Merge branch 'freelabz-fix/lxml-python314'

* Initial plan

* Fix crash on -a --self-check by adding exception handling in site_self_check and self_check

Wrap the body of site_self_check in try/except to catch unexpected errors
and always return a valid changes dict. Also add a safety-net try/except
in self_check around awaiting individual site check futures so that a
single site failure doesn't crash the entire self-check process.

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/soxoj/maigret/sessions/5e27d620-5cbb-43d2-a9f9-ecb53a29904d

Co-authored-by: soxoj <31013580+soxoj@users.noreply.github.com>

* Restore @pytest.mark.slow on test_maigret_results

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/soxoj/maigret/sessions/5e27d620-5cbb-43d2-a9f9-ecb53a29904d

Co-authored-by: soxoj <31013580+soxoj@users.noreply.github.com>

* Document --self-check error resilience, --auto-disable, and --diagnose in docs/

Update command-line-options.rst with expanded --self-check description
and new --auto-disable and --diagnose entries. Add a "Database self-check"
section to features.rst explaining error-resilient behaviour and usage
examples. Update usage-examples.rst to reference --auto-disable.

Agent-Logs-Url: https://github.com/soxoj/maigret/sessions/af1f0f09-9112-4902-8475-e81d235ff3ed

Co-authored-by: soxoj <31013580+soxoj@users.noreply.github.com>

---------

Co-authored-by: copilot-swe-agent[bot] <198982749+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: soxoj <31013580+soxoj@users.noreply.github.com>

.githooks/pre-commit

@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 echo 'Activating update_sitesmd hook script...'
-poetry run update_sitesmd
+poetry run update_sitesmd
+
+echo 'Regenerating db_meta.json...'
+python3 utils/generate_db_meta.py
+
+git add maigret/resources/db_meta.json
+git add maigret/resources/data.json
+git add sites.md

.github/workflows/update-site-data.yml

@@ -27,6 +27,9 @@ jobs:
         pip3 install .
         python3 ./utils/update_site_data.py --empty-only
 
+    - name: Regenerate db_meta.json
+      run: python3 utils/generate_db_meta.py
+
     - name: Remove ambiguous main tag
       run: git tag -d main || true
 

.gitignore

@@ -42,4 +42,5 @@ settings.json
 
 # other
 *.egg-info
-build
+build
+LLM

LICENSE

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 MIT License
 
-Copyright (c) 2019 Sherlock Project
-Copyright (c) 2020-2021 Soxoj
+Copyright (c) 2020-2026 Soxoj
 
 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
 of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal

LLM/site-checks-guide.md

@@ -1,452 +0,0 @@
-# Site checks — guide (Maigret)
-
-Working document for future changes: workflow, findings from reviews, and practical steps. See also [`site-checks-playbook.md`](site-checks-playbook.md) (short checklist), [`socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log) (proposals for upstream identity extraction), and the code in [`maigret/checking.py`](../maigret/checking.py).
-
-**Documentation maintenance:** whenever you improve Maigret, add search tooling, or change check logic, update **this file** and [`site-checks-playbook.md`](site-checks-playbook.md) in sync (see the section at the end). If you change rules about the JSON API check or the `socid_extractor` log format, update **[`socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log)** (template / header) together with this guide.
-
----
-
-## 1. How checks work
-
-Logic lives in `process_site_result` ([`maigret/checking.py`](../maigret/checking.py)):
-
-| `checkType` | Meaning |
-|-------------|---------|
-| `message` | Profile is “found” if the HTML contains **none** of the `absenceStrs` substrings **and** at least one `presenseStrs` marker matches. If `presenseStrs` is **empty**, presence is treated as true for **any** page (risky configuration). |
-| `status_code` | HTTP **2xx** is enough — only safe if the server does **not** return 200 for “user not found”. |
-| `response_url` | Custom flow with **redirects disabled** so the status/URL of the *first* response can be used. |
-
-For other `checkType` values, [`make_site_result`](../maigret/checking.py) sets **`allow_redirects=True`**: the client follows redirects and `process_site_result` sees the **final** response body and status (not the pre-redirect hop). You do **not** need to “turn on” follow-redirect separately for most sites.
-
-Sites with an `engine` field (e.g. XenForo) are merged with a template from the `engines` section in [`maigret/resources/data.json`](../maigret/resources/data.json) ([`MaigretSite.update_from_engine`](../maigret/sites.py)).
-
-### `urlProbe`: probe URL vs reported profile URL
-
-- **`url`** — pattern for the **public profile page** users should open (what appears in reports as `url_user`). Supports `{username}`, `{urlMain}`, `{urlSubpath}`; the username segment is URL-encoded when the string is built ([`make_site_result`](../maigret/checking.py)).
-- **`urlProbe`** (optional) — if set, Maigret sends the HTTP **GET** (or HEAD where applicable) to **this** URL for the check, instead of to `url`. Same placeholders. Use it when the reliable signal is a **JSON/API** endpoint but the human-facing link must stay on the main site (e.g. `https://picsart.com/u/{username}` + probe `https://api.picsart.com/users/show/{username}.json`, or GitHub’s `https://github.com/{username}` + `https://api.github.com/users/{username}`).
-
-If `urlProbe` is omitted, the probe URL defaults to `url`.
-
-### Redirects and final URL as a signal
-
-If the **HTML shell** looks the same for “user exists” and “user does not exist” (typical SPA), it is still worth checking whether the **server** behaves differently:
-
-- **Final URL** after redirects (e.g. profile canonical URL vs `/404` path).
-- **Redirect chain** length or target host (e.g. lander vs profile).
-
-If that differs reliably, you may be able to use **`checkType`: `response_url`** in [`data.json`](../maigret/resources/data.json) (no auto-follow) or extend logic — but only when the difference is stable.
-
-**Server-side HTTP vs client-side navigation.** Maigret follows **HTTP** redirects only; it does **not** run JavaScript. If the browser shows a navigation to `/u/name/posts` or `/not-found` **after** the SPA bundle loads, that may never appear as an extra hop in `curl`/aiohttp — only a **trailing-slash** `301` might show up. Always confirm with `curl -sIL` / a small script whether the **Location** chain differs for real vs fake users before relying on URL-based rules.
-
-**Empirical check (claimed vs non-existent usernames, `GET` with follow redirects, no JS):**
-
-| Site | Result |
-|------|--------|
-| **Kaskus** | No HTTP redirects beyond the request path; same generic `<title>` and near-identical body length — **no** discriminating signal from redirects alone. |
-| **Bibsonomy** | Both requests redirect to **`/pow-challenge/?return=/user/...`** (proof-of-work). Only the `return` path changes with the username; **both** existing and fake hit the same challenge flow — not a profile-vs-missing distinction. |
-| **Picsart (web UI `https://picsart.com/u/{username}`)** | Only a **trailing-slash** `301`; the first HTML is the same empty app shell (~3 KiB) for real and fake users. Browser-only routes such as `…/posts` vs `…/not-found` are **not** visible as additional HTTP redirects in this pipeline. |
-
-**Picsart — workable check via public API.** The site exposes **`https://api.picsart.com/users/show/{username}.json`**: JSON with `"status":"success"` and a user object when the account exists, and `"reason":"user_not_found"` when it does not. Put that URL in **`urlProbe`**, set **`url`** to the web profile pattern **`https://picsart.com/u/{username}`**, and use **`checkType`: `message`** with narrow `presenseStrs` / `absenceStrs` so reports show the human link while the request hits the API (see **`urlProbe`** above).
-
-For **Kaskus** and **Bibsonomy**, HTTP-level comparison still does **not** unlock a safe check without PoW / richer signals; keep **`disabled: true`** until something stable appears (API, SSR markers, etc.).
-
----
-
-## 2. Standard checks: public JSON API and `socid_extractor` log
-
-### 2.1 Public JSON API (always)
-
-When diagnosing a site—especially **SPAs**, **soft 404s**, or **near-identical HTML** for real vs fake users—**routinely look for a public JSON (or JSON-like) API** used for profile or user lookup. Typical leads: paths containing `/api/`, `/v1/`, `graphql`, `users/show`, `.json` suffixes, or the same endpoints mobile apps use. Verify with `curl` (or the Maigret request path) that **claimed** and **unclaimed** usernames produce **reliably different** bodies or status codes. If such an endpoint is more stable than HTML, put it in **`urlProbe`** and keep **`url`** as the canonical profile page on the main site (see **`urlProbe`** in section 1). If there is no separate public URL for humans, you may still point **`url`** at the API only (reports will show that URL).
-
-This is a **standard** part of site-check work, not an optional extra.
-
-### 2.2 Mandatory: [`LLM/socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log)
-
-If you discover **either**:
-
-1. **JSON embedded in HTML** with user/profile fields (inline scripts, `__NEXT_DATA__`, `application/ld+json`, hydration blobs, etc.), or  
-2. A **standalone JSON HTTP response** (public API) with user/profile data for that service,
-
-you **must append** a proposal block to **[`LLM/socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log)**.
-
-**Why:** Maigret calls [`socid_extractor.extract`](https://pypi.org/project/socid-extractor/) on the response body ([`extract_ids_data` in `checking.py`](../maigret/checking.py)) to fill `ids_data`. New payloads usually need a **new scheme** upstream (`flags`, `regex`, optional `extract_json`, `fields`, optional `url_mutations` / `transforms`), matching patterns such as **`GitHub API`** or **`Gitlab API`** in `socid_extractor`’s `schemes.py`.
-
-**Each log entry must include:**
-
-- **Date** — ISO `YYYY-MM-DD` (day you add the entry).  
-- **Example username** — Prefer the site’s `usernameClaimed` from `data.json`, or any account that reproduces the payload.  
-- **Proposal** — Use the **block template** in the log file: detection idea, optional URL mutation, and field mappings in the same style as existing schemes.
-
-If the service is **already covered** by an existing `socid_extractor` scheme, add a **short** entry anyway (date, example username, scheme name, “already implemented”) so there is an audit trail.
-
-Do **not** paste secrets, cookies, or full private JSON; short key names and structure hints are enough.
-
----
-
-## 3. Improvement workflow
-
-### Phase A — Reproduce
-
-1. Targeted run:
-   ```bash
-   maigret --db /path/to/maigret/resources/data.json \
-     TEST_USERNAME \
-     --site "SiteName" \
-     --print-not-found --print-errors \
-     --no-progressbar -vv
-   ```
-2. Run separately with a **real** existing username and a **definitely non-existent** one (as `usernameClaimed` / `usernameUnclaimed` in JSON).
-3. If needed: `-vvv` and `debug.log` (raw response).
-4. Automated pair check:
-   ```bash
-   maigret --db ... --self-check --site "SiteName" --no-progressbar
-   ```
-
-### Phase B — Classify the cause
-
-| Symptom | Likely cause |
-|---------|----------------|
-| False “found” with `status_code` | Soft 404 (200 on a “not found” page). |
-| False “found” with `message` | Overly broad `presenseStrs` (`name`, `email`, JSON keys) or stale `absenceStrs`. |
-| Same HTML for different users | SPA / skeleton shell before hydration — also compare **final URL / redirect chain** (see above); if still identical, often `disabled`. |
-| Login page instead of profile | XenForo etc.: guest, `ignore403`, “must be logged in” strings. |
-| reCAPTCHA / “Checking your browser” / “not a bot” | Bot protection; Maigret’s default User-Agent may worsen the response. |
-| Redirect to another domain / lander | Stale URL template. |
-
-### Phase C — Edits in [`data.json`](../maigret/resources/data.json)
-
-1. Update `url` / `urlMain` if needed (HTTPS, new profile path).
-2. Replace inappropriate `status_code` with `message` (or `response_url`), choosing:
-   - **`absenceStrs`** — only what reliably appears on the “user does not exist” page;
-   - **`presenseStrs`** — narrow markers of a real profile (avoid generic words).
-3. For XenForo: override only fields that differ in the site entry; do not break the global `engines` template.
-4. Refresh `usernameClaimed` / `usernameUnclaimed` if reference accounts disappeared.
-5. Set **`headers`** (e.g. another `User-Agent`) if the site serves a captcha only to “suspicious” clients.
-6. Use **`errors`**: HTML substring → meaningful check error (UNKNOWN), so it is not confused with “available”.
-
-### Phase D — Decision criteria
-
-| Outcome | When to use |
-|---------|-------------|
-| **Check fixed** | The `claimed` / `unclaimed` pair behaves predictably, `--self-check` passes, no regression on a similar site with the same engine. |
-| **Check disabled** (`disabled: true`) | Cloudflare / anti-bot / login required / indistinguishable SPA without stable markers. |
-| **Entry removed** | **Only** if the domain/service is gone (NXDOMAIN, clearly dead project), not “because it is hard to fix”. |
-
-### Phase E — Before commit
-
-- `maigret --self-check` for affected sites.
-- `make test`.
-
----
-
-## 4. Findings from reviews (concrete site batch)
-
-Summary from an earlier false-positive review for: OpenSea, Mercado Livre, Redtube, Tom’s Guide, Kaggle, Kaskus, Livemaster, TechPowerUp, authorSTREAM, Bibsonomy, Bulbagarden, iXBT, Serebii, Picsart, Hashnode, hi5.
-
-### What most often broke checks
-
-1. **`status_code` where content checks are needed** — soft 404 with status 200.
-2. **Broad `presenseStrs`** — matches on error pages or generic SPA shells.
-3. **XenForo + guest** — HTML includes strings like “You must be logged in” that overlap the engine template.
-4. **User-Agent** — on some sites (e.g. Kaggle) the default UA triggered a reCAPTCHA page instead of profile HTML; a deliberate `User-Agent` in site `headers` helped.
-5. **SPAs and redirects** — identical first HTML, redirect to lander / another product (hi5 → Tagged), URL format changes by region (Mercado Livre).
-
-### What worked as a fix
-
-- Switching to **`message`** with narrow strings from **`<title>`** or unique markup where stable (**Kaggle**, **Mercado Livre**, **Hashnode**).
-- For **Kaggle**, additionally: **`headers`**, **`errors`** for browser-check text.
-- **Redtube** stayed valid on **`status_code`** with a stable **404** for non-existent users.
-- **Picsart**: the web profile URL is a thin SPA shell; use the **JSON API** (`api.picsart.com/users/show/{username}.json`) in **`url`** with **`message`**-style markers (`"status":"success"` vs `user_not_found`), not the browser-only `/posts` vs `/not-found` navigation.
-- For **Weblate / Anubis Anti-Bot**: Setting `headers` with a basic script User-Agent (e.g. `python-requests/2.25.1`) rather than the default browser UA completely bypassed the Anubis Proof-of-Work challenge HTTP 307 redirect, instantly recovering the native HTTP 404 framework.
-
-### What required disabling checks
-
-Where you **cannot** reliably tell “profile exists” from “no profile” without bypassing protection, login, or full JS:
-
-- Anti-bot / captcha / “not a bot” page;
-- Guest-only access to the needed page;
-- SPA with indistinguishable first response;
-- Forums returning **403** and a login page instead of a member profile for the member-search URL;
-- Stale URLs that redirect to a stub.
-
-In those cases **`disabled: true`** is better than false “found”; remove the DB entry only on **actual** domain death.
-
-### Code notes
-
-- For the `status_code` branch in `process_site_result`, use **strict** comparison `check_type == "status_code"`, not a substring match inside `"status_code"`.
-- Treat empty `presenseStrs` with `message` as risky: when debugging, watch DEBUG-level logs if that diagnostics exists in code.
-
----
-
-## 5. Future ideas (Maigret improvements)
-
-- A mode or script: one site, two usernames, print statuses and first N bytes of the response (wrapper around `maigret()`).
-- Document in CLI help that **`--use-disabled-sites`** is needed to analyze disabled entries.
-
----
-
-## 6. Development utilities
-
-### 6.1 `utils/site_check.py` — Single site diagnostics
-
-A comprehensive utility for testing individual sites with multiple modes:
-
-```bash
-# Basic comparison of claimed vs unclaimed (aiohttp)
-python utils/site_check.py --site "VK" --check-claimed
-
-# Test via Maigret's checker directly
