Python License MIT MCP Version

30 modular tools, email, username (sherlock + WhatsMyName), broad username discovery across 3,400+ sites (maigret), search-based footprint discovery, IP, IP self-exposure report, domain, WHOIS, breach, Gravatar profile, EmailRep reputation, phone, paste, EXIF/GPS metadata, Shodan, VirusTotal, Censys, IP2Location, AbuseIPDB, GitHub (profile + public code/secret exposure), DNS, subdomain discovery via certificate transparency (crt.sh), historical URL recovery via the Wayback Machine (Internet Archive), mass-scan visibility (GreyNoise Community), infostealer-exposure check (Hudson Rock, free tier, no plaintext credentials), dork generation, live dork search, URL scraping, BTC/ETH address lookup, and passive domain recon (theHarvester)
MCP server built in, expose all 30 tools natively to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and any MCP-compatible client
Three AI backends, Anthropic Claude (default), local Ollama, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint; tool results come from real subprocess calls, never hallucinated
Fully async, parallel tool execution via asyncio.gather() with hard subprocess timeouts
MIT licensed, no embedded LLM; bring your own API key or run fully offline

Legal Disclaimer: Clearfront is intended for legal and authorized use only. Users are solely responsible for ensuring their use complies with all applicable laws and regulations. The authors accept no liability for misuse. See DISCLAIMER.md.

What is Clearfront?

Clearfront is an AI agent for Open Source Intelligence with five interfaces: an interactive terminal REPL, a direct CLI, a browser-based web console, an MCP server exposable to Claude Code, Claude Desktop or any MCP-compatible client, and an agent skill for any client following the Agent Skills standard. The AI layer uses Anthropic's native tool use API (or a local Ollama model, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint): the model issues hard stops when it needs a tool, your code executes the real binary, the actual output goes back, hallucination in tool results is structurally impossible.

Installation

pip install clearfront

Or from source, if you want to modify it:

git clone https://github.com/scottmartinanderson/clearfront
cd clearfront
pip install -e .

External binaries (must be in PATH):

Binary	Purpose	Install
`holehe`	Email account enumeration	`pip install holehe`
`sherlock`	Username enumeration (300+ platforms)	`pip install sherlock-project`
`sublist3r`	Subdomain enumeration	`pip install sublist3r`
`phoneinfoga`	Phone number intelligence	Download binary
`theHarvester`	Passive domain recon (emails/subdomains)	`pip install git+https://github.com/laramies/theHarvester.git`

If a binary is absent, the corresponding tool returns a descriptive error string. All other tools remain operational.

Quick Start

# Interactive AI REPL (default)
clearfront

# Web interface
clearfront web

# Direct tool (no AI)
clearfront email target@example.com

Configuration

Store all keys in a .env file at the project root (copy .env.example). python-dotenv loads it automatically at startup.

Variable	Tool	Required	Purpose
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	AI agent	Yes (or use Ollama / OpenAI)	Anthropic API key
`OPENAI_BASE_URL`	AI agent	Optional	Base URL of an OpenAI-compatible endpoint (e.g. `http://localhost:4000/v1`). When set and `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` is absent, it is used as the AI backend (takes precedence over Ollama). The model must support tool/function calling.
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	AI agent	Optional	API key for the OpenAI-compatible endpoint (local servers may ignore it)
`OPENAI_MODEL`	AI agent	Optional	Model name to request from the endpoint (default: `gpt-4o-mini`)
`HIBP_API_KEY`	`search_breach`	Optional	HaveIBeenPwned v3, get one
`IPINFO_TOKEN`	`search_ip`	Optional	ipinfo.io higher rate limits
`SHODAN_API_KEY`	`search_shodan`	Optional	Shodan API, get one
`VIRUSTOTAL_API_KEY`	`search_virustotal`	Optional	VirusTotal API v3, get one
`IP2LOCATION_API_KEY`	`search_ip2location`	Optional	IP2Location.io enhanced IP intelligence, get one
`CENSYS_PAT` + `CENSYS_ORG_ID`	`search_censys`	Optional	Censys Platform API: Personal Access Token + Organization ID, get one
`ABUSEIPDB_API_KEY`	`search_abuseipdb`	Optional	AbuseIPDB v2, get one
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	`search_github`	Optional	GitHub API, raises rate limit from 60 to 5000 req/h, get one
`SERPER_API_KEY`	`search_dorks_live`, `search_footprint`	Optional	Serper.dev Google SERP API, the preferred SERP backend (~$1/1k, 2,500 free), get one.
`BRIGHTDATA_API_KEY`	`search_dorks_live`, `scrape_url`	Optional	Bright Data API key, get one (free tier: 5,000 req/month).
`BRIGHTDATA_SERP_ZONE`	`search_dorks_live`	Optional	Your Bright Data SERP API zone name (e.g. `serp_api1`).
`BRIGHTDATA_UNLOCKER_ZONE`	`scrape_url`	Optional	Your Bright Data Web Unlocker zone name (e.g. `web_unlocker1`).

