DNSTwist MCP server

DNStwist MCP Server is a powerful DNS fuzzing tool that helps detect typosquatting, phishing, and corporate espionage through domain analysis. It integrates with MCP-compatible applications like Claude Desktop to provide tools for analyzing domain permutations and identifying potentially malicious domains.

Requirements

• Node.js (v18 or later)
• Docker
• macOS, Linux, or Windows with Docker Desktop installed

Installation Options

Installing via Smithery

To install DNStwist for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @burtthecoder/mcp-dnstwist --client claude

Installing Manually

1. Install Docker:

   • macOS: Install Docker Desktop
   • Linux: Follow the Docker Engine installation guide

2. Install the server globally via npm:

npm install -g mcp-dnstwist

3. Add to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dnstwist": {
      "command": "mcp-dnstwist"
    }
  }
}

Configuration file location:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

4. Restart Claude Desktop

Alternative Setup (From Source)

If you prefer to run from source:

1. Clone and build:

git clone <repository_url>
cd mcp-dnstwist
npm install
npm run build

2. Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dnstwist": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/mcp-dnstwist/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Features

• Domain Fuzzing: Generate domain permutations using various algorithms
• Registration Check: Verify if permutated domains are registered
• DNS Analysis: Check A, AAAA, MX, and NS records
• Web Presence: Capture HTTP banner information
• WHOIS Data: Retrieve registration dates and registrar information
• Phishing Detection: Generate fuzzy hashes of web pages
• Configurable: Custom DNS servers and parallel processing
• Multiple Formats: Support for json, csv, and list output formats

Using the Domain Fuzzing Tool

Tool Parameters

• Name: fuzz_domain
• Description: Generate and analyze domain permutations to detect potential typosquatting, phishing, and brand impersonation
• Parameters:
  • domain (required): Domain name to analyze (e.g., example.com)
  • nameservers (optional, default: "1.1.1.1"): Comma-separated list of DNS servers
  • threads (optional, default: 50): Number of threads for parallel processing
  • format (optional, default: "json"): Output format (json, csv, list)
  • registered_only (optional, default: true): Show only registered domains
  • mxcheck (optional, default: true): Check for MX records
  • ssdeep (optional, default: false): Generate fuzzy hashes of web pages
  • banners (optional, default: true): Capture HTTP banner information

Example Usage

{
  "domain": "example.com",
  "nameservers": "1.1.1.1,8.8.8.8",
  "threads": 50,
  "format": "json",
  "registered_only": true,
  "mxcheck": true,
  "banners": true
}

Troubleshooting

Docker Issues

1. Verify Docker is installed and running:

docker --version
docker ps

2. Check Docker permissions:
   • Ensure your user has permissions to run Docker commands
   • On Linux, add your user to the docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Common Issues

1. DNS resolution problems:

   • Verify DNS servers are accessible
   • Try alternative DNS servers (e.g., 8.8.8.8)
   • Check for rate limiting or blocking

2. Performance issues:

   • Adjust thread count based on system capabilities
   • Consider network bandwidth and latency
   • Monitor DNS server response times

3. After fixing any issues:

   • Save the configuration file
   • Restart Claude Desktop

Error Messages

• "Docker is not installed or not running": Install Docker and start the Docker daemon
• "Failed to parse dnstwist output": Check if the domain is valid and the format is correct
• "Error executing dnstwist": Check Docker logs and ensure proper permissions
• "DNS server not responding": Verify DNS server accessibility and try alternative servers

Important Warning

This tool is designed for legitimate security research purposes. Please:

• Only analyze domains you own or have permission to test
• Respect rate limits and DNS server policies
• Use responsibly and ethically
• Be aware that some DNS servers may rate-limit or block automated queries
• Consider the impact on DNS infrastructure when running large scans

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "dnstwist" '{"command":"mcp-dnstwist"}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "dnstwist": {
            "command": "mcp-dnstwist"
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "dnstwist": {
            "command": "mcp-dnstwist"
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect