Agent skill

Sherlock

OSINT username search across 400+ social networks using the Sherlock Project.

MITAuto-check passedSecurity

Install Sherlock

skills CLI

$ npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC sherlock --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/sherlock .claude/skills/sherlock && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "sherlock" agent skill from https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC/tree/master/skills/sherlock into .claude/skills/sherlock/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "sherlock", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC/tree/master/skills/sherlock

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC sherlock --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/sherlock .agents/skills/sherlock && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "sherlock" agent skill from https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC/tree/master/skills/sherlock into .agents/skills/sherlock/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "sherlock", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC sherlock --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/sherlock .cursor/skills/sherlock && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "sherlock" agent skill from https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC/tree/master/skills/sherlock into .cursor/skills/sherlock/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "sherlock", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC.git --path skills/sherlock

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC sherlock --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/sherlock .gemini/skills/sherlock && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "sherlock" agent skill from https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC/tree/master/skills/sherlock into .gemini/skills/sherlock/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "sherlock", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC sherlock

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/sherlock .github/skills/sherlock && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "sherlock" agent skill from https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC/tree/master/skills/sherlock into .github/skills/sherlock/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "sherlock", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC sherlock --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/sherlock .opencode/skills/sherlock && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "sherlock" agent skill from https://github.com/AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC/tree/master/skills/sherlock into .opencode/skills/sherlock/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "sherlock", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: sherlock
GitHub stars: 135
Token cost: ~1.2k tokens
SKILL.md length: 569 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 44
Repo updated: Apr 8, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

OSINT username search across 400+ social networks using the Sherlock Project.

Works in 5 steps: Start with a single username search. → Save results to a file or CSV. → Filter to high-value platforms for… → …
Tasks that involve OSINT
SKILL.md covers Purpose, Install, Basic Search and Multiple Usernames, plus 13 more sections
Calls pip, python and git; reaches github.com

What it does

Sherlock is an agent skill from AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC. OSINT username search across 400+ social networks using the Sherlock Project.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Security, covering OSINT. The repository describes itself as: Hermes Agent ported to Claude Code Channel — 46 native skills, no OAuth, no external process. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve OSINT

Example prompts

“/sherlock”

Requirements

Python 3

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

Start with a single username search.
Save results to a file or CSV.
Filter to high-value platforms for deeper review.
Manually verify candidate profiles.
Correlate bios, avatars, links, timestamps, and naming patterns.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8107e89. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- pip
- python
- git
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- github.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Sherlock loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 22 tokens; SKILL.md has 569 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~22
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC at commit 8107e89, republished under its MIT licence (© AlexAI-MCP). 569 words, ~1,212 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/sherlock/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: sherlock
description: OSINT username search across 400+ social networks using the Sherlock Project.
version: 1.0.0
author: hermes-CCC (ported from Hermes Agent by NousResearch)
license: MIT

Sherlock

Purpose

Use this skill to search for username presence across many public social platforms and web services.
Sherlock is useful for OSINT, account enumeration, alias correlation, and open-source reconnaissance.
It is a reconnaissance utility, not a guarantee of identity resolution.

Install

bash

pip install sherlock-project

Alternative source install:

bash

git clone https://github.com/sherlock-project/sherlock
cd sherlock
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python sherlock.py username

Basic Search

bash

sherlock username

This searches a broad set of supported sites for a single username.
Output normally shows which sites likely contain a matching profile.
Results are only a starting point and should be verified manually.

Multiple Usernames

bash

sherlock user1 user2 user3

Use this when comparing handles across several candidate aliases.
Batch searching is useful when the target uses variations of the same naming pattern.
Keep the candidate list short enough to review carefully.

Output to a File

bash

sherlock username --output results.txt

Save results when you need an audit trail or want to compare scans over time.
Text output is convenient for quick archival, case notes, and manual review.

CSV Output

bash

sherlock username --csv

CSV output is useful for spreadsheet triage and bulk analysis.
This is the better option when integrating results into reporting or other tooling.

Restrict Search to Specific Sites

bash

sherlock username --site twitter github

Site filtering is useful when you only care about a narrow platform set.
Restricting sites speeds up focused investigations and reduces noise.
Use it for targeted checks like developer handles, gaming handles, or creator profiles.

Timeout Control

bash

sherlock username --timeout 10

Increase the timeout on slow or unstable networks.
Decrease it when you want faster but less patient scans.
Timeouts affect coverage and speed, so tune them to the environment.