-python utils/site_check.py --site "VK" --maigret
-
-# Compare aiohttp vs Maigret results (find discrepancies)
-python utils/site_check.py --site "VK" --compare-methods
-
-# Full diagnosis with recommendations
-python utils/site_check.py --site "VK" --diagnose
-
-# Test with custom URL
-python utils/site_check.py --url "https://example.com/{username}" --compare user1 user2
-
-# Find a valid username for a site
-python utils/site_check.py --site "VK" --find-user
-```
-
-**Key features:**
-- `--maigret` — Uses Maigret's actual checking code, not raw aiohttp
-- `--compare-methods` — Shows if aiohttp and Maigret see different results (useful for debugging)
-- `--diagnose` — Validates checkType against actual responses, suggests fixes
-- Color output with markers detection (captcha, cloudflare, login, etc.)
-- `--json` flag for machine-readable output
-
-**When to use each mode:**
-
-| Mode | Use case |
-|------|----------|
-| `--check-claimed` | Quick sanity check: do claimed/unclaimed still differ? |
-| `--maigret` | Verify Maigret's actual behavior matches expectations |
-| `--compare-methods` | Debug "works in curl but fails in Maigret" issues |
-| `--diagnose` | Full analysis when a site is broken, get fix recommendations |
-
-### 6.2 `utils/check_top_n.py` — Mass site checking
-
-Batch-check top N sites by Alexa rank with categorized reporting:
-
-```bash
-# Check top 100 sites
-python utils/check_top_n.py --top 100
-
-# Faster with more parallelism
-python utils/check_top_n.py --top 100 --parallel 10
-
-# Output JSON report
-python utils/check_top_n.py --top 100 --output report.json
-
-# Only show broken sites
-python utils/check_top_n.py --top 100 --only-broken
-```
-
-**Output categories:**
-- `working` — Site check passes
-- `broken` — Check fails (wrong status, missing markers)
-- `timeout` — Request timed out
-- `anti_bot` — 403/429 or captcha detected
-- `error` — Connection or other errors
-- `disabled` — Already disabled in data.json
-
-**Report includes:**
-- Summary counts by category
-- List of broken sites with issues
-- Recommendations for fixes (e.g., "Switch to checkType: status_code")
-
-### 6.3 Self-check behavior (`--self-check`)
-
-The self-check command has been improved to be less aggressive:
-
-```bash
-# Check sites WITHOUT auto-disabling (default)
-maigret --self-check --site "VK"
-
-# Auto-disable failing sites (old behavior)
-maigret --self-check --site "VK" --auto-disable
-
-# Show detailed diagnosis for each failure
-maigret --self-check --site "VK" --diagnose
-```
-
-**Behavior changes:**
-
-| Flag | Effect |
-|------|--------|
-| `--self-check` alone | Reports issues but does NOT disable sites |
-| `--auto-disable` | Automatically disables sites that fail (opt-in) |
-| `--diagnose` | Prints detailed diagnosis with recommendations |
-
-**Why this matters:**
-- Old behavior was too aggressive — sites got disabled without explanation
-- New behavior reports issues and suggests fixes
-- Explicit `--auto-disable` required to modify database
-
----
-
-## 7. Lessons learned (practical observations)
-
-Collected from hands-on work fixing top-ranked sites (Reddit, Wikipedia, Microsoft Learn, Baidu, etc.).
-
-### 7.1 JSON API is the first thing to look for
-
-Both Reddit and Microsoft Learn had working public APIs that solved the problem entirely. The web pages were SPAs or blocked by anti-bot measures, but the APIs worked reliably:
-
-- **Reddit**: `https://api.reddit.com/user/{username}/about` — returns JSON with user data or `{"message": "Not Found", "error": 404}`.
-- **Microsoft Learn**: `https://learn.microsoft.com/api/profiles/{username}` — returns JSON with `userName` field or HTTP 404.
-
-This confirms the playbook recommendation: always check for `/api/`, `.json`, GraphQL endpoints before giving up on a site.
-
-### 7.2 `urlProbe` is a powerful tool
-
-It separates "what we check" (API) from "what we show the user" (human-readable profile URL). Reddit is a perfect example:
-
-```json
-{
-  "url": "https://www.reddit.com/user/{username}",
-  "urlProbe": "https://api.reddit.com/user/{username}/about",
-  "checkType": "message",
-  "presenseStrs": ["\"name\":"],
-  "absenceStrs": ["Not Found"]
-}
-```
-
-The check hits the API, but reports display `www.reddit.com/user/blue`.
-
-### 7.3 aiohttp ≠ curl ≠ requests
-
-Wikipedia returned HTTP 200 for `curl` and Python `requests`, but HTTP 403 for `aiohttp`. This is **TLS fingerprinting** — the server identifies the HTTP library by cryptographic characteristics of the TLS handshake, not by headers.
-
-**Key insight:** Changing `User-Agent` does **not** help against TLS fingerprinting. Always test with aiohttp directly (or via Maigret with `-vvv` and `debug.log`), not just `curl`.
-
-```python
-# This returns 403 for Wikipedia even with browser UA:
-async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
-    async with session.get(url, headers={"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 ..."}) as resp:
-        print(resp.status)  # 403
-```
-
-### 7.4 HTTP 403 in Maigret can mean different things
-
-Initially it seemed Wikipedia was returning 403, but `curl` showed 200. Only `debug.log` revealed the real picture — aiohttp was getting blocked at TLS level.
-
-**Lesson:** Use `-vvv` flag and inspect `debug.log` for raw response status and body. The warning message alone may be misleading.
-
-### 7.5 Dead services migrate, not disappear
-
-MSDN Social and TechNet profiles redirected to Microsoft Learn. Instead of deleting old entries:
-
-1. Keep old entries with `disabled: true` as historical record.
-2. Create a new entry for the current service with working API.
-
-This preserves audit trail and avoids breaking existing workflows.
-
-### 7.6 `status_code` is more reliable than `message` for APIs
-
-Microsoft Learn API returns HTTP 404 for non-existent users — a clean signal without HTML parsing. For JSON APIs that return proper HTTP status codes, `status_code` is often the best choice:
-
-```json
-{
-  "checkType": "status_code",
-  "urlProbe": "https://learn.microsoft.com/api/profiles/{username}"
-}
-```
-
-No need for fragile string matching when the API speaks HTTP correctly.
-
-### 7.8 Engine templates can silently break across many sites
-
-The **vBulletin** engine template has `absenceStrs` in five languages ("This user has not registered…", "Пользователь не зарегистрирован…", etc.). In a batch review of ~12 vBulletin forums (oneclickchicks, mirf, Pesiq, VKMOnline, forum.zone-game.info, etc.), **none** of the absence strings matched — the forums returned identical pages for both claimed and unclaimed usernames. Root cause: many of these forums require login to view member profiles, so they serve a generic page (no "user not registered" message at all) instead of an informative error.
-
-**Lesson:** When a whole engine class shows false positives, do not patch sites one by one — check whether the **engine template** itself still matches the actual error pages. A template written for one version/language pack may silently stop working after a forum upgrade or config change.
-
-### 7.9 Search-by-author URLs are architecturally unreliable
-
-Several sites (OnanistovNet, Shoppingzone, Pogovorim, Astrogalaxy, Sexwin) used a phpBB-style `search.php?keywords=&terms=all&author={username}` URL as the check endpoint. This searches for **posts** by that author, not for the user account itself. Even if the markers worked, a user who exists but has zero posts would be indistinguishable from a non-existent user. And in practice, the sites changed their response format — some now return HTTP 404, others dropped the expected Russian absence text altogether.
-
-**Lesson:** Avoid author-search URLs as the check endpoint; they test "has posts" rather than "account exists" and are doubly fragile (both logic mismatch and format drift).
-
-### 7.10 Some sites generate a page for any path — permanent false positives
-
-Two distinct patterns:
-
-- **Pbase** creates a stub page titled "pbase Artist {username}" for **every** URL, real or fake. Both return HTTP 200 with nearly identical content (~3.3 KB). No markers can distinguish them.
-- **ffm.bio** is even trickier: for the non-existent username `a.slomkoowski` it generated a page titled "mr.a" with description "a is a", apparently fuzzy-matching the path to the closest real entry. Both return HTTP 200 with large, content-rich pages.
-
-**Lesson:** Before writing markers for a site, verify that the "unclaimed" URL actually produces an **error-like** response (different status, different title, unique error text). If the site always returns a plausible-looking page, no combination of `presenseStrs` / `absenceStrs` will help — `disabled: true` is the only safe option.
-
-### 7.11 TLS fingerprinting can degrade over time (Kaggle)
-
-Kaggle was previously fixed with a custom `User-Agent` header and `errors` for the "Checking your browser" captcha page. In the latest batch review, aiohttp receives HTTP 404 with identical content for **both** claimed and unclaimed usernames — the site now blocks the entire request before it reaches the profile page. This matches the TLS fingerprinting pattern seen earlier with Wikipedia (section 7.3), but here the degradation happened **after** a working fix was already in place.
-
-**Lesson:** Sites that rely on bot-detection can tighten their rules at any time. A working `User-Agent` override today may fail tomorrow. When a previously fixed site starts returning identical responses for both usernames, suspect TLS fingerprinting first, and accept `disabled: true` if no public API is available.
-
-### 7.12 API endpoints may bypass Cloudflare even when the main site is blocked
-
-All four Fandom wikis returned HTTP 403 with a Cloudflare "Just a moment..." challenge when aiohttp accessed the user profile page (`/wiki/User:{username}`). However, the **MediaWiki API** on the same domain (`/api.php?action=query&list=users&ususers={username}&format=json`) returned clean JSON without any challenge. Similarly, **Substack** served a captcha-laden SPA for `/@{username}`, but its `public_profile` API (`/api/v1/user/{username}/public_profile`) responded with proper JSON and correct HTTP 404 for missing users.
-
-This is likely because API routes are excluded from the Cloudflare WAF rules or use a different pipeline than the HTML-serving paths.
-
-**Lesson:** When a site's main pages are blocked by Cloudflare or similar WAF, still check API endpoints on the **same domain** — they may not go through the same protection layer. This is especially true for:
-- MediaWiki's `api.php` on wiki farms (Fandom, Wikia, self-hosted MediaWiki)
-- REST API paths (`/api/v1/`, `/api/v2/`) on SPA-heavy sites
-- Internal data endpoints that the SPA itself calls
-
-### 7.13 GraphQL APIs often support GET, not just POST
-
-**hashnode** exposes a GraphQL endpoint at `https://gql.hashnode.com`. While GraphQL is typically associated with POST requests, many implementations also support **GET** with the query passed as a URL parameter. This is critical for Maigret, which only supports GET/HEAD for `urlProbe`.
-
-```
-GET https://gql.hashnode.com?query=%7Buser(username%3A%20%22melwinalm%22)%20%7B%20name%20username%20%7D%7D
-→ {"data":{"user":{"name":"Melwin D'Almeida","username":"melwinalm"}}}
-
-GET https://gql.hashnode.com?query=%7Buser(username%3A%20%22a.slomkoowski%22)%20%7B%20name%20username%20%7D%7D
-→ {"data":{"user":null}}
-```
-
-**Lesson:** Before giving up on a GraphQL-only site, try the same query via GET with `?query=...` (URL-encoded). Many GraphQL servers accept both methods.
-
-### 7.14 URL-encoding resolves template placeholder conflicts
-
-The hashnode GraphQL query `{user(username: "{username}") { name }}` contains curly braces that conflict with Maigret's `{username}` placeholder — Python's `str.format()` would raise a `KeyError` on `{user(username...}`.
-
-The fix: URL-encode the GraphQL braces (`{` → `%7B`, `}` → `%7D`) but leave `{username}` as-is. Python's `.format()` only interprets literal `{…}` as placeholders, not `%7B…%7D`, and the GraphQL server decodes the percent-encoding on its end:
-
-```
-urlProbe: https://gql.hashnode.com?query=%7Buser(username%3A%20%22{username}%22)%20%7B%20name%20username%20%7D%7D
-```
-
-After `.format(username="melwinalm")`:
-```
-https://gql.hashnode.com?query=%7Buser(username%3A%20%22melwinalm%22)%20%7B%20name%20username%20%7D%7D
-```
-
-**Lesson:** When a `urlProbe` needs literal curly braces (GraphQL, JSON in URL, etc.), percent-encode them. This is a general technique for any `data.json` URL field processed by `.format()`.
-
-### 7.7 The playbook classification works
-
-The decision tree from the documentation accurately describes real-world cases:
-
-| Situation | Playbook says | Actual result |
-|-----------|---------------|---------------|
-| Captcha (Baidu) | `disabled: true` | Correct |
-| TLS fingerprinting (Wikipedia) | `disabled: true` (anti-bot) | Correct |
-| Working API available (Reddit, MS Learn) | Use `urlProbe` | Correct |
-| Service migrated (MSDN → MS Learn) | Update URL or create new entry | Correct |
-
----
-
-## Documentation maintenance
-
-For any of the changes below, **always** keep these artifacts in sync — this file ([`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md)), [`site-checks-playbook.md`](site-checks-playbook.md), and (when rules or templates change) the header/template in [`socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log):
-
-- Maigret code changes (including [`maigret/checking.py`](../maigret/checking.py), request executors, CLI);
-- New or changed search tools / helper utilities for site checks;
-- Changes to rules or semantics of `checkType`, `data.json` fields, self-check, etc.;
-- Changes to the **public JSON API** diagnostic step or **mandatory** `socid_extractor` logging rules.
-
-Prefer updating the guide, playbook, and log template in one commit or in the same task so instructions do not diverge. **Append-only:** new proposals go at the bottom of `socid_extractor_improvements.log`; do not delete historical entries when editing the template.