The Bright Data link above is a referral link; signing up through it supports Clearfront at no extra cost to you.

Optional Python packages:

Package	Purpose	Install
`ollama`	Local LLM backend (no API key)	`pip install ollama` (also install the Ollama runtime)
`openai`	OpenAI-compatible backend for the REPL/CLI (`--provider openai`)	`pip install "clearfront[openai]"`
`shodan`	Shodan API client	`pip install shodan`
`reportlab`	PDF report export	`pip install reportlab`
`censys`	Censys API client	`pip install censys`

Tools

Tool	Powered by	What it investigates
`search_email`	holehe	Social accounts linked to an email address
`search_username`	sherlock	Username presence across 300+ platforms
`search_breach`	HaveIBeenPwned v3 API	Data breach exposure
`search_whois`	python-whois	Domain registrant and DNS info
`search_ip`	ipinfo.io	Geolocation, ASN, hostname
`search_domain`	sublist3r	Subdomain enumeration
`search_crt`	crt.sh	Subdomains from certificate transparency (keyless, passive)
`search_wayback`	Internet Archive	Historical/deleted URLs archived under a domain (keyless, passive)
`search_greynoise`	GreyNoise Community	Mass-scanner noise vs. targeted actor for an IP (free, 50/week)
`generate_dorks`	built-in	12 targeted Google dork URLs (no network calls)
`search_paste`	psbdmp.ws	Pastebin dump mentions
`search_phone`	phoneinfoga	Carrier, country, line type
`search_shodan`	Shodan API	Open ports, banners, CVEs
`search_virustotal`	VirusTotal API v3	Verdict from 70+ antivirus engines
`search_ip2location`	IP2Location.io API	Enhanced IP intel: VPN/Proxy/Tor/datacenter flags
`search_censys`	Censys Search API	Internet-facing infrastructure, certificates
`search_abuseipdb`	AbuseIPDB v2 API	IP abuse reputation: confidence score, reports, country, ISP
`search_github`	GitHub REST API	Profile, repos, commit-discovered emails, username/keyword search
`search_dns`	dnspython (built-in)	A/AAAA/MX/NS/TXT/CNAME/SOA records; SPF, DMARC, DKIM analysis
`search_dorks_live`	Bright Data SERP API	Live Google search results for dork queries (title, URL, snippet)
`scrape_url`	Bright Data Web Unlocker	Fetch any URL bypassing Cloudflare/CAPTCHA, returns clean Markdown
`search_maigret`	maigret	Username presence across 3,400+ sites
`search_footprint`	SERP (Serper / Bright Data / DuckDuckGo)	Search-based footprint discovery for a name or handle
`search_gravatar`	Gravatar API	Public Gravatar profile for an email: avatar, display name, linked accounts
`search_emailrep`	EmailRep.io	Email reputation and footprint summary
`search_hudsonrock`	Hudson Rock Cavalier (free)	Infostealer-exposure check for an email or username (no plaintext credentials)
`search_exif`	exiftool	EXIF / IPTC / XMP metadata and embedded GPS from a local file
`search_crypto`	public chain APIs	Bitcoin / Ethereum address summary: balance, transaction count
`search_harvester`	theHarvester	Passive domain recon: emails, subdomains, hosts
`search_exposure`	built-in (composite)	Self-exposure report for an IP across the infrastructure tools

Interfaces

Interactive REPL

Run clearfront with no arguments to start the AI-powered REPL. Type a target (email, username, domain, IP, name) or a question; the agent decides which tools to run, chains them on findings, and compiles a report.

