Censys
Operator: Censys, Inc., United States
Search platform for internet services, IP addresses, domains and publicly observed TLS certificates.
Technical Infrastructure
Product
The current Censys Platform for internet research, including Censys Search. Legacy Search and Attack Surface Management are separate offerings.
Availability and source date
Active
As of: 16 October 2026.
No functionality test has been performed.
Use in OSINT research
Shows observed services and linked infrastructure for an IP address or domain. Shared certificates can provide further research leads.
Queries
| Input | Result | Result type |
|---|---|---|
| IP address | Observed services, ports, software and associated infrastructure for the host. | Retrieved |
| Domain / website | DNS observations, web services and certificates for the domain. | Retrieved |
Features
- Searches observed hosts, web services and certificates.
- Shows ports, software versions and known vulnerabilities for hosts.
- Links infrastructure through certificates and DNS observations.
- Retrieves data through the API or the locally installable cencli command-line tool.
- Connects AI agents through a hosted MCP server.
Categories
- Technical Infrastructure
- Internet scanning
- DNS
Coverage
Geographical coverage
Worldwide
Dataset
Publicly accessible hosts, services, DNS data, web services and X.509 certificates observed by Censys.
Access
Installation and deployment
Website · Locally installable
Web service with the locally installable cencli command-line tool for macOS, Linux and Windows. cencli also requires the Censys API and consumes credits.
Requirements
Free account. The API and cencli require an access token; organisation access also requires the appropriate API role.
Export
JSON through the API; cencli supports formats including JSON, YAML and NDJSON.
Provider
Censys, Inc.
Country of establishment
United States
Interfaces
API
Available. Platform REST API with JSON. Free accounts are limited to single-record queries for hosts, certificates and web services; search endpoints require a higher plan.
MCP
Available. Hosted Platform MCP Server for users with API access. Calls are charged against the credit balance.
AI agents
Available. Documented integration with Claude Code, Cursor and Gemini, among others, through MCP.
Legal note
Limitations
- The free tier offers only basic protocols and limited API queries.
- Queries and detail views consume credits; data coverage and history depend on the plan.
- The current platform uses different API access methods from Legacy Search.
Guides and practical reports
Official · Censys Platform CLI Tool
Censys, Inc. · EN
Explains installation, access and queries using cencli.