Metadata-Version: 2.4
Name: recon-tool
Version: 2.2.18
Summary: Domain intelligence CLI and MCP server — tech stack, email security, and signal intelligence from DNS.
Project-URL: Homepage, https://github.com/blisspixel/recon
Project-URL: Repository, https://github.com/blisspixel/recon
Project-URL: Changelog, https://github.com/blisspixel/recon/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md
Project-URL: Issues, https://github.com/blisspixel/recon/issues
License-Expression: Apache-2.0
License-File: LICENSE
Keywords: dns,domain-intelligence,mcp,osint,recon,saas-fingerprinting,security
Classifier: Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable
Classifier: Environment :: Console
Classifier: Intended Audience :: Developers
Classifier: Intended Audience :: Information Technology
Classifier: Intended Audience :: System Administrators
Classifier: License :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software License
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13
Classifier: Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14
Classifier: Topic :: Security
Classifier: Topic :: System :: Networking
Classifier: Typing :: Typed
Requires-Python: >=3.11
Requires-Dist: deal>=4.24.0
Requires-Dist: defusedxml>=0.7
Requires-Dist: dnspython>=2.6
Requires-Dist: httpx>=0.27
Requires-Dist: mcp<2,>=1.0
Requires-Dist: networkx>=3.0
Requires-Dist: publicsuffixlist>=1.0
Requires-Dist: python-multipart>=0.0.27
Requires-Dist: pyyaml>=6.0
Requires-Dist: rich>=13.0
Requires-Dist: typer>=0.24.1
Description-Content-Type: text/markdown

# recon

[![CI](https://github.com/blisspixel/recon/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/blisspixel/recon/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[![PyPI](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/recon-tool.svg?cacheSeconds=300)](https://pypi.org/project/recon-tool/)
[![Python](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/recon-tool.svg?cacheSeconds=300)](https://pypi.org/project/recon-tool/)
[![License](https://img.shields.io/pypi/l/recon-tool.svg?cacheSeconds=300)](LICENSE)
[![OpenSSF Scorecard](https://api.securityscorecards.dev/projects/github.com/blisspixel/recon/badge)](https://scorecard.dev/viewer/?uri=github.com/blisspixel/recon)

Passive domain intelligence from public sources. recon reads public DNS,
certificate transparency, and unauthenticated Microsoft and Google identity
discovery endpoints to report what an organization appears to publish about its
identity stack, email posture, SaaS footprint, and related domains.

It uses no credentials, no API keys, no paid feeds, and no active scanning. It
is a local Python CLI, importable library, JSON producer, and stdio MCP server.
It is not a hosted service, scheduler, vulnerability scanner, company research
tool, or firmographic database.

> **Defensive use only.** Use recon for legitimate posture review, IT
> architecture review, vendor diligence, and defensive hardening. See
> [docs/legal.md](docs/legal.md) for the intended-use policy.

## Quick Start

Install with `uv` or `pipx`:

```bash
uv tool install recon-tool
# or
pipx install recon-tool
```

If `uv` or `pipx` is already installed, the platform script can install or
update recon:

**Windows (PowerShell):**

```powershell
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blisspixel/recon/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex"
```

**macOS or Linux:**

```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/blisspixel/recon/main/scripts/install.sh | bash
```

Open a new terminal and verify the install:

```bash
recon doctor
```

Run a lookup:

```bash
recon contoso.com
```

Example output shape:

```text
Contoso Ltd
contoso.com

Provider     Microsoft 365 via Proofpoint gateway
Tenant       a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
Auth         Federated
Confidence   High (4 sources)

Services
  Email       Microsoft 365, Proofpoint, DMARC, DKIM, SPF strict
  Identity    Okta, Entra ID
  Cloud       Cloudflare, AWS Route 53

Insights
  Federated identity indicators observed
  Email security 4/5: DMARC reject, DKIM, SPF strict, BIMI
  Email gateway: Proofpoint in front of Exchange
```

Examples use [Microsoft's fictional company names](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/enterprise/urls-and-ip-address-ranges).
Tenant IDs, services, and domains in examples are fabricated. No real company is
depicted.

