Course
OSINT Dojo
Sinwindie, independent
The best free place to start: an ordered, self-guided program whose ranks you earn by actually doing OSINT work, with a resource list that doubles as a map of the field.
OSINT Dojo is not a video course. It is a set of ranked requirements, Student to Shogun, that you complete on your own using other people's free material, then prove with a rank-up request and a verifiable badge. The structure is the product: it tells a beginner what to do next and will not let them skip the doing.
Worth it if
- You are new and keep bouncing between tutorials without finishing anything
- You want proof of work you can point to before you have a job title
- You learn best with a checklist and a deadline you set yourself
- You have no budget and plenty of patience
Skip it if
- You want an instructor, a cohort, or someone to answer questions
- You need a recognised certification for a job listing
- You already run cases and want depth on one technique
What is inside
- 01
Ranks with requirements
Student asks for things like taking part in a CTF, answering quizzes with your reasoning shown, recording a short walkthrough, and writing a short article. Higher ranks ask for first answers on quizzes, top placements in CTFs, or contributions to a tool.
- 02
Pre-approved challenges
Kase Scenarios, Quiztime, Sector035 quizzes, Trace Labs CTFs, and named TryHackMe rooms count toward ranks without extra review.
- 03
Resource list
Around 150 links across more than 60 topic areas, from people search to geolocation to OpSec. Some entries have aged; a retired SANS course is still listed.
- 04
Badges
Issued through Badgr after a rank-up request is checked. They are shareable and verifiable, which is more than most completion certificates offer.
What you will be able to do
- Finish a timed OSINT CTF and write up what you missed
- Explain your reasoning on a geolocation or verification quiz, not just the answer
- Produce a short public artefact, an article or a walkthrough, that shows your method
- Know which free resources cover which part of the field
How current it is
The site is live and people were still earning badges in 2025. There are no dated posts for 2025 or 2026, the homepage video block was empty when checked, and the resource list names a course SANS retired after 2022. Treat the structure as sound and the links as needing a check. How quickly rank-up requests are processed today is not something we could confirm.
- Updated
- Live site, 2026; resource list partly dated
- Maintained
- Updated now and then
How to get the most from it
- 01
Read the Student rank, then start a log
Every requirement produces evidence. Keep one document with dates, links, and what you learned so the rank-up form writes itself.
- 02
Use the pre-approved challenges first
They need no extra review and they are the better practice venues anyway. Trace Labs and the TryHackMe rooms are the easiest to begin with.
- 03
Treat the resource list as a map, not a syllabus
Pick one topic area per week. Check each link still resolves before you rely on it.
- 04
Pair it with one community
The Dojo deliberately hosts no chat. Join a moderated Discord to ask questions and find CTF teammates.
Strengths
- Forces output: you cannot advance by watching
- Free, and honest about costing only time
- Badges are verifiable, unlike a PDF certificate
- Points at the wider field instead of locking you in
Limitations
- No instructor and no community of its own
- Maintenance activity since 2024 is hard to see from outside
- Parts of the resource list are stale
- Badges carry weight with other practitioners, less with recruiters
Pair it with
- ReadCommunityFreeAll levels
Trace Labs
A pre-approved CTF venue with the ethics rules the Dojo expects you to follow.
- ReadCourseFree + paidBeginner
TryHackMe OSINT rooms
Several rooms count toward Dojo ranks and take under an hour each.
- ReadCommunityFreeBeginner
Project Owl: The OSINT Community
The chat room the Dojo does not have; linked from its own resources page.
- ReadBookPaidIntermediate
OSINT Techniques
When the free map is not enough and you want one manual for the whole desk.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Is there an OSINT Dojo Discord?
No official one. The Dojo is deliberately platform-agnostic and expects you to join existing communities. Its resources page links to Project Owl, Trace Labs, and others.
Do the badges mean anything to employers?
They show sustained effort and verifiable output, which is more than most certificates. They are not a credential recruiters search for. Use them as evidence in a conversation, not as a line that opens doors on its own.
How long does it take to reach Shogun?
At least a year, because every rank has a minimum time before you can move up. The point is the practice along the way, not the final badge.
Learned the method? Practise it on real data
The resources above teach the craft. When you want to run real lookups across breach, people, domain, and crypto sources without opening a dozen vendor accounts, that is what SearchIn is for.
- Free account, no card
- Credits never expire
- Refund unused balance in 7 days