About

Imported from Lord1Egypt/awesome-skill-forge (optional-skills/sherlock/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add Lord1Egypt/awesome-skill-forge --skill sherlock. Copyright stays with the author (MIT).

Sherlock OSINT Username Search

Name: sherlock
Author: Lord1Egypt

Hunt down social media accounts by username across 400+ social networks using the Sherlock Project.

When to Use

User asks to find accounts associated with a username
User wants to check username availability across platforms
User is conducting OSINT or reconnaissance research
User asks "where is this username registered?" or similar

Requirements

Sherlock CLI installed: pipx install sherlock-project or pip install sherlock-project
Alternatively: Docker available (docker run -it --rm sherlock/sherlock)
Network access to query social platforms

Procedure

1. Check if Sherlock is Installed

Before doing anything else, verify sherlock is available:

sherlock --version

If the command fails:

Offer to install: pipx install sherlock-project (recommended) or pip install sherlock-project
Do NOT try multiple installation methods — pick one and proceed
If installation fails, inform the user and stop

2. Extract Username

Extract the username directly from the user's message if clearly stated.

Examples where you should NOT use clarify:

"Find accounts for nasa" → username is nasa
"Search for johndoe123" → username is johndoe123
"Check if alice exists on social media" → username is alice
"Look up user bob on social networks" → username is bob

Only use clarify if:

Multiple potential usernames mentioned ("search for alice or bob")
Ambiguous phrasing ("search for my username" without specifying)
No username mentioned at all ("do an OSINT search")

When extracting, take the exact username as stated — preserve case, numbers, underscores, etc.

3. Build Command

Default command (use this unless user specifically requests otherwise):

sherlock --print-found --no-color "<username>" --timeout 90

Optional flags (only add if user explicitly requests):

--nsfw — Include NSFW sites (only if user asks)
--tor — Route through Tor (only if user asks for anonymity)

Do NOT ask about options via clarify — just run the default search. Users can request specific options if needed.

4. Execute Search

Run via the terminal tool. The command typically takes 30-120 seconds depending on network conditions and site count.

Example terminal call:

{
  "command": "sherlock --print-found --no-color \"target_username\"",
  "timeout": 180
}

5. Parse and Present Results

Sherlock outputs found accounts in a simple format. Parse the output and present:

Summary line: "Found X accounts for username 'Y'"
Categorized links: Group by platform type if helpful (social, professional, forums, etc.)
Output file location: Sherlock saves results to <username>.txt by default

Example output parsing:

[+] Instagram: https://instagram.com/username
[+] Twitter: https://twitter.com/username
[+] GitHub: https://github.com/username

Present findings as clickable links when possible.

Pitfalls

No Results Found

If Sherlock finds no accounts, this is often correct — the username may not be registered on checked platforms. Suggest:

Checking spelling/variation
Trying similar usernames with ? wildcard: sherlock "user?name"
The user may have privacy settings or deleted accounts

Timeout Issues

Some sites are slow or block automated requests. Use --timeout 120 to increase wait time, or --site to limit scope.

Tor Configuration

--tor requires Tor daemon running. If user wants anonymity but Tor isn't available, suggest:

Installing Tor service
Using --proxy with an alternative proxy

False Positives

Some sites always return "found" due to their response structure. Cross-reference unexpected results with manual checks.

Rate Limiting

Aggressive searches may trigger rate limits. For bulk username searches, add delays between calls or use --local with cached data.

Installation

pipx (recommended)

pipx install sherlock-project

pip

pip install sherlock-project

Docker

docker pull sherlock/sherlock
docker run -it --rm sherlock/sherlock <username>

Linux packages

Available on Debian 13+, Ubuntu 22.10+, Homebrew, Kali, BlackArch.

Ethical Use

This tool is for legitimate OSINT and research purposes only. Remind users:

Only search usernames they own or have permission to investigate
Respect platform terms of service
Do not use for harassment, stalking, or illegal activities
Consider privacy implications before sharing results

Verification

After running sherlock, verify:

Output lists found sites with URLs
<username>.txt file created (default output) if using file output
If --print-found used, output should only contain [+] lines for matches

Example Interaction

User: "Can you check if the username 'johndoe123' exists on social media?"

Agent procedure:

Check sherlock --version (verify installed)
Username provided — proceed directly
Run: sherlock --print-found --no-color "johndoe123" --timeout 90
Parse output and present links

Response format:

Found 12 accounts for username 'johndoe123':

• https://twitter.com/johndoe123 • https://github.com/johndoe123 • https://instagram.com/johndoe123 • [... additional links]

Results saved to: johndoe123.txt

User: "Search for username 'alice' including NSFW sites"

Agent procedure:

Check sherlock installed
Username + NSFW flag both provided
Run: sherlock --print-found --no-color --nsfw "alice" --timeout 90
Present results

Use it

Copy one of these into your project. Installing also returns the manifest and these snippets.

yaml

targets:
  - https://api.opensmartroute.ai/api/v1/registry/lord1egypt-awesome-skill-forge-sherlock/manifest   # or paste the manifest below

Manifest

An Open Capability Manifest: the router reads it to know what this does, what it costs and when to pick it.

lord1egypt-awesome-skill-forge-sherlock.ocm.jsonjson

{
  "ocm": "1",
  "id": "lord1egypt-awesome-skill-forge-sherlock",
  "kind": "skill",
  "name": "sherlock",
  "description": "OSINT username search across 400+ social networks. Hunt down social media accounts by username.",
  "publisher": "Lord1Egypt",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "capabilities": {
    "domains": [
      "marketing",
      "math"
    ],
    "tags": [
      "skill-md",
      "osint",
      "security",
      "username",
      "social-media",
      "reconnaissance",
      "github"
    ],
    "languages": [
      "en"
    ]
  },
  "quality_prior": 0.6,
  "examples": [
    "OSINT username search across 400+ social networks. Hunt down social media accounts by username."
  ],
  "primary": false,
  "metadata": {
    "source": {
      "provider": "github",
      "repository": "https://github.com/Lord1Egypt/awesome-skill-forge",
      "path": "optional-skills/sherlock/SKILL.md",
      "ref": "4aa004da461d820f4ea5499e58eb8d196cf99016",
      "url": "https://github.com/Lord1Egypt/awesome-skill-forge/blob/4aa004da461d820f4ea5499e58eb8d196cf99016/optional-skills/sherlock/SKILL.md",
      "key": "Lord1Egypt/awesome-skill-forge/optional-skills/sherlock/SKILL.md"
    },
    "license": "MIT"
  },
  "instructions": "# Sherlock OSINT Username Search\n\nHunt down social media accounts by username across 400+ social networks using the [Sherlock Project](https://github.com/sherlock-project/sherlock).\n\n## When to Use\n\n- User asks to find accounts associated with a username\n- User wants to check username availability across platforms\n- User is conducting OSINT or reconnaissance research\n- User asks \"where is this username registered?\" or similar\n\n## Requirements\n\n- Sherlock CLI installed: `pipx install sherlock-project` or `pip install sherlock-project`\n- Alternatively: Docker available (`docker run -it --rm sher",
  "cost": {
    "context_tokens": 1416
  }
}

Fetch it by URL: GET /api/v1/registry/lord1egypt-awesome-skill-forge-sherlock/manifest?version=1.0.0

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