Agent skill

Censys

Censys lookups: hosts, certificates, services on the public internet

Apache-2.0Auto-check passed

Install Censys

skills CLI

$ npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -a claude-code

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden censys --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/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/censys .claude/skills/censys && 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 "censys" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/censys into .claude/skills/censys/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "censys", 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/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/censys

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 taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -a codex

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden censys --agent codex

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/censys .agents/skills/censys && 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 "censys" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/censys into .agents/skills/censys/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "censys", 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 taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -a cursor

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden censys --agent cursor

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/censys .cursor/skills/censys && 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 "censys" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/censys into .cursor/skills/censys/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "censys", 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/taracodlabs/aiden.git --path skills/censys

--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 taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -a gemini-cli

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

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install taracodlabs/aiden censys --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/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/censys .gemini/skills/censys && 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 "censys" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/censys into .gemini/skills/censys/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "censys", 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 taracodlabs/aiden censys

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 taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -a github-copilot

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/censys .github/skills/censys && 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 "censys" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/censys into .github/skills/censys/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "censys", 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 taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -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 taracodlabs/aiden censys --agent opencode

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

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/censys .opencode/skills/censys && 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 "censys" agent skill from https://github.com/taracodlabs/aiden/tree/main/skills/censys into .opencode/skills/censys/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "censys", 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: censys
GitHub stars: 851
Token cost: ~1k tokens
SKILL.md length: 255 words
Files: 3
Skills in repo: 63
Repo updated: Sep 13, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Apache-2.0

At a glance

Censys lookups: hosts, certificates, services on the public internet

Tasks that involve Cloud networking
SKILL.md covers When to Use, How to Use, Examples and Cautions, plus 1 more section
Runs TypeScript scripts from its folder; reaches search.censys.io; needs CENSYS_API_SECRET

What it does

Censys is an agent skill from taracodlabs/aiden. Censys lookups: hosts, certificates, services on the public internet

Its SKILL.md is about 1k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files (for example `index.ts` and `skill.json`).

The repository describes itself as: Aiden — an autonomous AI agent and work engine built solo. It can operate your browser, terminal, files, apps, APIs, skills and tools, remember context, recover from failures… The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

Tasks that involve Cloud networking

Example prompts

“Use the censys skill to censy lookups: hosts, certificates, services on the public internet”
“/censys”

Requirements

Node.js
A credential in CENSYS_API_SECRET

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 3704204. 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
Ships script files (TypeScript), which the agent can run.
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:
- search.censys.io
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names these keys or tokens, usually read from environment variables:
- CENSYS_API_SECRET
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Censys loads about 1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 19 tokens; SKILL.md has 255 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~19
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1k

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 taracodlabs/aiden at commit 3704204, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© taracodlabs). 255 words, ~1,033 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/censys/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: censys
description: Censys lookups: hosts, certificates, services on the public internet
category: security
version: 1.0.0
license: Apache-2.0
origin: aiden
tags: security, censys, osint, recon, ports, certificates, tls, asset-discovery, internet-scan
env_required: CENSYS_API_ID, CENSYS_API_SECRET

Censys — Internet Asset Discovery

Censys continuously scans the public internet and indexes detailed metadata about every reachable host: open ports, running services, TLS certificates, and BGP routing information. Complementary to Shodan with different scanner vantage points and richer certificate data.

Requires: CENSYS_API_ID and CENSYS_API_SECRET — free tier at https://search.censys.io/register (0.4 req/sec, 250 queries/month).

When to Use

Look up what Censys sees on a specific IP address
Discover internet-exposed assets for a given organisation or ASN
Investigate TLS certificates — find all hosts sharing a certificate or subject
Security audit: verify which services are visible from the public internet
User asks "what does Censys show for IP X", "find hosts with this certificate", "look up ASN exposure"

How to Use

Look up a specific host by IP

powershell

$ip       = "8.8.8.8"
$id       = $env:CENSYS_API_ID
$secret   = $env:CENSYS_API_SECRET
$b64      = [Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("${id}:${secret}"))
$headers  = @{ Authorization = "Basic $b64" }

$result = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://search.censys.io/api/v2/hosts/$ip" -Headers $headers
$r      = $result.result
Write-Host "IP:           $($r.ip)"
Write-Host "AS:           $($r.autonomous_system.name) (ASN $($r.autonomous_system.asn))"
Write-Host "Country:      $($r.location.country)"
Write-Host "Open ports:"
$r.services | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Host "  $($_.port)/$($_.transport_protocol) — $($_.service_name)"
}

