Sherlock
Command-line tool that checks many social networks for a given username.
- Stars
- 95.4k
- Forks
- 11.4k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Python
- Last update
- 4 days ago
- Type
- CLI
What it is
Sherlock is a command-line program written in Python that searches a list of social media and websites to see whether a particular username is registered on each one. It reports which sites have a matching account so you can find someone's public profiles quickly. The project is popular in open-source security and investigation circles, and its topics describe it as an OSINT (open-source intelligence) tool.
- Check which social networks use a given username
- Map a username across several platforms during a security assessment
- Review your own username footprint across the web
Great for
- Security researchers doing authorized open-source intelligence work
- Penetration testers checking username exposure during an approved engagement
- Developers comfortable running Python command-line tools
- People checking whether their own usernames are used across sites
Not ideal for
- Anyone wanting to track or profile a person without their consent, since the tool exists to surface accounts tied to a username
- Non-technical users, because it is run from a terminal and the README gave no graphical interface
- Users needing guaranteed accurate results, since username matches can belong to different people
How to get it
- 1
Clone and build from source
You'll need: Python 3
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sherlock-project/sherlock.git - 2
Run it
- Clone the repository and open its folder in a terminal
- Install the Python dependencies listed in the project's README
- Run the sherlock script with a username as an argument
- Review the reported sites and verify matches manually
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Read the README for the full list of command options and output settings
- Use the project homepage at sherlockproject.xyz for documentation
- Verify every match manually before drawing conclusions
Downloads
Strengths
- Free and MIT-licensed, so it can be used and modified freely
- Simple command-line interface built on Python
- Very widely starred and actively maintained, with a recent push to the repository
Trade-offs
- Results depend on the site list and can include false positives or missed sites
- Only checks usernames, not full identities, so matches need manual verification
- Requires a terminal and some Python setup
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sherlock (this) | 95.4k | CLI | intermediate | 4 days ago | Security researchers doing authorized open-source intelligence work |
| maigret | 39.6k | App | intermediate | 4 days ago | Investigators and analysts doing OSINT research on a username |
| spiderfoot | 24.2k | App | intermediate | 7 months ago | Security professionals doing reconnaissance during penetration tests or red team exercises |
| subfinder | 14.7k | CLI | intermediate | 4 days ago | Security testers doing reconnaissance on a domain they are authorized to test |
| httpx | 10.6k | CLI | intermediate | 4 days ago | Security testers doing reconnaissance on lists of hosts they are authorized to test |
| labelImg | 25k | Dev tool | beginner | 2.4 years ago | People who need a simple local tool to draw bounding boxes on a small image set |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.