LLM/site-checks-playbook.md

@@ -1,87 +0,0 @@
-# Site checks — playbook (Maigret)
-
-Short checklist for edits to [`maigret/resources/data.json`](../maigret/resources/data.json) and, when needed, [`maigret/checking.py`](../maigret/checking.py). Full guide: [`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md). Upstream extraction proposals: [`socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log).
-
-**Documentation maintenance:** whenever you improve Maigret, add search tooling, or change check logic, update **both** this file and [`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md) (see the “Documentation maintenance” section at the end of that file). When JSON API / `socid_extractor` logging rules change, update the **template header** in [`socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log) in the same change.
-
-## 0. Standard checks (do alongside reproduce / classify)
-
-- **Public JSON API:** always look for a stable JSON (or GraphQL JSON) profile endpoint (`/api/`, `.json`, mobile-style URLs). When the API is more reliable than HTML, set **`urlProbe`** to that endpoint and keep **`url`** as the human-readable profile link (e.g. `https://picsart.com/u/{username}`). If there is no separate profile URL, use the API as `url` only. Details: **`urlProbe`** and section **2.1** in [`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md).
-- **`socid_extractor` log (mandatory):** if you find **embedded user JSON in HTML** or a **standalone JSON profile API**, append a dated entry (with **example username**) to [`socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log). Details: section **2.2** in [`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md).
-
-## 1. Reproduce
-
-- Run a targeted check:  
-  `maigret USER --db /path/to/maigret/resources/data.json --site "SiteName" --print-not-found --print-errors --no-progressbar -vv`
-- Compare an **existing** and a **non-existent** username (as `usernameClaimed` / `usernameUnclaimed` in JSON).
-- With `-vvv`, inspect `debug.log` (raw response in the log).
-
-## 2. Classify the cause
-
-| Symptom | Typical cause | Action |
-|--------|-----------------|--------|
-| HTTP 200 for “user does not exist” | Soft 404 | Move from `status_code` to `message` or `response_url`; add `absenceStrs` / narrow `presenseStrs` |
-| Generic words match (`name`, `email`) | `presenseStrs` too broad | Remove generic markers; add profile-specific ones |
-| Same HTML without JS | SPA / skeleton shell | Compare **final URL and HTTP redirects** (Maigret already follows redirects by default). If the browser shows extra routes (`/posts`, `/not-found`) only **after JS**, they will **not** appear to Maigret — try a **public JSON/API** endpoint for the same site if one exists. See **Redirects and final URL** and **Picsart** in [`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md). |
-| 403 / “Log in” / guest-only | Auth or anti-bot required | `disabled: true` |
-| reCAPTCHA / “Checking your browser” | Bot protection | Try a reasonable `User-Agent` in `headers`; else `errors` + UNKNOWN or `disabled` |
-| Domain does not resolve / persistent timeout | Dead service | Remove entry **only** after confirming the domain is dead |
-
-## 3. Data edits
-
-1. Update `url` / `urlMain` if needed (HTTPS redirects). Use optional **`urlProbe`** when the HTTP check should hit a different URL than the profile link shown in reports (API vs web UI).
-2. For `message`: **always** tune string pairs so `absenceStrs` fire on “no user” pages and `presenseStrs` fire on real profiles without false absence hits.
-3. Engine (`engine`, e.g. XenForo): override only differing fields in the site entry so other sites are not broken.
-4. Keep `status_code` only if the response **reliably** differs by status code without soft 404.
-
-## 4. Verify
-
-- `maigret --self-check --site "SiteName" --db ...` for touched entries.
-- `make test` before commit.
-
-## 5. Code notes
-
-- `process_site_result` uses strict comparison to `"status_code"` for `checkType` (not a substring trick).
-- Empty `presenseStrs` with `message` means “presence always true”; a debug line is logged only at DEBUG level.
-
-## 6. Development utilities
-
-Quick reference for site check utilities. Full details: section **6** in [`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md).
-
-| Command | Purpose |
-|---------|---------|
-| `python utils/site_check.py --site "X" --check-claimed` | Quick aiohttp comparison |
-| `python utils/site_check.py --site "X" --maigret` | Test via Maigret checker |
-| `python utils/site_check.py --site "X" --compare-methods` | Find aiohttp vs Maigret discrepancies |
-| `python utils/site_check.py --site "X" --diagnose` | Full diagnosis with fix recommendations |
-| `python utils/check_top_n.py --top 100` | Mass-check top 100 sites |
-| `maigret --self-check --site "X"` | Self-check (reports only, no auto-disable) |
-| `maigret --self-check --site "X" --auto-disable` | Self-check with auto-disable |
-| `maigret --self-check --site "X" --diagnose` | Self-check with detailed diagnosis |
-
-## 7. Quick tips (lessons learned)
-
-Practical observations from fixing top-ranked sites. Full details: section **7** in [`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md).
-
-| Tip | Why it matters |
-|-----|----------------|
-| **API first** | Reddit, Microsoft Learn — APIs worked when web pages were blocked. Always check `/api/`, `.json` endpoints. |
-| **`urlProbe` separates check from display** | Check via API, show human URL in reports. Example: Reddit API → `www.reddit.com/user/` link. |
-| **aiohttp ≠ curl** | Wikipedia returned 200 for curl, 403 for aiohttp (TLS fingerprinting). Always test with Maigret directly. |
-| **Use `debug.log`** | Run with `-vvv` to see raw response. Warning messages alone can be misleading. |
-| **`status_code` for clean APIs** | If API returns proper 404 for missing users, prefer `status_code` over `message`. |
-| **Migrate, don't delete** | MSDN → Microsoft Learn: keep old entry disabled, create new one for current service. |
-| **Engine templates break silently** | vBulletin `absenceStrs` failed on ~12 forums at once — many require login, showing a generic page with no error text. Check the engine template first. |
-| **Search-by-author is unreliable** | phpBB `search.php?author=` checks for posts, not accounts. A user with zero posts looks identical to a non-existent user. Avoid these URLs. |
-| **Some sites always generate a page** | Pbase stubs "pbase Artist {name}" for any path; ffm.bio fuzzy-matches to the nearest real entry. No markers can help — `disabled: true`. |
-| **TLS fingerprinting degrades over time** | Kaggle's custom `User-Agent` fix stopped working — aiohttp now gets 404 for both usernames. Accept `disabled: true` when no API exists. |
-| **API endpoints bypass Cloudflare** | Fandom `api.php` and Substack `/api/v1/` returned clean JSON while main pages were blocked by Cloudflare. Always try API paths on the same domain. |
-| **Inspect Network tab for POST APIs** | Many modern platforms (e.g., Discord) heavily protect HTML profiles but expose unauthenticated `POST` endpoints for username checks. Maigret supports this natively: define `"request_method": "POST"` and `"request_payload": {"username": "{username}"}` in `data.json` to query them! |
-| **Strict JSON markers are bulletproof** | When probing APIs, use `checkType: "message"` with exact JSON substrings (like `"{\"taken\": false}"`). Unlike HTML layout checks, this approach is immune to UI redesigns, A/B testing, and language translations. |
-| **GraphQL supports GET too** | hashnode GraphQL works via `GET ?query=...` (URL-encoded). You can use either native POST payloads or GET `urlProbe` for GraphQL. |
-| **URL-encode braces for template safety** | GraphQL `{...}` conflicts with Maigret's `{username}`. Use `%7B`/`%7D` for literal braces in `urlProbe` — `.format()` ignores percent-encoded chars. |
-| **Anti-bot bypass via simple UA** | "Anubis" anti-bot PoW screens (like on Weblate) intercept modern browser UAs via HTTP 307. Hardcoding `"headers": {"User-Agent": "python-requests/2.25.1"}` circumvents the scraper filter and restores default detection logic. |
-
-## 8. Documentation maintenance
-
-When you change Maigret, add search tools, or change check logic, keep **this playbook**, [`site-checks-guide.md`](site-checks-guide.md), and (when applicable) the template in [`socid_extractor_improvements.log`](socid_extractor_improvements.log) aligned. New log **entries** are append-only at the bottom of that file.

MANIFEST.in

@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-include LICENSE
-include README.md
-include requirements.txt
-include maigret/resources/*

README.md

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 
 <i>The Commissioner Jules Maigret is a fictional French police detective, created by Georges Simenon. His investigation method is based on understanding the personality of different people and their interactions.</i>
 
-<b>👉👉👉 [Online Telegram bot](https://t.me/maigret_search_bot)</b>
+<b>👉👉👉 [Online Telegram bot](https://t.me/maigret_search_bot) | 🏢 [Commercial use & API](#commercial-use)</b>
 
 ## About
 
@@ -112,6 +112,10 @@ docker run -v /mydir:/app/reports soxoj/maigret:latest username --html
 docker build -t maigret .
 ```
 
+### Troubleshooting
+
+If you encounter build errors during installation, check the [troubleshooting guide](https://maigret.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installation.html#troubleshooting).
+
 ## Usage examples
 
 ```bash
@@ -192,6 +196,16 @@ The authors and developers of this tool bear no responsibility for any misuse or
 
 If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, please feel free to [open an issue](https://github.com/soxoj/maigret/issues), create a [GitHub discussion](https://github.com/soxoj/maigret/discussions), or contact the author directly via [Telegram](https://t.me/soxoj).
 
+## Commercial Use
+
+If you need a **daily updated database** of supported sites or an **API for username checks**, feel free to reach out:
+
+📧 [maigret@soxoj.com](mailto:maigret@soxoj.com)
+
+Available options:
+- Up-to-date site database - regularly maintained and updated list of 5K+ sites, delivered daily
+- Username check API - programmatic access to Maigret's search capabilities for integration into your products
+
 ## SOWEL classification
 
 This tool uses the following OSINT techniques:

docs/source/command-line-options.rst

@@ -106,6 +106,9 @@ username).
 ``-J``, ``--json`` - Generate a JSON report of specific type: simple,
 ndjson (one report per username). E.g. ``--json ndjson``
 
+``-M``, ``--md`` - Generate a Markdown report (general report on all
+usernames). See :ref:`markdown-report` below.
+
 ``-fo``, ``--folderoutput`` - Results will be saved to this folder,
 ``results`` by default. Will be created if doesn’t exist.
 
@@ -130,16 +133,60 @@ Other operations modes
 
 ``--version`` - Display version information and dependencies.
 
-``--self-check`` - Do self-checking for sites and database and disable
-non-working ones **for current search session** by default. It’s useful
-for testing new internet connection (it depends on provider/hosting on
-which sites there will be censorship stub or captcha display). After
-checking Maigret asks if you want to save updates, answering y/Y will
-rewrite the local database.
+``--self-check`` - Do self-checking for sites and database. Each site is
+tested by looking up its known-claimed and known-unclaimed usernames and
+verifying that the results match expectations. Individual site failures
+(network errors, unexpected exceptions, etc.) are caught and logged
+without stopping the overall process, so the check always runs to
+completion. After checking, Maigret reports a summary of issues found.
+If any sites were disabled (see ``--auto-disable``), Maigret asks if you
+want to save updates; answering y/Y will rewrite the local database.
+
+``--auto-disable`` - Used with ``--self-check``: automatically disable
+sites that fail checks (incorrect detection of claimed/unclaimed
+usernames, connection errors, or unexpected exceptions). Without this
+flag, ``--self-check`` only **reports** issues without modifying the
+database.
+
+``--diagnose`` - Used with ``--self-check``: print detailed diagnosis
+information for each failing site, including the check type, the list
+of issues found, and recommendations (e.g. suggesting a different
+``checkType``).
 
 ``--submit URL`` - Do an automatic analysis of the given account URL or
 site main page URL to determine the site engine and methods to check
 account presence. After checking Maigret asks if you want to add the
 site, answering y/Y will rewrite the local database.
 
