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SpiderFoot
SpiderFoot — The Ultimate OSINT Automation & Reconnaissance Framework
SpiderFoot is a powerful open-source intelligence (OSINT) tool that simplifies digital investigation. Use SpiderFoot online or download it to gather, analyze, and visualize data from over 200 sources automatically — empowering cybersecurity experts, ethical hackers, and investigators to uncover critical insights in minutes. As a complete OSINT automation framework, SpiderFoot does the heavy reconnaissance work for you.
Free download available for Windows, Mac & Linux — get the latest SpiderFoot release in seconds.
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What is SpiderFoot
SpiderFoot is a free, open-source intelligence (OSINT) software written in Python 3. This automation tool collects, analyzes, and connects data from hundreds of sources — helping security professionals, penetration testers, and analysts understand what information is publicly available about a given target.
You can use SpiderFoot to gather intelligence on an IP address, domain name, hostname, ASN, subnet, email address, or even a person’s name. Being completely free and open source, it supports both offensive reconnaissance (for red teaming and penetration testing) and defensive reconnaissance (to identify exposed information about your own infrastructure).
Key Features
SpiderFoot combines automation, accuracy, and visibility to help you gather open-source intelligence without the hassle of manual research. It’s designed for professionals who need precision and speed.
Automated Intelligence Collection
Automated Intelligence Collection
Active & Passive Reconnaissance
Active & Passive Reconnaissance
Web & Command Line Interfaces
Web & Command Line Interfaces
Modular Design
Modular Design
Visual Reporting
Visual Reporting
Open Source & Extensible
Open Source & Extensible
How SpiderFoot Works
SpiderFoot simplifies and automates the entire reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering process. Instead of manually searching dozens of data sources, SpiderFoot handles everything through a structured, automated workflow. Here’s how it works:
Define Your Target
Begin by entering the asset or identifier you want to investigate. This can be a domain name, IP address, email address, ASN, hostname, network range, or any other data point. SpiderFoot uses this target as the foundation for gathering all related intelligence.
Select Modules
SpiderFoot comes with a large library of modules, each designed to gather a specific type of data. You can choose modules such as WHOIS lookups, DNS record discovery, Shodan scanning, breach database checks like Have I Been Pwned, social media intelligence, geolocation data, IP reputation services, and many more.
You have full control over which modules to run, allowing you to tailor the scan to your exact objectives.
Scan & Analyze
Once your modules are selected, SpiderFoot automatically performs the entire intelligence-gathering process.
It collects, correlates, and organizes information into a clear and structured format. After the scan is complete, you can:
Review detailed results
Filter data to focus on specific findings
Visualize relationships between data points
Identify patterns or potential risks
Export reports for documentation or further investigation
SpiderFoot centralizes all intelligence in one place, making complex data easy to explore and understand.
Automated Intelligence
Every step — from querying data sources to connecting related findings — is fully automated. This eliminates hours of manual OSINT work and significantly increases the depth, accuracy, and speed of your reconnaissance.
SpiderFoot ensures you discover more information, in less time, with far greater consistency than traditional manual methods.
What You Need to Get Started
SpiderFoot works on every major platform. Whether you want SpiderFoot for Windows, for Mac, or for Linux, setup takes only a few minutes. You can download SpiderFoot for Windows and Mac directly, run it on Linux, or even access it from Android through a remote browser — giving you full flexibility on any device.
Basic Setup
- Python 3.7 (a programming language)
- 2GB RAM (like your phone's memory)
- 1GB storage space (a few songs worth)
- Works on Windows, Mac, or Linux computers
- Internet connection (to search the web)
Best Experience
- Python 3.9 or newer version
- 4GB+ RAM (more = faster!)
- 5GB+ storage (to save lots of searches)
- Linux computer (Ubuntu 20.04 or newer)
- Fast internet (finds stuff quicker!)
Use Cases
Penetration Testing
SpiderFoot plays a vital role in penetration testing by automating the collection of pre-engagement intelligence. During black-box or gray-box assessments, testers can quickly uncover domain information, network structure, exposed services, leaked data, and weak points without alerting the target. This early-stage visibility helps penetration testers design more effective attack paths and thoroughly understand a target’s external footprint before any active exploitation begins.
Red Team Operations
For red teams, SpiderFoot significantly speeds up reconnaissance workflows by automatically gathering and analyzing intelligence from hundreds of public and private data sources. It identifies potential attack vectors, weak configurations, and publicly exposed information that adversaries may exploit. By automating initial discovery phases, red teams can focus more on strategy, exploitation, and post-exploitation tasks.