For detailed install, update, uninstall, and first-run workflows, read
[docs/getting-started.md](docs/getting-started.md).

## What recon Is Good For

| Need | Use recon for | Use something else when |
|---|---|---|
| Fast external stack context | Passive DNS, identity-endpoint, CT, SaaS, and posture indicators | You need authenticated tenant inventory or asset-management truth |
| Defensive review or vendor diligence | Hedged observations and evidence traces you can verify | You need vulnerability scanning, exploit checks, or host-level facts |
| Automation-friendly output | Stable JSON, batch mode, delta mode, and local MCP tools | You need dashboards, scheduling, or report generation built in |

recon reports observations, not verdicts. A missing DMARC record is a missing
record. A Microsoft 365 tenant indicator is an observed indicator. The operator
decides what those facts mean in context.

## Common Commands

```bash
recon contoso.com                              # default panel
recon https://www.contoso.com/path             # normalize URL to apex
recon mail.contoso.com                         # reduce sub-host to apex
recon mail.contoso.com --exact                 # keep that literal host
recon contoso.com --explain                    # reasoning and provenance
recon contoso.com --full                       # services, domains, posture
recon contoso.com --json                       # structured lookup record
recon batch domains.txt --json                 # batch JSON array
recon batch domains.txt --ndjson               # one record per line
recon batch domains.txt --summary              # aggregate-only cohort summary
recon delta contoso.com                        # diff against cached snapshot
recon mcp install --client=cursor              # wire MCP into a client
recon mcp doctor                               # live MCP handshake check
```

Built-in posture profiles: `fintech`, `healthcare`, `saas-b2b`,
`high-value-target`, `public-sector`, and `higher-ed`. Custom profiles live in
`~/.recon/profiles/*.yaml`.

Generated command and flag reference:
[docs/cli-surface.md](docs/cli-surface.md).

## How recon Works

recon reads:

- DNS records: MX, TXT, SPF, DMARC, DKIM, BIMI, CNAME, NS, SRV, and CAA.
- Certificate transparency: SAN names, issuers, issuance timing, and bounded
  related-domain hints.
- Identity discovery: unauthenticated Microsoft and Google endpoints.

By default, the only request the queried domain's own servers see is the
standards-based MTA-STS policy fetch at `mta-sts.<domain>`. Google CSE and BIMI
VMC direct probes are opt-in behind `--direct-probes`.

The engine then maps observables to fingerprint slugs, derived signals, graph
motifs, and optional Bayesian posteriors. Sparse public evidence stays sparse:
the result widens uncertainty or lowers confidence instead of inventing a clean
answer.

Long-form explanation: [docs/how-it-works.md](docs/how-it-works.md).
Formal model: [docs/correlation.md](docs/correlation.md).

## JSON and Automation

`recon <domain> --json` emits a stable single-domain lookup object. Batch and
delta modes emit different shapes, so route by mode or by `record_type`.

```bash
recon contoso.com --json
recon batch domains.txt --json
recon batch domains.txt --ndjson
recon delta contoso.com --json
```

Read these before building an integration:

- [docs/schema.md](docs/schema.md): stable JSON contract.
- [docs/recon-schema.json](docs/recon-schema.json): machine-readable schema.
- [docs/automation-examples.md](docs/automation-examples.md): parser examples.
- [docs/operational-contract.md](docs/operational-contract.md): timeouts,
  bounds, exit codes, cache, and partial-result semantics.

`docs/surface-inventory.json`, `docs/cli-surface.md`, and
`recon://surface-inventory` are generated discovery context and drift guards,
not stable runtime API contracts. ADR-0007 records the promotion gate for any
future stable subset.

