php end_section(); ?>

layout.php is responsible for:

  • Opening and closing <html>, <head>, and <body>
  • Loading the global stylesheet at /tools/assets/styles.css
  • Rendering the header bar, brand chip, and navigation
  • Creating a centered content wrapper with the same max width

Shared CSS

The main stylesheet lives at: /tools/assets/styles.css and defines:

  • CSS variables for colors, shadows, and radii (--bg-dark, --accent, etc.)
  • Base body styling and background gradient
  • Re-usable components: .hero, .tool-card, .btn, etc.

Tool-specific styles (e.g. DNS, TLS, IP card layouts) are attached as small inline <style> blocks on each page, layered on top of the shared theme.

Tool · What is my IP

What is my IP?

Self-hosted IP checker with basic geolocation and ASN lookups. It exposes a small JSON API for automation, and the platform-wide status API can be queried separately or via the admin dashboard.

UI & status
  • UI http://www.ianlan.com/tools/what-is-my-ip/
  • Admin / status http://www.ianlan.com/tools/admin/
    Admin dashboard and “Latency & uptime” view, powered by the global status API.
API endpoints
  • GET http://www.ianlan.com/tools/what-is-my-ip/api/ip
    Returns the caller’s public IP, IP version, coarse location, ISP, and ASN info.
  • GET http://www.ianlan.com/tools/api/status.php
    Global tools status and environment details (server IP, PHP version, etc.).
  • GET http://www.ianlan.com/tools/what-is-my-ip/api/docs
    Machine-readable docs for the IP API.

Content negotiation

The IP API supports both text and JSON output, using a combination of:

  • Accept header (text/plain vs application/json)
  • ?format=json or ?format=text query parameter
  • CLI detection for curl/wget/httpie → defaults to text/plain
Example usage
curl http://www.ianlan.com/tools/what-is-my-ip/api/ip\n curl "http://www.ianlan.com/tools/what-is-my-ip/api/ip?format=json"\n curl "http://www.ianlan.com/tools/api/status.php"\n curl "http://www.ianlan.com/tools/api/status.php?format=text"
Tool · DNS & Reverse DNS

DNS & Reverse DNS tool

DNS lookup helper for A/AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, and PTR records, with a simple JSON API and a UI that uses the shared layout.

UI
  • UI http://www.ianlan.com/dns/
API endpoint
  • GET http://www.ianlan.com/dns/api/dns
    Query parameters:
    • q – hostname or IP (required)
    • type – A, AAAA, MX, TXT, NS, CNAME, PTR (optional)
Example usage
curl "http://www.ianlan.com/dns/api/dns?q=example.com"\n curl "http://www.ianlan.com/dns/api/dns?q=example.com&type=MX"
Tool · TLS / SSL checker

TLS / SSL certificate checker

Connects to a host:port and returns JSON describing the presented certificate and basic TLS characteristics (subject, SANs, issuer, expiry, protocol, cipher, etc.).

UI
  • UI http://www.ianlan.com/tools/tls-check/
API endpoint
  • GET http://www.ianlan.com/tools/tls-check/api/tls
    Query parameters:
    • host – hostname or IP to connect to (required)
    • port – TCP port (default: 443)
    • format – e.g. json if you add support for other formats
Example usage
curl "http://www.ianlan.com/tools/tls-check/api/tls?host=example.com&port=443"
Developer notes

Adding a new tool

New tools should live under /tools/<tool-name>/ where possible, and reuse the shared layout and theme.

Recommended file layout

/tools/\n layout.php # shared HTML wrapper\n index.php # tools landing page\n /what-is-my-ip/ # IP tool (UI + API)\n /tls-check/ # TLS checker UI + API\n /docs/ # this documentation page\n /admin/ # admin/analytics UI + status cards\n /tools/assets/styles.css # shared dark theme + components

Minimal new tool template

A typical tool UI entry point looks like:

<?php include $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/tools/layout.php'; start_section(); ?> <section class="hero"> <h1 class="hero-title">My New Tool</h1> <p class="hero-subtitle"> Short description of what this tool does. </p> </section> <section> <!-- tool-specific markup + small inline <style> or JS --> </section> <?php end_section(); ?>