At Censys, we pride ourselves on having the most accurate and up-to-date inventory of the Internet. We also believe that this data should be accessible to everyone who needs it—from seasoned security professionals to newcomers to the InfoSec community.
That’s why we’re thrilled to announce a set of new features designed to empower our Free community on the Censys Platform.
Introducing Your New Toolkit
All Free users on the Censys Platform now have access to the following features:
1. Collections for Personalized Monitoring
Previously a feature reserved for paid tiers, we are introducing Collections for Free users.
Collections allow you to continuously monitor a specific set of internet assets based on a search query you define. This means you can:
- Focus on what matters: Easily isolate and review newly discovered assets added to your collection, allowing you to prioritize your efforts on recent changes.
- Explore trends: Track the history of your collection and monitor how it has evolved over time. This helps you understand trends and patterns of a query and explore Censys historical data with ease.
This is your new way to move beyond point-in-time searching and stay ahead of the changes that matter most.
2. Lookup APIs for Programmatic Access
We know that speed and precision are everything, and the best way to integrate Censys into your existing workflows is through APIs. Free users now have access to a suite of Lookup APIs for core Censys asset types:
- Host Lookup API: Quickly retrieve the most current, detailed data on any IP address.
- Web Property Lookup API: Instantly access data about domains and hostnames.
- Certificate Lookup API: Look up the details on a certificate by its SHA-256 fingerprint.
3. A CLI Tool for Command-Line Warriors
For many in the security community, the terminal is where work happens. It’s where automation lives and complex investigations take shape. To meet you where you work, we built the new Censys Command Line Interface (CLI).
We’ve designed it to integrate seamlessly with the new free lookup API endpoints, making programmatic access to our data available to everyone.
Use the view command to look up any host, certificate, or web property. Use the -s flag for a quick-triage response with essential details like location and open ports, so you never have to leave your terminal.
Download the Censys CLI HERE.
Expanded Insights
As of 11/13/2025, we’ve also expanded the Censys Lookup API and also the Censys Platform UI to include detailed insights on 140+ Internet services running across the global Internet.
From IoT, Security, and Remote Access to Blockchain, Messaging, and Gaming, you can now instantly see what’s running on assets — right from the UI, API or CLI.
This update builds on our mission to make the Internet safer through greater transparency and accessibility — and ensures that open, high-fidelity Internet data remains available to everyone who needs it.
Get Started Today
These new features are available right now to all existing and new Censys free accounts.
- Log in to the Censys Platform or sign up for a Free account if you haven’t already.
- Generate your API Key to start using the lookup APIs and the new CLI tool.
- Explore Collections by saving your first search query.
We’re committed to providing the best tools to the security community, and we can’t wait to see what you build!
