Read docs Updated 2026-06-17
What is Sonar?
Sonar exposes DNS enumeration results gathered by Project Sonar's ongoing internet scans.
It supports developers and security teams performing DNS reconnaissance and infrastructure analysis.
What you can build with Sonar
Subdomain discovery during reconnaissance
Query large DNS datasets to uncover subdomains of a target domain for security assessments and attack surface mapping.
Infrastructure mapping for threat intelligence
Pull historical and current DNS records to identify related domains, mail servers, and name servers tied to suspicious activity.
Integration into automated scanning tools
Feed DNS enumeration results from the API directly into custom scripts or open-source tools for continuous monitoring workflows.
Get started with Sonar
- 1Locate the official Project Sonar data access page and dataset listings
- 2Select the desired DNS dataset (e.g., forward or rapid DNS)
- 3Form an HTTPS GET request to the public dataset URL with the target domain
- 4Parse the returned JSON or text records containing DNS entries
- 5Cache or process results locally to avoid repeated large downloads
Sonar: pros & cons
Pros
- +No authentication or API key needed
- +Access to internet-scale DNS scan data
- +HTTPS-only encrypted transport
- +Completely free for public use
Cons
- –Data reflects periodic scans, not live DNS
- –Large result sets can require significant bandwidth
- –No official SLA or uptime guarantees
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Frequently asked questions
A public HTTPS interface providing access to DNS records collected through Rapid7's regular internet-wide Sonar scans.
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