theHarvester/docs/wiki/Configuration-and-API-Keys.md

Configuration and API keys

theHarvester reads api-keys.yaml and proxies.yaml from the first matching directory:

1. ~/.theHarvester/
2. /etc/theHarvester/
3. /usr/local/etc/theHarvester/

If no file exists, theHarvester creates the default template under ~/.theHarvester/.

Provider credentials

Run theHarvester once to create the user configuration, then edit:

vi ~/.theHarvester/api-keys.yaml
chmod 600 ~/.theHarvester/api-keys.yaml

Keep the complete generated template and fill only the providers you intend to use. Some providers require more than one field:

apikeys:
  censys:
    token: your-censys-personal-access-token
    organization_id: your-censys-organization-id

  github:
    key: your-github-token

  hibpverified:
    key: your-hibp-api-key

  routeviews:
    key: your-routeviews-api-key

  tomba:
    key: your-tomba-key
    secret: your-tomba-secret

Do not commit populated configuration files. Prefer provider credentials scoped to the minimum access the provider supports.

The README source matrix lists each source's result routes, activity class, and credential requirement. Every source name links to its provider's site or documentation for current plans, quotas, and terms. The executable source catalog is the authoritative inventory.

Provider notes

Provider	Configuration and behavior
Censys	censys.token is a Censys Platform Personal Access Token. Set organization_id to search through an entitled organization. The source uses the Global Search API, which Free accounts cannot access because they are limited to asset lookups. Search API ID and secret fields are not accepted.
HIBP verified domains	hibpverified queries HIBP's authenticated verified-domain endpoint. Select it by name, through the breaches capability, or with all. Without a configured key, it is skipped like other unavailable keyed sources. Live use requires a user-owned paid HIBP API key and a domain verified in that account. The keyless haveibeenpwned source queries only the public breach catalogue.
RouteViews	routeviews.key is optional. A configured key selects the authenticated endpoint for PeeringDB-verified users and its documented 10-request-per-second allowance. Without a key, the action uses guest access at one request per second. If RouteViews rejects a configured key, the action fails instead of retrying as a guest. Remove the key to select guest access. RouteViews does not document this as a paid subscription.

Proxies

Edit ~/.theHarvester/proxies.yaml using host:port entries:

http:
  - 127.0.0.1:8080
socks5:
  - 127.0.0.1:9050

Enable configured proxies with -p:

Network activity: provider-facing passive lookup through a configured proxy.

uv run theHarvester -d example.com -b crtsh -p

A proxy does not make an assessment anonymous and does not change the authorization boundary.

API protection

Every /api/v1/* route requires a server-side key:

export THEHARVESTER_API_KEY='replace-with-a-long-random-value'
uv run harvestview

API clients send the same value in the X-API-Key header. HarvestView receives a derived HttpOnly browser cookie when it is opened locally, so the key is never entered into or stored by the web app. Provider credentials remain in api-keys.yaml and cannot be supplied through an API request.