Photon
Python web crawler for OSINT that extracts URLs, emails, social handles, files, secrets, and subdomains from a target website in a single run.
Technical Architecture & Overview
Photon is a Python web crawler built for open-source intelligence. It extracts URLs, parameters, emails, social media handles, files, secret keys, JavaScript endpoints, subdomains, and DNS records from a target website. It was created by s0md3v and can use archive.org seeds or run in a Docker container.
Targeted Technical Use Cases
Map the public web footprint of a domain by crawling pages and extracting linked assets, credentials, and infrastructure clues.
Evaluation & Trade-offs
Core Strengths
- +Extracts a wide range of data types in a single run.
- +Supports threaded crawling, custom regex, and Wayback Machine seeds.
- +Provides a lightweight Docker image for containerized use.
Trade-Offs & Limitations
- -Crawling can be resource intensive and may trigger rate limits or blocking.
- -Only sees content the site serves, so authenticated or dynamic content may be missed.
- -Some extracted strings can be false positives.
Defensive Security Application
Discover information exposed on public websites, find forgotten or sensitive files, audit JavaScript for embedded secrets, and reduce the data an attacker could collect.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Photon?→
Photon is a Python web crawler built for open-source intelligence. It extracts URLs, parameters, emails, social media handles, files, secret keys, JavaScript endpoints, subdomains, and DNS records from a target website. It was created by s0md3v and can use archive.org seeds or run in a Docker container.
What is Photon used for?→
Map the public web footprint of a domain by crawling pages and extracting linked assets, credentials, and infrastructure clues.
What are the strengths of Photon?→
- +Extracts a wide range of data types in a single run.
- +Supports threaded crawling, custom regex, and Wayback Machine seeds.
- +Provides a lightweight Docker image for containerized use.
What are the limitations of Photon?→
- +Crawling can be resource intensive and may trigger rate limits or blocking.
- +Only sees content the site serves, so authenticated or dynamic content may be missed.
- +Some extracted strings can be false positives.
How is Photon used defensively?→
Discover information exposed on public websites, find forgotten or sensitive files, audit JavaScript for embedded secrets, and reduce the data an attacker could collect.