REPL commands: <target>, clear, save, tools, config, history, help, exit / Ctrl-D.

All sessions are auto-saved to ~/.clearfront/history/. Browse with clearfront history.

Web UI

pip install "clearfront[web]"
clearfront web
# Opens http://localhost:8080 automatically

Browser-based AI chat with streaming tool output, inline result cards, and a light/dark theme toggle. Supports fully local inference via Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (no Anthropic API key required when using a local backend).

The console runs entirely locally and binds to 127.0.0.1 by default. Choose your backend and paste your own key in Settings; your keys and the targets you investigate never touch our servers. Screenshots are in media/.

MCP Server

Expose all 30 tools to any MCP-compatible AI client.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add clearfront python /absolute/path/to/clearfront/mcp_server.py
claude mcp list

Claude Desktop, add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "clearfront": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/clearfront/mcp_server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Agent Skill

skills/clearfront-osint teaches an agent how to drive Clearfront: which approach fits a given request, the direct subcommands, how to read the confidence ratings, and the authorized-use rules. It follows the Agent Skills open standard, so it works in Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Copilot, VS Code, Gemini, Windsurf, Zed and the other skills-compatible clients.

npx skills add scottmartinanderson/clearfront

Install Clearfront itself as well (pip install clearfront); the skill is the instructions, not the tool. Use the skill when you want the agent to decide how to run a sweep, and the MCP server above when you want it calling the 30 tools directly.

Docker

docker compose up --build
docker compose run --rm clearfront email target@example.com --json

Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (and optionally HIBP_API_KEY, IPINFO_TOKEN) in a .env file or export them before running. Reports persist to ./reports/ via a volume mount.

CLI Reference

Flag / Subcommand	Description
`clearfront`	Interactive AI REPL (default)
`clearfront web [--port N] [--no-browser]`	Launch browser UI
`clearfront email ADDRESS [-t N]`	Direct email scan
`clearfront username HANDLE [-t N]`	Direct username scan
`clearfront shodan QUERY [-t N]`	Shodan lookup
`clearfront virustotal TARGET [-t N]`	VirusTotal lookup
`clearfront censys TARGET [-t N]`	Censys lookup
`clearfront ip2location IP [-t N]`	IP2Location lookup
`clearfront abuseipdb IP [-t N]`	AbuseIPDB reputation check
`clearfront github QUERY [-t N]`	GitHub profile/repo/email discovery
`clearfront dns DOMAIN [-t N]`	DNS records + email security analysis
`clearfront multi TARGETS`	Parallel multi-target investigation (max 10)
`clearfront graph TARGET [-o PATH] [--format graphml\|json\|mermaid\|all]`	Auto-pivot and export the entity correlation graph (GraphML/JSON/Mermaid)
`clearfront history [--all] [open N] [clear]`	View/manage REPL session history
`-v, --verbose`	Enable debug logging to stderr
`-t, --timeout N`	Override subprocess timeout (seconds)
`--api-key KEY`	Anthropic API key (overrides env var)
`--parallel`	Run complementary tools concurrently
`--json`	Output results as structured JSON
`-o, --output FILE`	Write results to FILE instead of stdout (raw; combine with `--json` for a JSON file)
`--provider {anthropic,ollama,openai}`	AI provider (default: `anthropic`)
`--ollama-model MODEL`	Ollama model name (default: `llama3.2`)
`--ollama-host URL`	Ollama server URL (default: `http://localhost:11434`)
`--openai-base-url URL`	OpenAI-compatible endpoint base URL (env: `OPENAI_BASE_URL`)
`--openai-model MODEL`	Model to request from the endpoint (env: `OPENAI_MODEL`)
`--openai-api-key KEY`	API key for the endpoint (env: `OPENAI_API_KEY`)
`--no-pdf`	Disable automatic PDF generation

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the development workflow and coding conventions. Please read DISCLAIMER.md before contributing.

License

Clearfront is open source under the MIT License.

The bundled username dataset clearfront/tools/data/wmn-data-unique.json is a filtered adaptation of the WhatsMyName project by Micah Hoffman, used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; that file (and adaptations of it) remains under CC BY-SA 4.0. See clearfront/tools/data/NOTICE.

For authorized security research only. See DISCLAIMER.md.

Clearfront MCP Server