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Basic Usage

Introduction

This guide covers the most common AtDork commands you'll use daily. Whether you're a security researcher, bug bounty hunter, or OSINT practitioner, these examples will help you get started quickly.

All examples assume you have AtDork installed. If not, see Installation.

The simplest command – search for PDF files on government websites:

atdork -q "site:gov filetype:pdf" -r 10

Explanation:

  • -q – Your search query (dork)

  • -r 10 – Return up to 10 results

Common Use Cases

1. Find Exposed Documents

# PDF files on government sites

atdork -q "site:gov filetype:pdf" -r 20



# Excel files on educational sites

atdork -q "site:edu filetype:xls" -r 20



# Config files with passwords

atdork -q 'filetype:env "DB_PASSWORD"' -r 30

2. Find Admin Panels

atdork -q 'intitle:"admin panel" inurl:login' -r 30

3. Find Directory Listings

atdork -q 'intitle:"index of" "backup"' -r 20

4. Find Login Pages

atdork -q 'inurl:admin login' -r 30

5. Find WordPress Sites

atdork -q 'inurl:wp-content' -r 40

Save Results

Save to File

atdork -q "site:gov filetype:pdf" -r 20 -o results.txt

Save as JSON

atdork -q "site:gov filetype:pdf" -r 20 --format json -o results.json

Save as CSV

atdork -q "site:gov filetype:pdf" -r 20 --format csv -o results.csv

Batch Processing

Run Multiple Dorks from a File

Create dorks.txt:

site:edu filetype:xls

inurl:admin login

intitle:"index of" "backup"

filetype:env "DB_PASSWORD"

Then run:

atdork --batch-file dorks.txt -r 30 -o all_results.json

Run Multiple Dorks Inline

Use ; as separator:

atdork -q "site:gov filetype:pdf; site:edu filetype:xls" -r 20 -o results.json

Filter Vulnerabilities

WordPress Detection

atdork -q "inurl:wp-content" -r 40 --filter-vuln wordpress

Show Vulnerability Counts

atdork -q "inurl:wp-content" -r 40 --filter-vuln wordpress -v

Use Templates (Pre-Built Dorks)

List Available Templates

atdork --list-templates

Use a Template

atdork --template sqli --target example.com -r 30

Preview Template Dorks (Safe Check)

atdork --template sqli --preview

Combine Templates

atdork --template sqli,wordpress,exposed_config --target example.com -r 25

Select Specific Dorks

atdork --template sqli --select 1,3,5 -r 20

Use Proxies (Anonymous)

Single Proxy

atdork -q "target" --proxy "http:user:pass@host:8080" --strict

Multiple Proxies from File

atdork -q "target" --proxy-file proxies.txt --strict

Tor Integration

atdork -q "target" --tor --strict

For large or automated scans, enable resilience to handle rate limits and blocks:

atdork --batch-file dorks.txt --resilient --adaptive-delay --proxy-file proxies.txt --strict

View History and Resume

View Search History

atdork --history

Resume Interrupted Batch

atdork --resume

Export Database

atdork --export-db all_results.json

Common Flag Reference

| Flag | Description | Example |

|------|-------------|---------|

| -q | Your search query | -q "site:gov filetype:pdf" |

| -r | Number of results (1-100) | -r 20 |

| -o | Save to file | -o results.json |

| --format | Output format: txt, json, csv | --format json |

| --batch-file | File with one query per line | --batch-file dorks.txt |

| --filter-vuln | Vulnerability filter | --filter-vuln wordpress |

| --template | Load dork template | --template sqli |

| --proxy-file | Proxy list file | --proxy-file proxies.txt |

| --resilient | Enable rate limit handling | --resilient |

| --verbose, -v | Show results in real-time | -v |

Quick Reference Card

| Task | Command |

|------|---------|

| Basic search | atdork -q "dork" -r 20 |

| Save to JSON | atdork -q "dork" -r 20 --format json -o out.json |

| Batch file | atdork --batch-file dorks.txt -r 30 -o out.json |

| Use template | atdork --template sqli --target example.com -r 30 |

| Filter WordPress | atdork -q "inurl:wp-content" --filter-vuln wordpress |

| With proxy | atdork -q "dork" --proxy-file proxies.txt --strict |

| Resilient mode | atdork --batch-file dorks.txt --resilient --adaptive-delay |

| View history | atdork --history |

| Resume batch | atdork --resume |

Next Steps