holehe

Show status across all supported websites for the specified email address

$ holehe [username@example.org]

$ holehe [username@example.org] --only-used

holehe [-h] [-u] [-c CONFIG] [-o OUTPUT] [--only-used] email

-h, --help
    Show help message and exit.


-u, --update
    Update the holehe sites database.


-c CONFIG, --config CONFIG
    Path to custom config file.


-o OUTPUT, --output OUTPUT
    Save results to output file.


--only-used
    Display only sites where email is registered.

Holehe is an open-source OSINT command-line tool designed to verify if a given email address is registered on over 120 popular websites, including social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, as well as services like Spotify and GitHub.

It works by sending lightweight HTTP requests to each site's registration or password-reset endpoints, simulating a signup or recovery process without creating accounts or storing data. This non-intrusive method checks for email existence based on server responses, providing a quick leak of potential online footprints.

Primarily used for security audits, penetration testing, and personal privacy checks, holehe outputs a list of sites where the email is used or free. It supports database updates for new sites and customizable output. Rate limiting and proxies are not built-in, so heavy use may trigger bans. Developed in Python, it's lightweight and installable via pip.

May trigger rate limits or bans on sites; results not always 100% accurate due to site changes; use ethically and legally, as it performs automated requests.

pip install holehe
or git clone https://github.com/megadose/holehe.git && cd holehe && pip install -r requirements.txt && python3 setup.py install

holehe --only-used john@example.com
Outputs: twitter : Used
instagram : Free

Created by megadose in 2020 on GitHub; actively maintained with 5k+ stars; expanded from 30 to 120+ sites via community contributions.

sherlock(1), theHarvester(1)