How do I get a Shodan API key?

Sign up for a free account at [**shodan.io**](https://account.shodan.io/register). Your API key is displayed on your account dashboard. Free accounts get limited query credits per month.

What kind of devices can I find?

Shodan indexes web servers, routers, smart TVs, webcams, IoT devices, industrial control systems (ICS/SCADA), databases, Docker instances, cloud services and virtually any internet-connected device with an open port.

How do I search for vulnerabilities?

Use the vuln: filter in your search query. For example: 'vuln:CVE-2021-44228' for Log4Shell, 'vuln:CVE-2024-3094' for XZ backdoor. Requires a paid Shodan membership for vulnerability search.

What are some useful search queries?

Popular queries: 'nginx' (all nginx servers), 'port:3389 country:US' (RDP servers in US), 'apache os:Windows', 'product:"MongoDB" has_screenshot:true', 'port:21' (FTP servers), 'city:"São Paulo" port:80'.

Shodan MCP Server for Claude Desktop 10 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: Shodan
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 10 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 Shodan and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

Download Free Open SourceNo signup required

Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "shodan": {
      // 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 Shodan MCP Server

Connect to Shodan, the world's first search engine for internet-connected devices, and explore the digital landscape through natural conversation.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect Shodan to your AI workflow. Add Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 10 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

Device Search — Find internet-connected devices by product, OS, port, country, vulnerability and more
Host Lookup — Get comprehensive info on any IP: open ports, services, banners, location and vulnerabilities
DNS Lookup — Resolve hostnames to IPs and reverse DNS lookups
Port Discovery — See which ports Shodan actively scans across the internet
Account Info — Check your remaining query credits and API plan details

The Shodan MCP Server exposes 10 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 Shodan to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the Shodan 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 Shodan

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat. your 10 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the Shodan MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with Shodan 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 Vinkius Edge network

Shodan + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the Shodan 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

Shodan MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (10)

These 10 tools become available when you connect Shodan to Claude Desktop via MCP:

dns_resolve

Returns a mapping of hostname to IP. Supports comma-separated hostnames. Useful for DNS lookups without leaving the terminal. Resolve hostnames to IP addresses

get_account_info

Useful for checking your remaining usage limits. Get Shodan account information

get_api_info

Useful for monitoring API usage limits. Get API plan information

get_facets

g. country, org, port, os, product). Useful for building advanced search queries with faceted analysis. Get available search facets for result aggregation

get_host_count

Useful for checking how many devices match a filter before running a full search. Get total number of results for a search query

get_host_info

Returns all open ports, hostnames, geographic location, AS/org info, operating system and service banners for every open port. Includes vulnerability data if available. This is the most detailed view of a single host. Get detailed info for a specific IP address

get_my_ip

Useful for identifying your external IP for firewall rules, access control and debugging. Get your current external IP address

get_ports

Useful for understanding which ports are monitored and for reference when building search queries. Get a list of ports that Shod is scanning

reverse_dns

Returns a mapping of IP to hostname(s). Supports comma-separated IPs. Useful for reverse DNS lookups. Resolve IP addresses to hostnames

search_hosts

Supports powerful filters: product name (e.g. "nginx", "apache"), OS (e.g. "Windows", "Linux"), port (e.g. "port:80"), country (e.g. "country:US"), city, org, hostname, vulnerability (e.g. "vuln:CVE-2021-44228"), and many more. Returns matching hosts with IP, port, product, OS, location and banners. Pagination with page parameter. Use get_host for full details on a specific IP. Search Shodan for internet-connected devices

Example Prompts for Shodan in Claude Desktop

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

"Search for nginx servers in Brazil."

"Look up info for IP 8.8.8.8."

"Resolve google.com and github.com to IPs."

Troubleshooting Shodan MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting Shodan 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.

Shodan + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating Shodan 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.