Censys

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Comprehensive censys commands and workflows for system administration across all platforms.

Basic Commands

Command	Description
censys --version	Show censys version
censys --help	Display help information
censys init	Initialize censys in current directory
censys status	Check current status
censys list	List available options
censys info	Display system information
censys config	Show configuration settings
censys update	Update to latest version
censys start	Start censys service
censys stop	Stop censys service
censys restart	Restart censys service
censys reload	Reload configuration

Installation

Linux/Ubuntu

# Package manager installation
sudo apt update
sudo apt install censys

# Alternative installation
wget https://github.com/example/censys/releases/latest/download/censys-linux
chmod +x censys-linux
sudo mv censys-linux /usr/local/bin/censys

# Build from source
git clone https://github.com/example/censys.git
cd censys
make && sudo make install

macOS

# Homebrew installation
brew install censys

# MacPorts installation
sudo port install censys

# Manual installation
curl -L -o censys https://github.com/example/censys/releases/latest/download/censys-macos
chmod +x censys
sudo mv censys /usr/local/bin/

Windows

# Chocolatey installation
choco install censys

# Scoop installation
scoop install censys

# Winget installation
winget install censys

# Manual installation
# Download from https://github.com/example/censys/releases
# Extract and add to PATH

Configuration

Command	Description
censys config show	Display current configuration
censys config list	List all configuration options
censys config set <key> <value>	Set configuration value
censys config get <key>	Get configuration value
censys config unset <key>	Remove configuration value
censys config reset	Reset to default configuration
censys config validate	Validate configuration file
censys config export	Export configuration to file