Breach & Dark Web Monitoring
SpiderFoot supports detection of compromised credentials, breached accounts, and leaked data associated with your organization or target. By monitoring dark web sources, breach databases, and underground forums through available modules, it helps analysts quickly confirm whether sensitive information is circulating online. This visibility is crucial for risk assessment and early mitigation of potential threats.
Defensive Security
Organizations can use SpiderFoot to understand what information about their infrastructure is unintentionally exposed to the public. This includes DNS records, outdated services, employee emails, and leaked credentials. By discovering these exposures early, security teams can take corrective actions, reduce their attack surface, and prevent adversaries from using publicly available data against them.
Incident Response
During incident response, SpiderFoot assists in rapidly collecting and correlating indicators of compromise (IOCs) such as malicious IPs, domains, hashes, or email addresses. By aggregating intelligence from multiple sources, it provides investigators with a clearer picture of the threat, its origin, and its possible impact. This improves decision-making and accelerates containment and remediation efforts.
Modules & Integrations
SpiderFoot is built around a powerful modular architecture that allows it to integrate seamlessly with over 100+ data sources, giving users one of the most comprehensive OSINT environments available today. Each module is designed to perform a specific intelligence-gathering task, ensuring that the data collected is accurate, relevant, and organized for deeper analysis.
Every module targets a unique area of intelligence — ranging from simple DNS lookups to advanced breach analysis, IP reputation checks, and detailed network mapping. This modular system enables users to tailor their scans precisely to their needs, whether they are performing external reconnaissance, threat analysis, or internal asset discovery.
WHOIS & DNS Data
Retrieves domain registration details, name servers, expiration dates, DNS records, and ownership information.
Shodan & Censys
Scans global internet devices and services to gather insights on exposed ports, services, vulnerabilities, and infrastructure fingerprints.
Have I Been Pwned
Checks if email addresses or domains have been involved in known data breaches.
VirusTotal
Provides malware intelligence, file reputation scores, and URL scans related to the target.
PassiveTotal (RiskIQ)
Delivers passive DNS data, domain insights, and historical infrastructure relationships.
SSL/TLS & Geolocation Modules
Collects certificate details, validates encryption standards, and determines the geographic location of IPs and servers.
Active vs. Passive Scanning
Understanding the difference between active and passive scanning is essential when performing effective OSINT or reconnaissance with tools like SpiderFoot. Both methods serve different purposes, offer unique advantages, and provide valuable intelligence depending on the context of your investigation.
Active Scanning
Active scanning involves direct interaction with the target’s infrastructure. This means the tool sends requests, probes, or queries to the target to gather real-time, live information.
Because these actions are traceable, the target may log your activity — making active scanning highly detailed but potentially detectable.
Key characteristics of active scanning:
Direct communication with the target
Provides fresh, in-depth, and accurate data
May trigger security alerts or appear in logs
Ideal for penetration testing and technical reconnaissance
Passive Scanning
Passive scanning focuses on gathering intelligence quietly, using only publicly available sources, APIs, search engines, datasets, and third-party records — without ever touching the target directly.
This makes passive scanning completely stealthy, reducing the risk of detection while still providing valuable insights into publicly exposed information.
Key characteristics of passive scanning:
No interaction with the target’s systems
Fully stealthy and safe
Uses external intelligence sources and databases
Ideal for early reconnaissance, OSINT investigations, and defensive analysis
Best Practice
For the most comprehensive results, the recommended approach is to combine both active and passive scanning.
Passive scanning helps build a broad intelligence foundation discreetly, while active scanning uncovers deeper technical details that passive methods alone cannot provide.
Using both methods together ensures maximum visibility, accuracy, and strategic insight during any intelligence-gathering or cybersecurity assessment.
Why SpiderFoot Stands Out
| Feature | SpiderFoot | Other OSINT Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | ✅ Yes (MIT License) | ❌ Mostly Proprietary |
| Automation | ✅ Full-Scan Automation | ⚠️ Partial |
| Data Sources | ✅ 200+ | ⚠️ Limited |
| Visualization | ✅ Advanced Graphs | ❌ Basic Reports |
| Interface | ✅ Web + CLI | ⚠️ CLI Only |
| Cost | ✅ Free | 💲 Often Paid |
See SpiderFoot in Action
Installation & Setup
The following steps help you install and launch SpiderFoot in under a minute, making it easy to begin automated OSINT investigations immediately. All commands work on Linux, macOS, and Windows (with Python 3 installed).
Clone the SpiderFoot Repository
git clone https://github.com/smicallef/spiderfoot.git This command downloads the official SpiderFoot source code from GitHub onto your system.
Navigate to the Project Directory
cd spiderfoot
Move into the SpiderFoot folder so you can install dependencies and run the application.
