ghunt/sh

// windows users

GHunt for Windows, without the install pain

The original GHunt is a Python CLI. Running it on Windows means installing Python, configuring the PATH, juggling virtualenvs and getting the Companion browser extension to capture a Google session. ghunt.sh skips all of that. Open the URL on any Windows browser, paste an email, get the report.

Run GHunt now

Why GHunt on Windows is harder than on Linux or Mac

GHunt was written for a Unix-style environment. The instructions in the README assume you have a working Python toolchain and a terminal that behaves like bash. Windows is not that environment by default. On Windows, even the supposedly simple parts of the install create real friction:

  • Python install. You need Python 3.10 or newer. The Microsoft Store version of Python sometimes works and sometimes does not, depending on which version is current. Installing from python.org means manually ticking "Add Python to PATH" or you spend an hour figuring out why your terminal cannot find python or pip.
  • Virtual environments. Activating a venv on Windows uses a different command than on Linux, and PowerShell will block the activation script unless you change the execution policy first. People give up here regularly.
  • pip on Windows. Some Python dependencies need build tools that are not installed by default. You may end up downloading the Visual Studio Build Tools just to get a single dependency to compile.
  • Antivirus. Corporate Windows machines often block Python scripts that hit unusual endpoints, which is exactly what GHunt does.
  • WSL is not a free pass. Some guides tell you to run GHunt inside WSL on Windows. WSL works, but installing WSL itself is a multi-step process that requires elevated rights, and once you are in WSL you still need to install Python and the Companion extension separately.
  • Companion extension. Even after you get the CLI installed, you still need the browser extension to capture a Google session. The extension is not always available in every browser and gets broken by Google updates.

None of these are dealbreakers individually. Together they turn a five-minute idea ("let me check this email") into an afternoon of debugging.

The simple Windows path: use ghunt.sh in a browser

ghunt.sh is built to remove every one of those steps. It runs the same lookups as the original GHunt, but you reach it from a URL. Windows users get:

  • No Python install, no PATH config.
  • No virtualenv to activate, no PowerShell execution-policy fight.
  • No pip, no compile errors, no build tools.
  • No Companion extension to manage.
  • Works in Edge, Chrome, Firefox or any other Windows browser.
  • Same workflow on Windows, Mac and Linux, so a tutorial you read does not need to be Windows-specific.

What you can do from a Windows browser

From a Windows machine, in any browser, you can run a full GHunt-style lookup against a Google email address and recover:

  • The public Google profile, including display name, photo, cover and locale.
  • The Gaia ID and the related pivot identifiers.
  • Whether the account is a personal Gmail or a Workspace account.
  • Public Google Maps contributions: reviews, photos, places added.
  • Public Google Calendar entries, when the account exposes one.
  • The Play Games profile when present.

You also get a PDF export of the report, which is something the CLI does not give you. That is useful on Windows because it means you can immediately drop the report into a OneDrive folder, an Outlook draft, or a Teams chat without writing any tooling.

When you might still want the CLI on Windows

The CLI on Windows is the right call only in narrow cases:

  • You are scripting GHunt into a larger Windows pipeline and you need raw JSON locally.
  • You are on a Windows machine that you fully control and you have a strict requirement that lookups originate from your own Google credentials.
  • You are a developer who happens to use Windows and contributing to the framework.

Outside of those, ghunt.sh covers your case with no setup. See the longer comparison between the web version and the CLI for the broader picture.

How to use ghunt.sh on Windows

  1. Open ghunt.sh in Edge, Chrome, Firefox or any other Windows browser.
  2. Paste a Google email into the search box.
  3. Hit Hunt. Wait a few seconds.
  4. Read the consolidated report. Use the PDF button to save or share it.

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