## MCP Server

The default install includes a local stdio MCP server for MCP-compatible tools.
Start with manual approvals and an empty `autoApprove` list. Treat connected
agents as untrusted input.

```bash
recon mcp install --client=claude-desktop
recon mcp install --client=cursor --dry-run
recon mcp doctor
```

The installer writes the right per-client config shape and preserves sibling
MCP servers. Full setup, tool list, read-only versus stateful guidance, and
troubleshooting live in [docs/mcp.md](docs/mcp.md). Per-client scaffolds live in
[agents/](agents/).

## Limitations

The public channel has a ceiling:

- Internal-only workloads are invisible.
- SaaS products without DNS verification records may not appear.
- Email gateways can hide the downstream mailbox provider.
- CT logs can be stale, partial, rate-limited, or absent.
- Fingerprints are rule-based indicators, not proof of active use.

Read [docs/limitations.md](docs/limitations.md) before using recon output for a
high-stakes decision. Read [docs/data-handling-policy.md](docs/data-handling-policy.md)
before committing any validation artifact.

## Documentation

- [docs/getting-started.md](docs/getting-started.md): install, update,
  uninstall, and first commands.
- [docs/how-it-works.md](docs/how-it-works.md): readable model overview.
- [docs/README.md](docs/README.md): complete docs index.
- [docs/roadmap.md](docs/roadmap.md): current plan, invariants, and scope
  boundaries.
- [docs/external-writeup-plan.md](docs/external-writeup-plan.md): active
  maintainer plan for external write-up readiness.
- [docs/submission-freeze-checklist.md](docs/submission-freeze-checklist.md):
  final paper and artifact freeze gate before any external submission package.
- [docs/c3-ct-validation-plan.md](docs/c3-ct-validation-plan.md): closed
  certificate-transparency validation plan.
- [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md): shipped changes.

## Roadmap Focus

recon is feature-complete for the current roadmap: the CLI, JSON schema, MCP
server, validation guards, and release path are in place. Current work is
hardening and small refinements: clearer docs, stronger validation evidence,
current citation metadata, OpenSSF posture, and careful pressure tests of the
correlation model.
The paper package is now focused on publication boundaries: the
[public label snapshot decision](docs/public-label-snapshot-decision.md) keeps
public-list numbers as robustness checks rather than population rates,
private-corpus rows stay aggregate-only, and M365 tenancy evidence stays named
as corroboration under the
[M365 tenancy decision](docs/m365-tenancy-decision.md). As validation runs teach
us more, the system may get conservative refinements, but new runtime features
stay behind roadmap review and the project invariants. The final public claim
audit refresh for the current draft package is recorded in
[validation/2026-06-29-scorecard-gate-claim-audit.md](validation/2026-06-29-scorecard-gate-claim-audit.md);
future paper or package changes rerun that gate through the
[submission freeze checklist](docs/submission-freeze-checklist.md). The latest
local submission-freeze public proof record is
[validation/2026-06-30-submission-freeze-local-proof.md](validation/2026-06-30-submission-freeze-local-proof.md).
Feedback on gaps, wording, and false positives is welcome. The detailed plan lives in
[docs/external-writeup-plan.md](docs/external-writeup-plan.md), with the
current step-back audit in [docs/strategic-gap-audit.md](docs/strategic-gap-audit.md).

## Development

```bash
uv sync
pre-commit install
uv run python scripts/release_readiness.py --allow-dirty
uv run python scripts/check.py
```

`python scripts/check.py` is the local CI mirror. It runs lint, type checks,
coverage-gated tests, generated-artifact checks, validation hygiene, and
ratchets. Do not push on `--fast` alone.

Project hygiene: keep examples fictional or synthetic, keep validation artifacts
aggregate-only, run `scripts/check.py`, and avoid dead code or placeholders.
Contributor details: [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md).

## License

Apache 2.0. Free to use, build on, fork, and share. See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for
the full terms.
