sherlock
Find usernames across social networks
TLDR
Search for a specific username on social networks saving the results to a file
Search for specific usernames on social networks saving the results into a directory
Search for a specific username on social networks using the Tor network
Make requests over Tor with a new Tor circuit after each request
Search for a specific username on social networks using a proxy
Search for a specific username on social networks and open results in the default web browser
Display help
SYNOPSIS
sherlock username [options]
PARAMETERS
username
The username to search for on social media platforms.
--version
Show program's version number and exit.
--verbose
Display all messages.
--quiet
Disable printing to console.
--local
Force using only the local data.
--update
Update the list of checked sites from remote source.
--timeout
Time in seconds to wait for response.
--print-all
Output all sites for the username.
--no-color
Don't use color in output.
--browse
Open first founded profile in browser.
--json
Save found usernames to a JSON file.
--csv
Save found usernames to a CSV file.
--site
Limit sites to check to just the specified site.
--proxy
Make requests over a proxy. ex: socks5://127.0.0.1:1080
--tor
Make requests over Tor. Requires Tor to be running.
--unique-tor
Make requests over new Tor circuit after each request.
--help
Show help message and exit.
DESCRIPTION
Sherlock is a command-line tool written in Python used to hunt for usernames across various social media platforms. Given a username as input, it queries hundreds of social media sites to determine if that username is registered on any of them.
Sherlock is useful for OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) investigations, brand protection, and generally checking the availability of a desired username across the web. The tool provides detailed reports about accounts that the username is associated with, including direct links to the profiles when available. Sherlock is valuable for anyone seeking to understand the online presence of a specific username.
CAVEATS
The accuracy of the results depends on the completeness and correctness of the data source used by Sherlock. Social media sites may change their policies or structures, which can affect Sherlock's ability to locate usernames. Some sites may block Sherlock's requests, so using proxy servers or Tor is sometime neccesary.
RATE LIMITING
Many social media platforms implement rate limiting to prevent abuse. Sherlock may encounter rate limits, resulting in incomplete or delayed results. Using proxy servers or Tor can help mitigate rate limiting issues.
HISTORY
Sherlock was developed as an open-source project to automate the process of username enumeration across multiple social networks. It quickly gained popularity within the OSINT community due to its ease of use and extensive coverage of social media platforms. It is continously updated with new sites and improved detection methods to remain effective against evolving platform structures.