Search with a query string

powershell

$query    = "services.service_name: HTTP and location.country_code: IN"
$b64      = [Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("$($env:CENSYS_API_ID):$($env:CENSYS_API_SECRET)"))
$headers  = @{ Authorization = "Basic $b64" }
$encoded  = [Uri]::EscapeDataString($query)

$result = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://search.censys.io/api/v2/hosts/search?q=$encoded" -Headers $headers
Write-Host "Total matches: $($result.result.total)"
$result.result.hits | Select-Object -First 10 | ForEach-Object {
    Write-Host "  $($_.ip) — $($_.autonomous_system.name) ($($_.location.country_name))"
}

Look up a TLS certificate by SHA-256 fingerprint

powershell

$sha256  = "YOUR_CERT_SHA256_HERE"
$b64     = [Convert]::ToBase64String([Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("$($env:CENSYS_API_ID):$($env:CENSYS_API_SECRET)"))
$headers = @{ Authorization = "Basic $b64" }

$result = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://search.censys.io/api/v2/certificates/$sha256" -Headers $headers
$parsed = $result.result.parsed
Write-Host "Subject:   $($parsed.subject_dn)"
Write-Host "Issuer:    $($parsed.issuer_dn)"
Write-Host "Valid:     $($parsed.validity.start) → $($parsed.validity.end)"
Write-Host "SANs:      $($parsed.names_from_san -join ', ')"

Examples

"What is exposed on IP 1.2.3.4?" → Host lookup: returns open ports, service names, ASN, and location.

"Find all exposed Redis servers in Germany" → Query: services.service_name: REDIS and location.country_code: DE

"Who else uses this TLS certificate?" → Certificate lookup by SHA-256 fingerprint — shows SAN names and validity.

"Show me all hosts in ASN 15169" → Query: autonomous_system.asn: 15169

Cautions

Free tier: 250 queries/month, 0.4 req/sec — pace bulk operations with Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 2500
Censys data reflects last scan date — real-time state may differ
Host lookup counts against your monthly quota
Certificate search may return expired or revoked certs — check validity dates
Never use Censys results to attempt unauthorised access; recon and awareness only

Requirements

CENSYS_API_ID and CENSYS_API_SECRET — free account at https://search.censys.io/register

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files in skills/censys of taracodlabs/aiden.

SKILL.md
index.ts
skill.json

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 3704204

Compare with similar skills

Censys 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.

Censys compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Censys this skilltaracodlabs/aiden	851	—	~1k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	25 days ago
Kubeshark KFL2 Filter Referencekubeshark/kubeshark	12k	—	~3.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	yesterday
Nginx To Higress Migrationhigress-group/higress	9.5k	—	~3.9k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Rustpgdogdev/pgdog	5.6k	—	~1.9k	Automated safety check: Notes	AGPL-3.0	today
Bfe Rd Workflowbfenetworks/bfe	6.3k	—	~1.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
NGINX Ingress Controller Feature Checklistsnginx/kubernetes-ingress	5.1k	—	~1.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today

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Questions about Censys

What does Censys do?

Censys lookups: hosts, certificates, services on the public internet. Censys is an agent skill from taracodlabs/aiden.

When should I use Censys?

Censys fits situations like: tasks that involve Cloud networking.

How do I install Censys in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/censys in taracodlabs/aiden) into .claude/skills/censys in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Censys in Codex?

Run `npx skills add taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/censys in taracodlabs/aiden) into .agents/skills/censys in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Censys 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 taracodlabs/aiden --skill censys -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/censys, .gemini/skills/censys, .github/skills/censys and .opencode/skills/censys in your project.

What does Censys need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Censys needs TypeScript for the scripts in its folder and credentials named CENSYS_API_SECRET. Our summary lists: Node.js; A credential in CENSYS_API_SECRET.

Does Censys access the network?

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

Is Censys 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 Censys use?

Censys is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Censys use?

About 1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.1k 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 Censys?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Censys: Kubeshark KFL2 Filter Reference (kubeshark/kubeshark, 12k stars), Nginx To Higress Migration (higress-group/higress, 9.5k stars), Rust (pgdogdev/pgdog, 5.6k stars) and Bfe Rd Workflow (bfenetworks/bfe, 6.3k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Censys?

taracodlabs (a GitHub organization) maintains it in taracodlabs/aiden, which has 851 GitHub stars. The repository holds 63 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 13, 2026.

Source: taracodlabs/aiden on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Censys

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Censys — Internet Asset Discovery

When to Use

How to Use

Look up a specific host by IP

Search with a query string

Look up a TLS certificate by SHA-256 fingerprint

Examples

Cautions

Requirements

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from taracodlabs/aiden

Questions about Censys