Practical documentation · Authorized use only
Findomain
Findomain aggregates certificate-transparency and OSINT sources for subdomain discovery. Use it to seed an authorized inventory and compare source results over time, while recognizing that CT data often includes expired, internal, or third-party names.
Start safely and get useful results
Best for
- • Passive domain inventory
- • Certificate-transparency review
Not for
- • Automated host probing
- • Ownership conclusions from names alone
Before you run anything
- • Document the authorized target, time window, success criteria, data-handling rules, and a named stop contact before you begin.
- • Confirm the installed version with the tool’s version or help command, then compare its documented behavior with the linked upstream project before relying on any option.
Practical workflows
Collect candidate subdomains
Scenario: A domain owner authorizes passive discovery for one root domain.
findomain -t example.com -qQuery passive sources for the approved domain and emit concise candidate output.
Expected use: Expect historical and duplicate entries that require validation.
Save a timestamped inventory
Scenario: Compare exposure candidates between quarterly reviews.
findomain -t example.com -q -u findomain-$(date +%F).txtStore an evidence file with its run date for controlled comparison.
Expected use: New names are candidates for asset-owner review, not immediate security findings.
Interpret results like an analyst
- • Certificate issuance indicates a name existed in a certificate context; it does not prove a currently reachable service.
- • Classify results as owned, delegated, historical, unknown, or out-of-scope before any further action.
Common mistakes and operating tips
Avoid
- • Treating CT visibility as authorization to test a host.
- • Missing wildcard or SAN context when interpreting names.
Operational discipline
- • Treat command output as evidence, not a conclusion: retain the command, version, scope, timestamp, and a redacted result in the engagement record.
- • Start with the smallest safe scope, validate expected behavior in a lab or pilot, then expand only when the authorization and monitoring plan support it.
Verify against the current upstream
Tool behavior and release syntax can change. Treat this guide as practical operating context, then verify version-specific details against the upstream project before an assessment.
Open authoritative upstream documentation