+.. _markdown-report:
+
+Markdown report (LLM-friendly)
+------------------------------
+
+The ``--md`` / ``-M`` flag generates a Markdown report designed for both human reading and analysis by AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.).
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   maigret username --md
+
+The report includes:
+
+- **Summary** with aggregated personal data (all fullnames, locations, bios found across accounts), country tags, website tags, first/last seen timestamps.
+- **Per-account sections** with profile URL, site tags, and all extracted fields (username, bio, follower count, linked accounts, etc.).
+- **Possible false positives** disclaimer explaining that accounts may belong to different people.
+- **Ethical use** notice about applicable data protection laws.
+
+**Using with AI tools:**
+
+The Markdown format is optimized for LLM context windows. You can feed the report directly to an AI assistant for follow-up analysis:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   # Generate the report
+   maigret johndoe --md
+
+   # Feed it to an AI tool
+   cat reports/report_johndoe.md | llm "Analyze this OSINT report and summarize key findings"
+
+The structured Markdown with per-site sections makes it easy for AI tools to extract relationships, cross-reference identities, and identify patterns across accounts.
 

docs/source/development.rst

@@ -69,6 +69,21 @@ Use the following commands to check Maigret:
   make speed
 
 
+Site naming conventions
+-----------------------------------------------
+
+Site names are the keys in ``data.json`` and appear in user-facing reports. Follow these rules:
+
+- **Title Case** by default: ``Product Hunt``, ``Hacker News``.
+- **Lowercase** only if the brand itself is written that way: ``kofi``, ``note``, ``hi5``.
+- **No domain suffix** (``calendly.com`` → ``Calendly``), unless the domain is part of the recognized brand name: ``last.fm``, ``VC.ru``, ``Archive.org``.
+- **No full UPPERCASE** unless the brand is an acronym: ``VK``, ``CNET``, ``ICQ``, ``IFTTT``.
+- **No** ``www.`` **or** ``https://`` **prefix** in the name.
+- **Spaces** are allowed when the brand uses them: ``Star Citizen``, ``Google Maps``.
+- **{username} templates** in names are acceptable: ``{username}.tilda.ws``.
+
+When in doubt, check how the service refers to itself on its homepage.
+
 How to fix false-positives
 -----------------------------------------------
 
@@ -122,6 +137,30 @@ There are few options for sites data.json helpful in various cases:
 - ``regexCheck`` - a regex to check if the username is valid, in case of frequent false-positives
 - ``requestMethod`` - set the HTTP method to use (e.g., ``POST``). By default, Maigret natively defaults to GET or HEAD.
 - ``requestPayload`` - a dictionary with the JSON payload to send for POST requests (e.g., ``{"username": "{username}"}``), extremely useful for parsing GraphQL or modern JSON APIs.
+- ``protection`` - a list of protection types detected on the site (see below).
+
+``protection`` (site protection tracking)
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The ``protection`` field records what kind of anti-bot protection a site uses. Maigret reads this field and automatically applies the appropriate bypass mechanism.
+
+Supported values:
+
+- ``tls_fingerprint`` — the site fingerprints the TLS handshake (JA3/JA4) and blocks non-browser clients. Maigret automatically uses ``curl_cffi`` with Chrome browser emulation to bypass this. Requires the ``curl_cffi`` package (included as a dependency). Examples: Instagram, NPM, Codepen, Kickstarter, Letterboxd.
+- ``ip_reputation`` — the site blocks requests from datacenter/cloud IPs regardless of headers or TLS. Cannot be bypassed automatically; run Maigret from a regular internet connection (not a datacenter) or use a proxy (``--proxy``). Examples: Reddit, Patreon, Figma.
+- ``js_challenge`` — the site serves a JavaScript challenge page (e.g. "Just a moment...") that cannot be solved without a browser. Maigret detects challenge signatures and returns UNKNOWN instead of a false positive.
+
+Example:
+
+.. code-block:: json
+
+    "Instagram": {
+        "url": "https://www.instagram.com/{username}/",
+        "checkType": "message",
+        "presenseStrs": ["\"routePath\":\"\\/"],
+        "absenceStrs": ["\"routePath\":null"],
+        "protection": ["tls_fingerprint"]
+    }
 
 ``urlProbe`` (optional profile probe URL)
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

docs/source/features.rst

@@ -170,6 +170,35 @@ Maigret will do retries of the requests with temporary errors got (connection fa
 
 One attempt by default, can be changed with option ``--retries N``.
 
+Database self-check
+-------------------
+
+Maigret includes a self-check mode (``--self-check``) that validates every site
+in the database by looking up its known-claimed and known-unclaimed usernames
+and verifying that the detection results match expectations.
+
+The self-check is **error-resilient**: if an individual site check raises an
+unexpected exception (e.g. a network error or a parsing failure), the error is
+caught, logged, and recorded as an issue — the remaining sites continue to be
+checked without interruption. This means the process always runs to completion,
+even when checking hundreds of sites with ``-a --self-check``.
+
+Use ``--auto-disable`` together with ``--self-check`` to automatically disable
+sites that fail checks. Without it, issues are only reported. Use ``--diagnose``
+to print detailed per-site diagnosis including the check type, specific issues,
+and recommendations.
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+  # Report-only mode (no changes to the database)
+  maigret --self-check
+
+  # Automatically disable failing sites and save updates
+  maigret -a --self-check --auto-disable
+
+  # Show detailed diagnosis for each failing site
+  maigret -a --self-check --diagnose
+
 Archives and mirrors checking
 -----------------------------
 

docs/source/installation.rst

@@ -90,3 +90,39 @@ Docker
 
    # manual build
    docker build -t maigret .
+
+Troubleshooting
+---------------
+
+If you encounter build errors during installation such as ``cannot find ft2build.h``
+or errors related to ``reportlab`` / ``_renderPM``, you need to install system-level
+dependencies required to compile native extensions.
+
+**Debian/Ubuntu/Kali:**
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   sudo apt install -y libfreetype6-dev libjpeg-dev libffi-dev
+
+**Fedora/RHEL/CentOS:**
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   sudo dnf install -y freetype-devel libjpeg-devel libffi-devel
+
+**Arch Linux:**
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   sudo pacman -S freetype2 libjpeg-turbo libffi
+
+**macOS (Homebrew):**
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   brew install freetype
+
+After installing the system dependencies, retry the maigret installation.
+
+If you continue to have issues, consider using Docker instead, which includes all
+necessary dependencies.

docs/source/settings.rst

@@ -27,3 +27,77 @@ Missing any of these files is not an error.
 If the next settings file contains already known option,
 this option will be rewrited. So it is possible to make
 custom configuration for different users and directories.
+
+.. _database-auto-update:
+
+Database auto-update
+--------------------
+
+Maigret ships with a bundled site database, but it gets outdated between releases. To keep the database current, Maigret automatically checks for updates on startup.
+
+**How it works:**
+
+1. On startup, Maigret checks if more than 24 hours have passed since the last update check.
+2. If so, it fetches a lightweight metadata file (~200 bytes) from GitHub to see if a newer database is available.
+3. If a newer, compatible database exists, Maigret downloads it to ``~/.maigret/data.json`` and uses it instead of the bundled copy.
+4. If the download fails or the new database is incompatible with your Maigret version, the bundled database is used as a fallback.
+
+The downloaded database has **higher priority** than the bundled one — it replaces, not overlays.
+
+**Status messages** are printed only when an action occurs:
+
+.. code-block:: text
+
+   [*] DB auto-update: checking for updates...
+   [+] DB auto-update: database updated successfully (3180 sites)
+   [*] DB auto-update: database is up to date (3157 sites)
+   [!] DB auto-update: latest database requires maigret >= 0.6.0, you have 0.5.0
+
+**Forcing an update:**
+
+Use the ``--force-update`` flag to check for updates immediately, ignoring the check interval:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   maigret username --force-update
+
+The update happens at startup, then the search continues normally with the freshly downloaded database.
+
+**Disabling auto-update:**
+
+Use the ``--no-autoupdate`` flag to skip the update check entirely:
+
+.. code-block:: console
+
+   maigret username --no-autoupdate
+
+Or set it permanently in ``~/.maigret/settings.json``:
+
+.. code-block:: json
+
+   {
+       "no_autoupdate": true
+   }
+
+This is recommended for **Docker containers**, **CI pipelines**, and **air-gapped environments**.
+
+**Configuration options** (in ``settings.json``):
+
+.. list-table::
+   :header-rows: 1
+   :widths: 35 15 50
+
+   * - Setting
+     - Default
+     - Description
+   * - ``no_autoupdate``
+     - ``false``
+     - Disable auto-update entirely
+   * - ``autoupdate_check_interval_hours``
+     - ``24``
+     - How often to check for updates (in hours)
+   * - ``db_update_meta_url``
+     - GitHub raw URL
+     - URL of the metadata file (for custom mirrors)
+
+**Using a custom database** with ``--db`` always skips auto-update — you are explicitly choosing your data source.

docs/source/tags.rst

@@ -10,7 +10,12 @@ The use of tags allows you to select a subset of the sites from big Maigret DB f
 
 There are several types of tags:
 
-1. **Country codes**: ``us``, ``jp``, ``br``... (`ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2>`_). These tags reflect the site language and regional origin of its users and are then used to locate the owner of a username. If the regional origin is difficult to establish or a site is positioned as worldwide, `no country code is given`. There could be multiple country code tags for one site.
+1. **Country codes**: ``us``, ``jp``, ``br``... (`ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2>`_). A country tag means that having an account on the site implies a connection to that country — either origin or residence. The goal is attribution, not perfect accuracy.
+
+   - **Global sites** (GitHub, YouTube, Reddit, Medium, etc.) get **no country tag** — an account there says nothing about where a person is from.
+   - **Regional/local sites** where an account implies a specific country **must** have a country tag: ``VK`` → ``ru``, ``Naver`` → ``kr``, ``Zhihu`` → ``cn``.
+   - Multiple country tags are allowed when a service is used predominantly in a few countries (e.g. ``Xing`` → ``de``, ``eu``).
+   - Do **not** assign country tags based on traffic statistics alone — a site popular in India by traffic is not "Indian" if it is used globally.
 