Tor Support

bash

sherlock username --tor

This requires Tor to be installed and available.
Use Tor only when your environment and policy allow it.
Expect slower requests and occasional site behavior differences.

Print All Results

bash

sherlock username --print-all

This includes not-found results in addition to matches.
It is useful when you want a full per-site record rather than only positive hits.
Full output is better for documentation and reproducible analysis.

Practical Workflow

Start with a single username search.
Save results to a file or CSV.
Filter to high-value platforms for deeper review.
Manually verify candidate profiles.
Correlate bios, avatars, links, timestamps, and naming patterns.

Show full SKILL.md (226 more words)Show less

Verification Guidance

A found username is not proof that the account belongs to the same person.
Check profile metadata such as avatar reuse, linked websites, self-descriptions, and posting patterns.
Compare account creation dates, geographic references, and cross-links.
Treat weak matches as leads, not conclusions.

Good Use Cases

Brand protection checks
Public alias discovery
Security research on exposed usernames
Reconnaissance for incident response
Confirming whether a handle is broadly reused

Limitations

Site behavior changes can break detection.
Some platforms throttle or block automated requests.
False positives and false negatives both happen.
Private or suspended accounts may not appear reliably.

Output Handling

Keep raw outputs with timestamps when the result matters.
Store CSV when the data will be joined with other OSINT sources.
Re-run focused scans rather than assuming old results are still valid.

Ethical Use

Use Sherlock only for authorized research, defensive security work, or lawful OSINT.
Do not use it to harass, dox, stalk, or profile individuals without authorization.
Respect the legal and policy boundaries of your organization and jurisdiction.

Summary

Install with pip install sherlock-project or from the upstream GitHub repo.
Search one handle with sherlock username.
Search several with sherlock user1 user2 user3.
Save results with --output results.txt or --csv.
Restrict sites with --site twitter github.
Tune network behavior with --timeout 10 and optionally --tor.
Use --print-all when a complete site-by-site record is needed.

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/sherlock of AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8107e89

Compare with similar skills

Sherlock next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Sherlock compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Sherlock this skillAlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC	135	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	6 mo ago
Metabigor OSINT Reconj3ssie/metabigor	1.9k	—	~2.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	2 mo ago
Ctf Osintljagiello/ctf-skills	3.4k	1 repos	~2.3k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	27 days ago
ShadowBroker Intelligence ClientBigBodyCobain/Shadowbroker	11k	—	~8.9k	Automated safety check: Warn	AGPL-3.0	today
Awesome Osint Operatorshoyann/RZK-The-Hunter	141	—	~4.8k	Automated safety check: Pass	CC-BY-SA-4.0	2 days ago
Run Claude Osintelementalsouls/Claude-OSINT	2.8k	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday

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Questions about Sherlock

What does Sherlock do?

OSINT username search across 400+ social networks using the Sherlock Project. Sherlock is an agent skill from AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC. OSINT username search across 400+ social networks using the Sherlock Project.

When should I use Sherlock?

Sherlock fits situations like: tasks that involve OSINT.

How do I install Sherlock in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/sherlock in AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC) into .claude/skills/sherlock in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Sherlock in Codex?

Run `npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/sherlock in AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC) into .agents/skills/sherlock in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Sherlock in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC --skill sherlock -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/sherlock, .gemini/skills/sherlock, .github/skills/sherlock and .opencode/skills/sherlock in your project.

What does Sherlock need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Sherlock needs the command-line tools its instructions call (pip, python and git). Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Sherlock access the network?

SKILL.md names 1 domain. In commands or code: github.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Sherlock safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Sherlock use?

Sherlock is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Sherlock use?

About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.8k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Sherlock?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Sherlock: Metabigor OSINT Recon (j3ssie/metabigor, 1.9k stars), Ctf Osint (ljagiello/ctf-skills, 3.4k stars), ShadowBroker Intelligence Client (BigBodyCobain/Shadowbroker, 11k stars) and Awesome Osint Operator (shoyann/RZK-The-Hunter, 141 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Sherlock?

AlexAI-MCP (a GitHub user) maintains it in AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC, which has 135 GitHub stars. The repository holds 44 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on April 8, 2026.

Source: AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Sherlock

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Sherlock

Purpose

Install

Basic Search

Multiple Usernames

Output to a File

CSV Output

Restrict Search to Specific Sites

Timeout Control

Tor Support

Print All Results

Practical Workflow

Verification Guidance

Good Use Cases

Limitations

Output Handling

Ethical Use

Summary

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from AlexAI-MCP/hermes-CCC

Related

Questions about Sherlock