Google Dorks: A Simple Cheat Sheet

A Google dork is just a search query that uses one or more advanced operators. The operators are useful for tailoring search results: finding a PDF, searching one specific website or excluding noisy results.

Below is a cheat sheet. Put no space between an operator and its value: use site:example.com, not site: example.com.

| Operator | What it does | Example | |---|---|---| | site: | Limits results to a domain, URL or URL prefix | site:example.com accessibility | | inurl: | Finds a word in the URL | inurl:docs accessibility | | allinurl: | Finds all the following words in the URL | allinurl:docs api authentication | | intitle: | Finds a word or phrase in the page title | intitle:"beginner's guide" | | allintitle: | Finds all the following words in the page title | allintitle:home energy guide | | intext: | Finds a word or phrase in the page body | intext:"dependency injection" | | allintext: | Finds all the following words in the page body | allintext:home energy efficiency | | filetype: | Limits results to a file type | filetype:pdf annual report | | ext: | Common alias for filetype: | ext:csv population | | before: | Finds pages published or updated before a date | before:2025-01-01 electric cars | | after: | Finds pages published or updated after a date | after:2026-01-01 renewable energy | | "..." | Matches an exact word or phrase | "structured concurrency" | | - | Excludes a word, phrase or operator | jaguar speed -car | | OR or | | Matches either query | marathon OR race | | Space | Acts like AND; both terms are required | solar panel maintenance | | * | Stands in for one or more unknown words | "largest * in the world" | | .. | Matches a number range | camera 2020..2025 | | ( ) | Groups parts of a more complex query | (train OR bus) timetable | | related: | Looks for sites related to a domain; results can be inconsistent | related:bbc.co.uk | | define: | Shows a definition | define:idempotent | | imagesize: | Finds pages containing an image of an exact size; Google Images only | imagesize:1200x800 landscape | | src: | Finds pages referencing a particular image URL; Google Images only | src:example.com/image.png | | cache: | Requested Google's cached copy; now retired and generally does not work | cache:example.com | | info: | Requested information about a URL; now retired and generally does not work | info:example.com |

Reliability

Google does not promise that operator results are exhaustive. Some undocumented operators work inconsistently or disappear over time.

Responsible use

Dorks are incredibly powerful and as a result are incredibly popular with hackers. They often use them to find known vulnerabilities across many sites or targeet a specific domain and scan common issues.

Resources

• https://developers.google.com/search/docs/monitor-debug/search-operators