 2. **Site engines**. Most of them are forum engines now: ``uCoz``, ``vBulletin``, ``XenForo`` et al. Full list of engines stored in the Maigret database.
 

docs/source/usage-examples.rst

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ Use Cases
    If you experience many false positives, you can do the following:
 
    - Install the last development version of Maigret from GitHub
-   - Run Maigret with ``--self-check`` flag and agree on disabling of problematic sites
+   - Run Maigret with ``--self-check --auto-disable`` flag and agree on disabling of problematic sites
 
 3. Search for accounts with username ``machine42`` and generate HTML and PDF reports.
 

maigret/activation.py

@@ -30,17 +30,6 @@ class ParsingActivator:
         jwt_token = r.json()["jwt"]
         site.headers["Authorization"] = "jwt " + jwt_token
 
-    @staticmethod
-    def spotify(site, logger, cookies={}):
-        headers = dict(site.headers)
-        if "Authorization" in headers:
-            del headers["Authorization"]
-        import requests
-
-        r = requests.get(site.activation["url"])
-        bearer_token = r.json()["accessToken"]
-        site.headers["authorization"] = f"Bearer {bearer_token}"
-
     @staticmethod
     def weibo(site, logger):
         headers = dict(site.headers)
@@ -54,7 +43,7 @@ class ParsingActivator:
         logger.debug(
             f"1 stage: {'success' if r.status_code == 302 else 'no 302 redirect, fail!'}"
         )
-        location = r.headers.get("Location")
+        location = r.headers.get("Location", "")
 
         # 2 stage: go to passport visitor page
         headers["Referer"] = location
@@ -84,9 +73,9 @@ def import_aiohttp_cookies(cookiestxt_filename):
     cookies = CookieJar()
 
     cookies_list = []
-    for domain in cookies_obj._cookies.values():
+    for domain in cookies_obj._cookies.values():  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
         for key, cookie in list(domain.values())[0].items():
-            c = Morsel()
+            c: Morsel = Morsel()
             c.set(key, cookie.value, cookie.value)
             c["domain"] = cookie.domain
             c["path"] = cookie.path

maigret/checking.py

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import random
 import re
 import ssl
 import sys
-from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
+from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
 from urllib.parse import quote
 
 # Third party imports
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ from alive_progress import alive_bar
 from aiohttp import ClientSession, TCPConnector, http_exceptions
 from aiohttp.client_exceptions import ClientConnectorError, ServerDisconnectedError
 from python_socks import _errors as proxy_errors
-from socid_extractor import extract
+from socid_extractor import extract  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
 
 try:
     from mock import Mock
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ class SimpleAiohttpChecker(CheckerBase):
 
     async def _make_request(
         self, session, url, headers, allow_redirects, timeout, method, logger, payload=None
-    ) -> Tuple[str, int, Optional[CheckError]]:
+    ) -> Tuple[Optional[str], int, Optional[CheckError]]:
         try:
             if method.lower() == 'get':
                 request_method = session.get
@@ -136,15 +136,21 @@ class SimpleAiohttpChecker(CheckerBase):
                 logger.debug(e, exc_info=True)
                 return None, 0, CheckError("Unexpected", str(e))
 
-    async def check(self) -> Tuple[str, int, Optional[CheckError]]:
+    async def check(self) -> Tuple[Optional[str], int, Optional[CheckError]]:
         from aiohttp_socks import ProxyConnector
 
+        # Use a real SSL context instead of ssl=False to avoid TLS fingerprinting
+        # blocks by Cloudflare and similar WAFs. Certificate verification is
+        # disabled to handle sites with invalid/expired certs.
+        ssl_context = ssl.create_default_context()
+        ssl_context.check_hostname = False
+        ssl_context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_NONE
+
         connector = (
             ProxyConnector.from_url(self.proxy)
             if self.proxy
-            else TCPConnector(ssl=False)
+            else TCPConnector(ssl=ssl_context)
         )
-        connector.verify_ssl = False
 
         async with ClientSession(
             connector=connector,
@@ -189,7 +195,7 @@ class AiodnsDomainResolver(CheckerBase):
         self.url = url
         return None
 
-    async def check(self) -> Tuple[str, int, Optional[CheckError]]:
+    async def check(self) -> Tuple[Optional[str], int, Optional[CheckError]]:
         status = 404
         error = None
         text = ''
@@ -207,6 +213,76 @@ class AiodnsDomainResolver(CheckerBase):
         return text, status, error
 
 
+try:
+    from curl_cffi.requests import AsyncSession as CurlCffiAsyncSession
+
+    CURL_CFFI_AVAILABLE = True
+except ImportError:
+    CURL_CFFI_AVAILABLE = False
+
+
+class CurlCffiChecker(CheckerBase):
+    """Checker using curl_cffi to emulate browser TLS fingerprint and bypass WAF."""
+
+    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        self.logger = kwargs.get('logger', Mock())
+        self.browser_emulate = kwargs.get('browser_emulate', 'chrome')
+        self.url = None
+        self.headers = None
+        self.allow_redirects = True
+        self.timeout = 0
+        self.method = 'get'
+        self.payload = None
+
+    def prepare(self, url, headers=None, allow_redirects=True, timeout=0, method='get', payload=None):
+        self.url = url
+        self.headers = headers
+        self.allow_redirects = allow_redirects
+        self.timeout = timeout
+        self.method = method
+        self.payload = payload
+        return None
+
+    async def close(self):
+        pass
+
+    async def check(self) -> Tuple[Optional[str], int, Optional[CheckError]]:
+        try:
+            async with CurlCffiAsyncSession() as session:
+                kwargs = {
+                    'url': self.url,
+                    'headers': self.headers,
+                    'allow_redirects': self.allow_redirects,
+                    'timeout': self.timeout if self.timeout else 10,
+                    'impersonate': self.browser_emulate,
+                }
+                if self.payload and self.method.lower() == 'post':
+                    kwargs['json'] = self.payload
+
+                if self.method.lower() == 'post':
+                    response = await session.post(**kwargs)
+                elif self.method.lower() == 'head':
+                    response = await session.head(**kwargs)
+                else:
+                    response = await session.get(**kwargs)
+
+                status_code = response.status_code
+                decoded_content = response.text
+
+                self.logger.debug(decoded_content)
+
+                error = CheckError("Connection lost") if status_code == 0 else None
+                return decoded_content, status_code, error
+
+        except asyncio.TimeoutError as e:
+            return None, 0, CheckError("Request timeout", str(e))
+        except KeyboardInterrupt:
+            return None, 0, CheckError("Interrupted")
+        except Exception as e:
+            self.logger.debug(e, exc_info=True)
+            return None, 0, CheckError("Unexpected", str(e))
+
+
 class CheckerMock:
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         pass
@@ -214,7 +290,7 @@ class CheckerMock:
     def prepare(self, url, headers=None, allow_redirects=True, timeout=0, method='get', payload=None):
         return None
 
-    async def check(self) -> Tuple[str, int, Optional[CheckError]]:
+    async def check(self) -> Tuple[Optional[str], int, Optional[CheckError]]:
         await asyncio.sleep(0)
         return '', 0, None
 
@@ -463,8 +539,18 @@ def make_site_result(
     # workaround to prevent slash errors
     url = re.sub("(?<!:)/+", "/", url)
 
-    # always clearweb_checker for now
-    checker = options["checkers"][site.protocol]
+    # Select checker: use curl_cffi for sites requiring TLS impersonation
+    needs_impersonation = 'tls_fingerprint' in site.protection
+    if needs_impersonation and CURL_CFFI_AVAILABLE:
+        checker = CurlCffiChecker(logger=logger, browser_emulate='chrome')
+    elif needs_impersonation and not CURL_CFFI_AVAILABLE:
+        logger.warning(
+            f"Site {site.name} requires TLS impersonation (curl_cffi) but it's not installed. "
+            "Install with: pip install curl_cffi"
+        )
+        checker = options["checkers"][site.protocol]
+    else:
+        checker = options["checkers"][site.protocol]
 
     # site check is disabled
     if site.disabled and not options['forced']:
@@ -799,7 +885,7 @@ async def maigret(
         with alive_bar(
             len(tasks_dict), title="Searching", force_tty=True, disable=no_progressbar
         ) as progress:
-            async for result in executor.run(tasks_dict.values()):
+            async for result in executor.run(list(tasks_dict.values())):  # type: ignore[arg-type]
                 cur_results.append(result)
                 progress()
 
@@ -875,135 +961,149 @@ async def site_self_check(
                      If False (default), only report issues without disabling.
         diagnose: If True, print detailed diagnosis information.
     """
-    changes = {
+    changes: Dict[str, Any] = {
         "disabled": False,
         "issues": [],
         "recommendations": [],
     }
 
-    check_data = [
-        (site.username_claimed, MaigretCheckStatus.CLAIMED),
-        (site.username_unclaimed, MaigretCheckStatus.AVAILABLE),
-    ]
+    try:
+        check_data = [
+            (site.username_claimed, MaigretCheckStatus.CLAIMED),
+            (site.username_unclaimed, MaigretCheckStatus.AVAILABLE),
+        ]
 
-    logger.info(f"Checking {site.name}...")
+        logger.info(f"Checking {site.name}...")
 
-    results_cache = {}
+        results_cache = {}
 
-    for username, status in check_data:
-        async with semaphore:
-            results_dict = await maigret(
-                username=username,
-                site_dict={site.name: site},
-                logger=logger,
-                timeout=30,
-                id_type=site.type,
-                forced=True,
-                no_progressbar=True,
-                retries=1,
-                proxy=proxy,
-                tor_proxy=tor_proxy,
-                i2p_proxy=i2p_proxy,
-                cookies=cookies,
-            )
-
-            # don't disable entries with other ids types
-            # TODO: make normal checking
-            if site.name not in results_dict:
-                logger.info(results_dict)
-                changes["issues"].append(f"Site {site.name} not in results (wrong id_type?)")
-                if auto_disable:
-                    changes["disabled"] = True
-                continue
-
-            logger.debug(results_dict)
-
-            result = results_dict[site.name]["status"]
-            results_cache[username] = results_dict[site.name]
-
-        if result.error and 'Cannot connect to host' in result.error.desc:
-            changes["issues"].append(f"Cannot connect to host")
-            if auto_disable:
-                changes["disabled"] = True
-
-        site_status = result.status
-
-        if site_status != status:
-            if site_status == MaigretCheckStatus.UNKNOWN:
-                msgs = site.absence_strs
-                etype = site.check_type
-                error_msg = f"Error checking {username}: {result.context}"
-                changes["issues"].append(error_msg)
-                logger.warning(
-                    f"Error while searching {username} in {site.name}: {result.context}, {msgs}, type {etype}"
+        for username, status in check_data:
+            async with semaphore:
+                results_dict = await maigret(
+                    username=username,
+                    site_dict={site.name: site},
+                    logger=logger,
+                    timeout=30,
+                    id_type=site.type,
+                    forced=True,
+                    no_progressbar=True,
+                    retries=1,
+                    proxy=proxy,
+                    tor_proxy=tor_proxy,
+                    i2p_proxy=i2p_proxy,
+                    cookies=cookies,
                 )
-                # don't disable sites after the error
-                # meaning that the site could be available, but returned error for the check
-                # e.g. many sites protected by cloudflare and available in general
-                if skip_errors:
-                    pass
-                # don't disable in case of available username
-                elif status == MaigretCheckStatus.CLAIMED and auto_disable:
-                    changes["disabled"] = True
-            elif status == MaigretCheckStatus.CLAIMED:
-                changes["issues"].append(f"Claimed user '{username}' not detected as claimed")
-                logger.warning(
-                    f"Not found `{username}` in {site.name}, must be claimed"
-                )
-                logger.info(results_dict[site.name])
-                if auto_disable:
-                    changes["disabled"] = True
-            else:
-                changes["issues"].append(f"Unclaimed user '{username}' detected as claimed")
-                logger.warning(f"Found `{username}` in {site.name}, must be available")
-                logger.info(results_dict[site.name])
+
+                # don't disable entries with other ids types
+                # TODO: make normal checking
+                if site.name not in results_dict:
+                    logger.info(results_dict)
+                    changes["issues"].append(f"Site {site.name} not in results (wrong id_type?)")
+                    if auto_disable:
+                        changes["disabled"] = True
+                    continue
+
+                logger.debug(results_dict)
+
+                result = results_dict[site.name]["status"]
+                results_cache[username] = results_dict[site.name]
+
+            if result.error and 'Cannot connect to host' in result.error.desc:
+                changes["issues"].append("Cannot connect to host")
                 if auto_disable:
                     changes["disabled"] = True
 
