httpx vs Sherlock
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A command-line tool that quickly checks many web hosts and reports details about each one.
Open source · MIT
Command-line tool that checks many social networks for a given username.
The short answer
Choose httpx if you need…
- Security testers doing reconnaissance on lists of hosts they are authorized to test
- Bug bounty hunters who need to filter large lists of subdomains down to live web servers
- Researchers gathering metadata about many websites at once
- Developers who want a scriptable way to check many URLs and pipe results to other tools
Choose Sherlock if you need…
- Security researchers doing authorized open-source intelligence work
- Penetration testers checking username exposure during an approved engagement
- Developers comfortable running Python command-line tools
- People checking whether their own usernames are used across sites
Side-by-side
| httpx | Sherlock | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | CLI | CLI |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 10.6k | 95.4k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Clone and build from source |
| Main language | Go | Python |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
httpx
httpx is a command-line program that sends HTTP requests to a list of hosts, URLs, or IP ranges and reports what each one returns, such as status code, page title, server name, and TLS certificate details. It is built on the retryablehttp library and is designed to stay reliable when many threads run at once. People use it to quickly survey large sets of web servers, for example during security testing or research.
Sherlock
Sherlock is a command-line program written in Python that searches a list of social media and websites to see whether a particular username is registered on each one. It reports which sites have a matching account so you can find someone's public profiles quickly. The project is popular in open-source security and investigation circles, and its topics describe it as an OSINT (open-source intelligence) tool.
Best for
httpx
- Security testers doing reconnaissance on lists of hosts they are authorized to test
- Bug bounty hunters who need to filter large lists of subdomains down to live web servers
- Researchers gathering metadata about many websites at once
- Developers who want a scriptable way to check many URLs and pipe results to other tools
Sherlock
- Security researchers doing authorized open-source intelligence work
- Penetration testers checking username exposure during an approved engagement
- Developers comfortable running Python command-line tools
- People checking whether their own usernames are used across sites
Strengths
httpx
- Fast, with many configurable probe flags covering status, title, TLS, hashes, and more
- Supports hosts, URLs, and CIDR ranges as input and can fall back from https to http automatically
- Includes retries and backoffs intended to handle web application firewalls
Sherlock
- Free and MIT-licensed, so it can be used and modified freely
- Simple command-line interface built on Python
- Very widely starred and actively maintained, with a recent push to the repository
Not ideal for
httpx
- People who want a visual web browser or point-and-click interface, since it is a command-line tool
- Anyone probing systems they do not have permission to scan, because it can generate heavy traffic and is widely used for pentesting
- Users who need to run it as an always-on public service, since the README warns that running it as a service may pose security risks
Sherlock
- Anyone wanting to track or profile a person without their consent, since the tool exists to surface accounts tied to a username
- Non-technical users, because it is run from a terminal and the README gave no graphical interface
- Users needing guaranteed accurate results, since username matches can belong to different people
Trade-offs
httpx
- The README says the project is in active development and may have breaking changes between releases
- Its main purpose is as a standalone CLI tool, and the README cautions about running it as a service
- Some features, such as headless screenshots and certain probes, are off by default and need extra setup or flags
Sherlock
- Results depend on the site list and can include false positives or missed sites
- Only checks usernames, not full identities, so matches need manual verification
- Requires a terminal and some Python setup
Getting started
httpx
Install httpx with Go
go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/httpx/cmd/httpx@latestSherlock
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sherlock-project/sherlock.gitFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between httpx and Sherlock?
httpx: A command-line tool that quickly checks many web hosts and reports details about each one. Sherlock: Command-line tool that checks many social networks for a given username. httpx suits security testers doing reconnaissance on lists of hosts they are authorized to test, while Sherlock suits security researchers doing authorized open-source intelligence work.
Are httpx and Sherlock free?
httpx: Free and open source. Sherlock: Free and open source.
Is httpx or Sherlock more popular?
Sherlock has more GitHub stars (95.4k) than httpx (10.6k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to httpx and Sherlock?
Other options people compare them with include ffuf, subfinder, HackBrowserData, Maigret.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.