Advanced Operations

File Operations

# Create new file/resource
censys create <name>

# Read file/resource
censys read <name>

# Update existing file/resource
censys update <name>

# Delete file/resource
censys delete <name>

# Copy file/resource
censys copy <source> <destination>

# Move file/resource
censys move <source> <destination>

# List all files/resources
censys list --all

# Search for files/resources
censys search <pattern>

Network Operations

# Connect to remote host
censys connect <host>:<port>

# Listen on specific port
censys listen --port <port>

# Send data to target
censys send --target <host> --data "<data>"

# Receive data from source
censys receive --source <host>

# Test connectivity
censys ping <host>

# Scan network range
censys scan <network>

# Monitor network traffic
censys monitor --interface <interface>

# Proxy connections
censys proxy --listen <port> --target <host>:<port>

Process Management

# Start background process
censys start --daemon

# Stop running process
censys stop --force

# Restart with new configuration
censys restart --config <file>

# Check process status
censys status --verbose

# Monitor process performance
censys monitor --metrics

# Kill all processes
censys killall

# Show running processes
censys ps

# Manage process priority
censys priority --pid <pid> --level <level>

Security Features

Authentication

# Login with username/password
censys login --user <username>

# Login with API key
censys login --api-key <key>

# Login with certificate
censys login --cert <cert_file>

# Logout current session
censys logout

# Change password
censys passwd

# Generate new API key
censys generate-key --name <key_name>

# List active sessions
censys sessions

# Revoke session
censys revoke --session <session_id>

Encryption

# Encrypt file
censys encrypt --input <file> --output <encrypted_file>

# Decrypt file
censys decrypt --input <encrypted_file> --output <file>

# Generate encryption key
censys keygen --type <type> --size <size>

# Sign file
censys sign --input <file> --key <private_key>

# Verify signature
censys verify --input <file> --signature <sig_file>

# Hash file
censys hash --algorithm <algo> --input <file>

# Generate certificate
censys cert generate --name <name> --days <days>

# Verify certificate
censys cert verify --cert <cert_file>

Monitoring and Logging

System Monitoring

# Monitor system resources
censys monitor --system

# Monitor specific process
censys monitor --pid <pid>

# Monitor network activity
censys monitor --network

# Monitor file changes
censys monitor --files <directory>

# Real-time monitoring
censys monitor --real-time --interval 1

# Generate monitoring report
censys report --type monitoring --output <file>

# Set monitoring alerts
censys alert --threshold <value> --action <action>

# View monitoring history
censys history --type monitoring

Logging

# View logs
censys logs

# View logs with filter
censys logs --filter <pattern>

# Follow logs in real-time
censys logs --follow

# Set log level
censys logs --level <level>

# Rotate logs
censys logs --rotate

# Export logs
censys logs --export <file>

# Clear logs
censys logs --clear

# Archive logs
censys logs --archive <archive_file>

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue: Command not found

# Check if censys is installed
which censys
censys --version

# Check PATH variable
echo $PATH

# Reinstall if necessary
sudo apt reinstall censys
# or
brew reinstall censys

Issue: Permission denied

# Run with elevated privileges
sudo censys <command>

# Check file permissions
ls -la $(which censys)

# Fix permissions
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/censys

# Check ownership
sudo chown $USER:$USER /usr/local/bin/censys

Issue: Configuration errors

# Validate configuration
censys config validate

# Reset to default configuration
censys config reset

# Check configuration file location
censys config show --file

# Backup current configuration
censys config export > backup.conf

# Restore from backup
censys config import backup.conf

Issue: Service not starting

# Check service status
censys status --detailed

# Check system logs
journalctl -u censys

# Start in debug mode
censys start --debug

# Check port availability
netstat -tulpn|grep <port>

# Kill conflicting processes
censys killall --force

Debug Commands

Command	Description
censys --debug	Enable debug output
censys --verbose	Enable verbose logging
censys --trace	Enable trace logging
censys test	Run built-in tests
censys doctor	Run system health check
censys diagnose	Generate diagnostic report
censys benchmark	Run performance benchmarks
censys validate	Validate installation and configuration

Performance Optimization

Resource Management

# Set memory limit
censys --max-memory 1G <command>

# Set CPU limit
censys --max-cpu 2 <command>

# Enable caching
censys --cache-enabled <command>

# Set cache size
censys --cache-size 100M <command>

# Clear cache
censys cache clear

# Show cache statistics
censys cache stats

# Optimize performance
censys optimize --profile <profile>

# Show performance metrics
censys metrics

Parallel Processing

# Enable parallel processing
censys --parallel <command>

# Set number of workers
censys --workers 4 <command>

# Process in batches
censys --batch-size 100 <command>

# Queue management
censys queue add <item>
censys queue process
censys queue status
censys queue clear

Integration

Scripting

#!/bin/bash
# Example script using censys

set -euo pipefail

# Configuration
CONFIG_FILE="config.yaml"
LOG_FILE="censys.log"

# Check if censys is available
if ! command -v censys &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Error: censys is not installed" >&2
    exit 1
fi

# Function to log messages
log() \\\\{
    echo "$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') - $1"|tee -a "$LOG_FILE"
\\\\}

# Main operation
main() \\\\{
    log "Starting censys operation"

    if censys --config "$CONFIG_FILE" run; then
        log "Operation completed successfully"
        exit 0
    else
        log "Operation failed with exit code $?"
        exit 1
    fi
\\\\}

# Cleanup function
cleanup() \\\\{
    log "Cleaning up"
    censys cleanup
\\\\}

# Set trap for cleanup
trap cleanup EXIT

# Run main function
main "$@"

API Integration

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Python wrapper for the tool
"""

import subprocess
import json
import logging
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Dict, List, Optional

class ToolWrapper:
    def __init__(self, config_file: Optional[str] = None):
        self.config_file = config_file
        self.logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

    def run_command(self, args: List[str]) -> Dict:
        """Run command and return parsed output"""
        cmd = ['tool_name']

        if self.config_file:
            cmd.extend(['--config', self.config_file])

        cmd.extend(args)

        try:
            result = subprocess.run(
                cmd,
                capture_output=True,
                text=True,
                check=True
            )
            return \\\\{'stdout': result.stdout, 'stderr': result.stderr\\\\}
        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
            self.logger.error(f"Command failed: \\\\{e\\\\}")
            raise

    def status(self) -> Dict:
        """Get current status"""
        return self.run_command(['status'])

    def start(self) -> Dict:
        """Start service"""
        return self.run_command(['start'])

    def stop(self) -> Dict:
        """Stop service"""
        return self.run_command(['stop'])

# Example usage
if __name__ == "__main__":
    wrapper = ToolWrapper()
    status = wrapper.status()
    print(json.dumps(status, indent=2))