-    logger.info(f"Site {site.name} checking is finished")
+            site_status = result.status
 
-    # Generate recommendations based on issues
-    if changes["issues"] and len(results_cache) == 2:
-        claimed_result = results_cache.get(site.username_claimed, {})
-        unclaimed_result = results_cache.get(site.username_unclaimed, {})
+            if site_status != status:
+                if site_status == MaigretCheckStatus.UNKNOWN:
+                    msgs = site.absence_strs
+                    etype = site.check_type
+                    error_msg = f"Error checking {username}: {result.context}"
+                    changes["issues"].append(error_msg)
+                    logger.warning(
+                        f"Error while searching {username} in {site.name}: {result.context}, {msgs}, type {etype}"
+                    )
+                    # don't disable sites after the error
+                    # meaning that the site could be available, but returned error for the check
+                    # e.g. many sites protected by cloudflare and available in general
+                    if skip_errors:
+                        pass
+                    # don't disable in case of available username
+                    elif status == MaigretCheckStatus.CLAIMED and auto_disable:
+                        changes["disabled"] = True
+                elif status == MaigretCheckStatus.CLAIMED:
+                    changes["issues"].append(f"Claimed user '{username}' not detected as claimed")
+                    logger.warning(
+                        f"Not found `{username}` in {site.name}, must be claimed"
+                    )
+                    logger.info(results_dict[site.name])
+                    if auto_disable:
+                        changes["disabled"] = True
+                else:
+                    changes["issues"].append(f"Unclaimed user '{username}' detected as claimed")
+                    logger.warning(f"Found `{username}` in {site.name}, must be available")
+                    logger.info(results_dict[site.name])
+                    if auto_disable:
+                        changes["disabled"] = True
 
-        claimed_http = claimed_result.get("http_status")
-        unclaimed_http = unclaimed_result.get("http_status")
+        logger.info(f"Site {site.name} checking is finished")
 
-        if claimed_http and unclaimed_http:
-            if claimed_http != unclaimed_http and site.check_type != "status_code":
-                changes["recommendations"].append(
-                    f"Consider checkType: status_code (HTTP {claimed_http} vs {unclaimed_http})"
-                )
+        # Generate recommendations based on issues
+        if changes["issues"] and len(results_cache) == 2:
+            claimed_result = results_cache.get(site.username_claimed, {})
+            unclaimed_result = results_cache.get(site.username_unclaimed, {})
 
-    # Print diagnosis if requested
-    if diagnose and changes["issues"]:
-        print(f"\n--- {site.name} DIAGNOSIS ---")
-        print(f"  Check type: {site.check_type}")
-        print(f"  Issues:")
-        for issue in changes["issues"]:
-            print(f"    - {issue}")
-        if changes["recommendations"]:
-            print(f"  Recommendations:")
-            for rec in changes["recommendations"]:
-                print(f"    -> {rec}")
+            claimed_http = claimed_result.get("http_status")
+            unclaimed_http = unclaimed_result.get("http_status")
 
-    # Only modify site if auto_disable is enabled
-    if auto_disable and changes["disabled"] != site.disabled:
-        site.disabled = changes["disabled"]
-        logger.info(f"Switching property 'disabled' for {site.name} to {site.disabled}")
-        db.update_site(site)
-        if not silent:
-            action = "Disabled" if site.disabled else "Enabled"
-            print(f"{action} site {site.name}...")
-    elif changes["issues"] and not silent and not diagnose:
-        # Report issues without disabling
-        print(f"Issues found in {site.name}: {len(changes['issues'])} (not auto-disabled)")
+            if claimed_http and unclaimed_http:
+                if claimed_http != unclaimed_http and site.check_type != "status_code":
+                    changes["recommendations"].append(
+                        f"Consider checkType: status_code (HTTP {claimed_http} vs {unclaimed_http})"
+                    )
 
-    # remove service tag "unchecked"
-    if "unchecked" in site.tags:
-        site.tags.remove("unchecked")
-        db.update_site(site)
+        # Print diagnosis if requested
+        if diagnose and changes["issues"]:
+            print(f"\n--- {site.name} DIAGNOSIS ---")
+            print(f"  Check type: {site.check_type}")
+            print("  Issues:")
+            for issue in changes["issues"]:
+                print(f"    - {issue}")
+            if changes["recommendations"]:
+                print("  Recommendations:")
+                for rec in changes["recommendations"]:
+                    print(f"    -> {rec}")
+
+        # Only modify site if auto_disable is enabled
+        if auto_disable and changes["disabled"] != site.disabled:
+            site.disabled = changes["disabled"]
+            logger.info(f"Switching property 'disabled' for {site.name} to {site.disabled}")
+            db.update_site(site)
+            if not silent:
+                action = "Disabled" if site.disabled else "Enabled"
+                print(f"{action} site {site.name}...")
+        elif changes["issues"] and not silent and not diagnose:
+            # Report issues without disabling
+            print(f"Issues found in {site.name}: {len(changes['issues'])} (not auto-disabled)")
+
+        # remove service tag "unchecked"
+        if "unchecked" in site.tags:
+            site.tags.remove("unchecked")
+            db.update_site(site)
+
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning(
+            f"Self-check of {site.name} failed with unexpected error: {e}",
+            exc_info=True,
+        )
+        changes["issues"].append(f"Unexpected error: {e}")
+        if auto_disable and not site.disabled:
+            changes["disabled"] = True
+            site.disabled = True
+            db.update_site(site)
+            if not silent:
+                print(f"Disabled site {site.name} (unexpected error)...")
 
     return changes
 
@@ -1019,6 +1119,7 @@ async def self_check(
     i2p_proxy=None,
     auto_disable=False,
     diagnose=False,
+    no_progressbar=False,
 ) -> dict:
     """
     Run self-check on sites.
@@ -1053,9 +1154,20 @@ async def self_check(
         tasks.append((site.name, future))
 
     if tasks:
-        with alive_bar(len(tasks), title='Self-checking', force_tty=True) as progress:
+        with alive_bar(len(tasks), title='Self-checking', force_tty=True, disable=no_progressbar) as progress:
             for site_name, f in tasks:
-                result = await f
+                try:
+                    result = await f
+                except Exception as e:
+                    logger.warning(
+                        f"Self-check task for {site_name} raised unexpected error: {e}",
+                        exc_info=True,
+                    )
+                    result = {
+                        "disabled": False,
+                        "issues": [f"Unexpected error: {e}"],
+                        "recommendations": [],
+                    }
                 result['site_name'] = site_name
                 all_results.append(result)
                 progress()  # Update the progress bar
@@ -1091,10 +1203,6 @@ async def self_check(
 
     needs_update = total_disabled != 0 or unchecked_new_count != unchecked_old_count
 
-    # For backwards compatibility, return bool if auto_disable is True
-    if auto_disable:
-        return needs_update
-
     return {
         'needs_update': needs_update,
         'results': all_results,
@@ -1118,7 +1226,7 @@ def parse_usernames(extracted_ids_data, logger) -> Dict:
         elif "usernames" in k:
             try:
                 tree = ast.literal_eval(v)
-                if type(tree) == list:
+                if isinstance(tree, list):
                     for n in tree:
                         new_usernames[n] = "username"
             except Exception as e:

