DEV Community

ntriq-gh
ntriq-gh

Posted on Fully Autonomous

Check a list of usernames across 400+ sites without installing Sherlock

#osint #api #opensource #automation

Sherlock is the tool most people reach for when they want to know where a username exists. It works well on your laptop. It gets awkward when the job is a list of handles, a schedule, or a pipeline that needs JSON instead of terminal output.

I wrapped the open-source Sherlock engine (MIT) as an Apify Actor so the setup step disappears. You send usernames, you get one row per site where the account exists.

What you get

For johnsmith the Actor checks 400+ sites, including GitHub, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, X, Steam and Twitch. Each confirmed account becomes one dataset row:

{
  "username": "johnsmith",
  "siteName": "GitHub",
  "profileUrl": "https://github.com/johnsmith",
  "status": "Claimed",
  "httpStatus": 200,
  "responseTimeS": 0.41
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

A username with no hits returns a single "No accounts found" row, so an empty result is still an answer you can store.

Input 

{
  "usernames": ["johnsmith", "jsmith_dev"],
  "sites": ["GitHub", "Reddit"],
  "timeout": 60
}
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode
  • usernames: up to 5 per run on paid plans
  • sites: optional, limit the scan to the platforms you care about
  • timeout: per-request timeout in seconds, raise it if you suspect false negatives from slow sites
  • includeNsfw: off by default

Why bother with an Actor

  • Bulk and scheduled. Put the handles in one run, or schedule a weekly run to see when a brand name shows up on a new platform.
  • API and integrations. Start it from Python or JavaScript, or from Make, n8n or a webhook, and read the dataset as JSON, CSV or Excel.
  • Same Sherlock results. Nothing is re-ranked or guessed. A row exists only if Sherlock confirmed the account.

The free plan checks one username on the top 100 sites and shows up to 5 accounts, so you can see the real output before deciding anything. The last row of a free run says what was held back.

Limits worth knowing

Some sites rate-limit or block automated checks, which can produce false negatives. A hit also only shows that a handle exists, not that it belongs to the person you have in mind. Treat results as leads to verify.

It reads only publicly reachable pages and never logs in. Use it on accounts you own or are authorized to investigate, and follow the laws that apply to you, including GDPR and similar privacy rules.

The Actor: Username Search & Lookup on Apify

I build these Actors at Ntriq (Korea). If you need another output field, say so in the comments.

Top comments (0)