How do I get Censys API credentials?

Sign up for a free account at [**censys.io**](https://censys.io), go to your account page and generate API credentials. Free tier includes limited queries per day.

What kind of hosts can I find?

Censys scans the entire IPv4 space regularly. You can find web servers, databases, SSH servers, mail servers, IoT devices, industrial control systems and any internet-facing service.

What query syntax is supported?

Censys supports powerful query syntax: service name (services.service_name: HTTP), port (services.port:443), certificate fields (parsed.subject.country: US), OS detection (metadata.os: Linux), ASN, geographic location and boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT).

Censys MCP Server for Claude Desktop 9 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: Censys
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 9 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER

Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Censys and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

Download Free Open SourceNo signup required

Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "censys": {
      // Your Vinkius token — get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Fully ManagedVinkius Servers

60%Token savings

High SecurityEnterprise-grade

IAMAccess control

EU AI ActCompliant

DLPData protection

V8 IsolateSandboxed

Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About Censys MCP Server

Connect to Censys and explore the world's largest internet scanning platform through natural conversation.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect Censys to your AI workflow. Add the Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 9 tools in the chat interface — ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

What you can do

Host Search — Search internet-facing hosts by service, port, OS, location and more
Host Details — Get comprehensive info on any IP including all services and certificates
Host History — View how a host's services and ports have changed over time
Certificate Search — Find SSL/TLS certificates by issuer, subject, validity and more
Certificate Details — Get full parsed certificate data by fingerprint
Certificate Hosts — Find all hosts using a specific certificate
Aggregation — Analyze distributions of services, countries and ASNs
Host Diff — Compare two hosts to identify infrastructure differences

The Censys MCP Server exposes 9 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect Censys to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the Censys MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using Censys

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat — your 9 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the Censys MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with Censys through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client — it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage — your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to the Vinkius Edge network

Censys + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the Censys MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies — all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

Censys MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (9)

These 9 tools become available when you connect Censys to Claude Desktop via MCP:

aggregate_hosts

Groups results by a specified field (e.g. "services.port", "location.country", "autonomous_system.name") and returns bucket counts. Useful for understanding the distribution of services, countries or ASNs matching a query. Aggregate host search results by a specific field

get_account_info

Useful for checking remaining API quota and account limits. Get your Censys account information

get_certificate

Returns the full parsed certificate including subject, issuer, validity, key info, extensions, CT logs and raw PEM data. Get detailed info for a specific certificate by fingerprint

get_certificate_hosts

Useful for finding all domains sharing a certificate (SANs). Returns IP addresses, ports and timestamps. Pagination via cursor. Get hosts using a specific certificate

get_host

Returns all open ports, service banners, TLS certificates, operating system detection, geolocation, autonomous system info and last updated timestamps. Get detailed info for a specific IP address

get_host_history

Shows how the host's services, ports and certificates have changed over time. Returns timestamps, services observed and changes detected. Pagination via cursor. Get historical scan data for a specific IP

search_certificates

Supports query syntax: issuer names, subject fields, serial numbers, validity dates, key algorithms, certificate transparency logs and more. Returns fingerprints, subjects, issuers, validity periods and key info. Search for SSL/TLS certificates

search_hosts

Supports powerful query syntax: service names (e.g. "nginx"), ports (e.g. "services.port:443"), protocols, operating systems, autonomous systems, geographic locations and more. Returns IP addresses, open ports, services, banners and locations. Pagination via cursor. Search for internet-connected hosts

view_host_diff

Useful for identifying changes between hosts or finding similar infrastructure. Compare two hosts to see differences

Example Prompts for Censys in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with Censys immediately.

"Find all nginx servers in Brazil."

"Get details for IP 8.8.8.8."

"Find certificates issued by Let's Encrypt expiring this month."

Troubleshooting Censys MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting Censys to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting — wait a few seconds.

Censys + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating Censys MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully — if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL — Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.