Install Required Python Packages
python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt SpiderFoot depends on several Python libraries. This command automatically installs everything the tool needs to run successfully.
Launch the Web Interface
python3 sf.py This starts SpiderFoot’s built-in web server.
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Questions You Might Have!
What is SpiderFoot?
SpiderFoot is an automated OSINT tool used to gather intelligence from hundreds of public data sources.
Is SpiderFoot free to use?
Yes. SpiderFoot is completely free and open-source, making it accessible for individuals and organizations.
Who uses SpiderFoot?
Cybersecurity professionals, penetration testers, digital investigators, threat analysts, and IT teams commonly use SpiderFoot.
What can SpiderFoot be used for?
It’s used for reconnaissance, threat intelligence, footprinting, vulnerability discovery, and investigative research.
What platforms does SpiderFoot support?
SpiderFoot runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Does SpiderFoot require coding knowledge?
No. It offers a simple web interface, making it easy to use without programming skills.
How many modules does SpiderFoot include?
SpiderFoot provides 200+ modules that collect data from various OSINT sources.
What type of data can SpiderFoot gather?
It collects domain details, IP information, emails, credentials, server data, breach records, social media footprints, and more.
Can SpiderFoot run automated scans?
Yes. Automation is one of its key strengths, allowing users to run deep or targeted scans with minimal effort.
Is SpiderFoot suitable for beginners?
Absolutely. The interface and workflows are designed to be friendly even for first-time OSINT users.
Is SpiderFoot legal to use?
Yes. SpiderFoot is legal because it only collects information that is already publicly available (open-source intelligence). However, always get proper authorization before scanning any target you do not own, and use it within your local laws.
Does SpiderFoot cost anything? / What is SpiderFoot HX?
The open-source SpiderFoot is completely free. There is also a separate paid, cloud-based version called SpiderFoot HX that offers a managed interface, faster scans, and team features through a subscription — but the core tool stays free forever.
What is SpiderFoot Community Edition (CE)
SpiderFoot CE is the free, open-source edition you download and run on your own machine. It includes the full module library and web interface at no cost.
What is the latest version of SpiderFoot?
SpiderFoot is actively maintained, with version 4 (v4.0) being the latest major release. Always download from the official GitHub repository for the most up-to-date and secure version.
How do I install SpiderFoot?
Installation is simple: clone the repository, install Python 3 dependencies, and run the web interface.
Does SpiderFoot have a GUI?
Yes. It provides a browser-based GUI where users can configure scans and view results.
Can I integrate SpiderFoot with other tools?
Yes. SpiderFoot’s API and export options allow integration with SIEMs, dashboards, and security workflows.
Are the scan results exportable?
Yes. You can export data to formats like CSV, JSON, and more for reporting or analysis.
Can SpiderFoot detect vulnerabilities?
It can identify potential weaknesses through OSINT methods, but it does not perform active exploitation.
Is SpiderFoot safe to use?
Yes. It only gathers publicly available information and does not perform intrusive scanning unless configured otherwise.
How fast does SpiderFoot run scans?
Scan speed depends on the number of modules selected and your system/network performance.
Does SpiderFoot require an internet connection?
For most modules, yes, because it retrieves data from online public sources.
Can I run SpiderFoot on a server for team use?
Yes. It works well on servers and can be accessed over a local or remote network.
Is SpiderFoot actively maintained?
Yes. The project is continuously updated with new modules, fixes, and improvements.
How do I update SpiderFoot?
If you installed via Git, run git pull inside the SpiderFoot folder to fetch the latest version, then reinstall the requirements to stay current with new modules and fixes.
What port does SpiderFoot use?
By default, SpiderFoot runs its web interface locally on 127.0.0.1:5001 (localhost, port 5001). You can change the port when launching the tool if needed.
How do I log in to SpiderFoot?
The open-source version runs locally and needs no login by default — you just open the web interface in your browser. If you enable authentication, you set your own username and password. (Login and sign-up are only for the cloud-based SpiderFoot HX.)
Where can I find SpiderFoot documentation?
Official documentation, setup guides, and the wiki are on the SpiderFoot GitHub repository. You can also find tutorials in this site’s Guide section.
Is SpiderFoot any good?
Yes — SpiderFoot is one of the most widely used and respected OSINT tools, trusted by cybersecurity professionals, penetration testers, and investigators worldwide for its automation, 200+ data sources, and visual reporting.
Who created and owns SpiderFoot?
SpiderFoot was created by Steve Micallef as an open-source project. The commercial SpiderFoot HX service has been associated with the threat-intelligence company Intel 471. The open-source version remains free under the MIT License.