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
CENSYS_CONFIG	Configuration file path	~/.censys/config.yaml
CENSYS_HOME	Home directory	~/.censys
CENSYS_LOG_LEVEL	Logging level	INFO
CENSYS_LOG_FILE	Log file path	~/.censys/logs/censys.log
CENSYS_CACHE_DIR	Cache directory	~/.censys/cache
CENSYS_DATA_DIR	Data directory	~/.censys/data
CENSYS_TIMEOUT	Default timeout	30s
CENSYS_MAX_WORKERS	Maximum workers	4

Configuration File

# ~/.censys/config.yaml
version: "1.0"

# General settings
settings:
  debug: false
  verbose: false
  log_level: "INFO"
  log_file: "~/.censys/logs/censys.log"
  timeout: 30
  max_workers: 4

# Network configuration
network:
  host: "localhost"
  port: 8080
  ssl: true
  timeout: 30
  retries: 3

# Security settings
security:
  auth_required: true
  api_key: ""
  encryption: "AES256"
  verify_ssl: true

# Performance settings
performance:
  cache_enabled: true
  cache_size: "100M"
  cache_dir: "~/.censys/cache"
  max_memory: "1G"

# Monitoring settings
monitoring:
  enabled: true
  interval: 60
  metrics_enabled: true
  alerts_enabled: true

Examples

Basic Workflow

# 1. Initialize censys
censys init

# 2. Configure basic settings
censys config set host example.com
censys config set port 8080

# 3. Start service
censys start

# 4. Check status
censys status

# 5. Perform operations
censys run --target example.com

# 6. View results
censys results

# 7. Stop service
censys stop

Advanced Workflow

# Comprehensive operation with monitoring
censys run \
  --config production.yaml \
  --parallel \
  --workers 8 \
  --verbose \
  --timeout 300 \
  --output json \
  --log-file operation.log

# Monitor in real-time
censys monitor --real-time --interval 5

# Generate report
censys report --type comprehensive --output report.html

Automation Example

#!/bin/bash
# Automated censys workflow

# Configuration
TARGETS_FILE="targets.txt"
RESULTS_DIR="results/$(date +%Y-%m-%d)"
CONFIG_FILE="automation.yaml"

# Create results directory
mkdir -p "$RESULTS_DIR"

# Process each target
while IFS= read -r target; do
    echo "Processing $target..."

    censys \
        --config "$CONFIG_FILE" \
        --output json \
        --output-file "$RESULTS_DIR/$\\\\{target\\\\}.json" \
        run "$target"

done < "$TARGETS_FILE"

# Generate summary report
censys report summary \
    --input "$RESULTS_DIR/*.json" \
    --output "$RESULTS_DIR/summary.html"

Best Practices

Security

• Always verify checksums when downloading binaries
• Use strong authentication methods (API keys, certificates)
• Regularly update to the latest version
• Follow principle of least privilege
• Enable audit logging for compliance
• Use encrypted connections when possible
• Validate all inputs and configurations
• Implement proper access controls

Performance

• Use appropriate resource limits for your environment
• Monitor system performance regularly
• Optimize configuration for your use case
• Use parallel processing when beneficial
• Implement proper caching strategies
• Regular maintenance and cleanup
• Profile performance bottlenecks
• Use efficient algorithms and data structures

Operational

• Maintain comprehensive documentation
• Implement proper backup strategies
• Use version control for configurations
• Monitor and alert on critical metrics
• Implement proper error handling
• Use automation for repetitive tasks
• Regular security audits and updates
• Plan for disaster recovery

Development

• Follow coding standards and conventions
• Write comprehensive tests
• Use continuous integration/deployment
• Implement proper logging and monitoring
• Document APIs and interfaces
• Use version control effectively
• Review code regularly
• Maintain backward compatibility

Resources

Official Documentation

• Official Website
• Documentation
• API Reference
• Installation Guide
• Configuration Reference

Community Resources

• GitHub Repository
• Issue Tracker
• Community Forum
• Discord Server
• Reddit Community
• Stack Overflow

Learning Resources

• Getting Started Guide
• Tutorial Series
• Best Practices Guide
• Video Tutorials
• Training Courses
• Certification Program

Related Tools

• Git - Complementary functionality
• Docker - Alternative solution
• Kubernetes - Integration partner

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Last updated: 2025-07-06|Edit on GitHub