maigret/db_updater.py

@@ -0,0 +1,330 @@
+"""
+Database auto-update logic for maigret.
+
+Checks a lightweight meta file to determine if a newer site database is available,
+downloads it if compatible, and caches it locally in ~/.maigret/.
+"""
+
+import hashlib
+import json
+import logging
+import os
+import os.path as path
+import tempfile
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from typing import Optional
+
+import requests
+from colorama import Fore, Style
+
+from .__version__ import __version__
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("maigret")
+
+_use_color = True
+
+
+def _print_info(msg: str) -> None:
+    text = f"[*] {msg}"
+    if _use_color:
+        print(Style.BRIGHT + Fore.GREEN + text + Style.RESET_ALL)
+    else:
+        print(text)
+
+
+def _print_success(msg: str) -> None:
+    text = f"[+] {msg}"
+    if _use_color:
+        print(Style.BRIGHT + Fore.GREEN + text + Style.RESET_ALL)
+    else:
+        print(text)
+
+
+def _print_warning(msg: str) -> None:
+    text = f"[!] {msg}"
+    if _use_color:
+        print(Style.BRIGHT + Fore.YELLOW + text + Style.RESET_ALL)
+    else:
+        print(text)
+
+
+DEFAULT_META_URL = (
+    "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/soxoj/maigret/main/maigret/resources/db_meta.json"
+)
+DEFAULT_CHECK_INTERVAL_HOURS = 24
+MAIGRET_HOME = path.expanduser("~/.maigret")
+CACHED_DB_PATH = path.join(MAIGRET_HOME, "data.json")
+STATE_PATH = path.join(MAIGRET_HOME, "autoupdate_state.json")
+BUNDLED_DB_PATH = path.join(path.dirname(path.realpath(__file__)), "resources", "data.json")
+
+
+def _parse_version(version_str: str) -> tuple:
+    """Parse a version string like '0.5.0' into a comparable tuple (0, 5, 0)."""
+    try:
+        return tuple(int(x) for x in version_str.strip().split("."))
+    except (ValueError, AttributeError):
+        return (0, 0, 0)
+
+
+def _ensure_maigret_home() -> None:
+    os.makedirs(MAIGRET_HOME, exist_ok=True)
+
+
+def _load_state() -> dict:
+    try:
+        with open(STATE_PATH, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            return json.load(f)
+    except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError, OSError):
+        return {}
+
+
+def _save_state(state: dict) -> None:
+    _ensure_maigret_home()
+    tmp_path = STATE_PATH + ".tmp"
+    try:
+        with open(tmp_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            json.dump(state, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
+        os.replace(tmp_path, STATE_PATH)
+    except OSError:
+        try:
+            os.unlink(tmp_path)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
+
+
+def _needs_check(state: dict, interval_hours: int) -> bool:
+    last_check = state.get("last_check_at")
+    if not last_check:
+        return True
+    try:
+        last_dt = datetime.fromisoformat(last_check.replace("Z", "+00:00"))
+        elapsed = (datetime.now(timezone.utc) - last_dt).total_seconds() / 3600
+        return elapsed >= interval_hours
+    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+        return True
+
+
+def _fetch_meta(meta_url: str, timeout: int = 10) -> Optional[dict]:
+    try:
+        response = requests.get(meta_url, timeout=timeout)
+        if response.status_code == 200:
+            return response.json()
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+    return None
+
+
+def _is_version_compatible(meta: dict) -> bool:
+    min_ver = meta.get("min_maigret_version", "0.0.0")
+    return _parse_version(__version__) >= _parse_version(min_ver)
+
+
+def _is_update_available(meta: dict, state: dict) -> bool:
+    if not path.isfile(CACHED_DB_PATH):
+        return True
+    remote_date = meta.get("updated_at", "")
+    cached_date = state.get("last_meta", {}).get("updated_at", "")
+    return remote_date > cached_date
+
+
+def _download_and_verify(data_url: str, expected_sha256: str, timeout: int = 60) -> Optional[str]:
+    _ensure_maigret_home()
+    tmp_fd, tmp_path = tempfile.mkstemp(dir=MAIGRET_HOME, suffix=".json")
+    try:
+        response = requests.get(data_url, timeout=timeout)
+        if response.status_code != 200:
+            return None
+
+        content = response.content
+        actual_sha256 = hashlib.sha256(content).hexdigest()
+        if actual_sha256 != expected_sha256:
+            _print_warning("DB auto-update: SHA-256 mismatch, download rejected")
+            return None
+
+        # Validate JSON structure
+        data = json.loads(content)
+        if not all(k in data for k in ("sites", "engines", "tags")):
+            _print_warning("DB auto-update: invalid database structure")
+            return None
+
+        os.write(tmp_fd, content)
+        os.close(tmp_fd)
+        tmp_fd = None
+        os.replace(tmp_path, CACHED_DB_PATH)
+        return CACHED_DB_PATH
+    except Exception:
+        return None
+    finally:
+        if tmp_fd is not None:
+            os.close(tmp_fd)
+        try:
+            os.unlink(tmp_path)
+        except OSError:
+            pass
+
+
+def _best_local() -> str:
+    """Return cached DB if it exists and is valid, otherwise bundled."""
+    if path.isfile(CACHED_DB_PATH):
+        try:
+            with open(CACHED_DB_PATH, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+                data = json.load(f)
+            if "sites" in data:
+                return CACHED_DB_PATH
+        except (json.JSONDecodeError, OSError):
+            pass
+    return BUNDLED_DB_PATH
+
+
+def _now_iso() -> str:
+    return datetime.now(timezone.utc).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
+
+
+def resolve_db_path(
+    db_file_arg: str,
+    no_autoupdate: bool = False,
+    meta_url: str = DEFAULT_META_URL,
+    check_interval_hours: int = DEFAULT_CHECK_INTERVAL_HOURS,
+    color: bool = True,
+) -> str:
+    """
+    Determine which database file to use, potentially downloading an update.
+
+    Returns the path to the database file that should be loaded.
+    """
+    global _use_color
+    _use_color = color
+
+    default_db_name = "resources/data.json"
+
+    # User specified a custom DB — skip auto-update
+    is_url = db_file_arg.startswith("http://") or db_file_arg.startswith("https://")
+    is_default = db_file_arg == default_db_name
+    if is_url:
+        return db_file_arg
+    if not is_default:
+        return path.join(path.dirname(path.realpath(__file__)), db_file_arg)
+
+    # Auto-update disabled
+    if no_autoupdate:
+        return _best_local()
+
+    # Check interval
+    _ensure_maigret_home()
+    state = _load_state()
+    if not _needs_check(state, check_interval_hours):
+        return _best_local()
+
+    # Time to check
+    _print_info("DB auto-update: checking for updates...")
+    meta = _fetch_meta(meta_url)
+    if meta is None:
+        _print_warning("DB auto-update: could not reach update server, using local database")
+        state["last_check_at"] = _now_iso()
+        _save_state(state)
+        return _best_local()
+
+    # Version compatibility
+    if not _is_version_compatible(meta):
+        min_ver = meta.get("min_maigret_version", "?")
+        _print_warning(
+            f"DB auto-update: latest database requires maigret >= {min_ver}, "
+            f"you have {__version__}. Please upgrade with: pip install -U maigret"
+        )
+        state["last_check_at"] = _now_iso()
+        _save_state(state)
+        return _best_local()
+
+    # Check if update available
+    if not _is_update_available(meta, state):
+        sites_count = meta.get("sites_count", "?")
+        _print_info(f"DB auto-update: database is up to date ({sites_count} sites)")
+        state["last_check_at"] = _now_iso()
+        state["last_meta"] = meta
+        _save_state(state)
+        return _best_local()
+
+    # Download update
+    new_count = meta.get("sites_count", "?")
+    old_count = state.get("last_meta", {}).get("sites_count")
+    if old_count:
+        _print_info(f"DB auto-update: downloading updated database ({new_count} sites, was {old_count})...")
+    else:
+        _print_info(f"DB auto-update: downloading database ({new_count} sites)...")
+
+    data_url = meta.get("data_url", "")
+    expected_sha = meta.get("data_sha256", "")
+    result = _download_and_verify(data_url, expected_sha)
+
+    if result is None:
+        _print_warning("DB auto-update: download failed, using local database")
+        state["last_check_at"] = _now_iso()
+        _save_state(state)
+        return _best_local()
+
+    _print_success(f"DB auto-update: database updated successfully ({new_count} sites)")
+    state["last_check_at"] = _now_iso()
+    state["last_meta"] = meta
+    state["cached_db_sha256"] = expected_sha
+    _save_state(state)
+    return CACHED_DB_PATH
+
+
+def force_update(
+    meta_url: str = DEFAULT_META_URL,
+    color: bool = True,
+) -> bool:
+    """
+    Force check for database updates and download if available.
+
+    Returns True if database was updated, False otherwise.
+    """
+    global _use_color
+    _use_color = color
+
+    _ensure_maigret_home()
+
+    _print_info("DB update: checking for updates...")
+    meta = _fetch_meta(meta_url)
+    if meta is None:
+        _print_warning("DB update: could not reach update server")
+        return False
+
+    if not _is_version_compatible(meta):
+        min_ver = meta.get("min_maigret_version", "?")
+        _print_warning(
+            f"DB update: latest database requires maigret >= {min_ver}, "
+            f"you have {__version__}. Please upgrade with: pip install -U maigret"
+        )
+        return False
+
+    state = _load_state()
+    new_count = meta.get("sites_count", "?")
+    old_count = state.get("last_meta", {}).get("sites_count")
+
+    if not _is_update_available(meta, state):
+        _print_info(f"DB update: database is already up to date ({new_count} sites)")
+        state["last_check_at"] = _now_iso()
+        state["last_meta"] = meta
+        _save_state(state)
+        return False
+
+    if old_count:
+        _print_info(f"DB update: downloading updated database ({new_count} sites, was {old_count})...")
+    else:
+        _print_info(f"DB update: downloading database ({new_count} sites)...")
+
+    data_url = meta.get("data_url", "")
+    expected_sha = meta.get("data_sha256", "")
+    result = _download_and_verify(data_url, expected_sha)
+
+    if result is None:
+        _print_warning("DB update: download failed")
+        return False
+
+    _print_success(f"DB update: database updated successfully ({new_count} sites)")
+    state["last_check_at"] = _now_iso()
+    state["last_meta"] = meta
+    state["cached_db_sha256"] = expected_sha
+    _save_state(state)
+    return True

maigret/errors.py

@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ COMMON_ERRORS = {
         'Censorship', 'MGTS'
     ),
     'Incapsula incident ID': CheckError('Bot protection', 'Incapsula'),
+    '<title>Client Challenge</title>': CheckError('Bot protection', 'Anti-bot challenge'),
+    '<title>DDoS-Guard</title>': CheckError('Bot protection', 'DDoS-Guard'),
     'Сайт заблокирован хостинг-провайдером': CheckError(
         'Site-specific', 'Site is disabled (Beget)'
     ),

maigret/executors.py

@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class AsyncioProgressbarQueueExecutor(AsyncExecutor):
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)
         self.workers_count = kwargs.get('in_parallel', 10)
-        self.queue = asyncio.Queue(self.workers_count)
+        self.queue: asyncio.Queue = asyncio.Queue(self.workers_count)
         self.timeout = kwargs.get('timeout')
         # Pass a progress function; alive_bar by default
         self.progress_func = kwargs.get('progress_func', alive_bar)
@@ -184,10 +184,10 @@ class AsyncioQueueGeneratorExecutor:
     # Deprecated: will be removed soon, don't use it
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
         self.workers_count = kwargs.get('in_parallel', 10)
-        self.queue = asyncio.Queue()
+        self.queue: asyncio.Queue = asyncio.Queue()
         self.timeout = kwargs.get('timeout')
         self.logger = kwargs['logger']
-        self._results = asyncio.Queue()
+        self._results: asyncio.Queue = asyncio.Queue()
         self._stop_signal = object()
 
     async def worker(self):
@@ -209,7 +209,7 @@ class AsyncioQueueGeneratorExecutor:
                     result = kwargs.get('default')
                 await self._results.put(result)
             except Exception as e:
-                self.logger.error(f"Error in worker: {e}")
+                self.logger.error(f"Error in worker: {e}", exc_info=True)
             finally:
                 self.queue.task_done()
 

maigret/maigret.py

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ from argparse import ArgumentParser, RawDescriptionHelpFormatter
 from typing import List, Tuple
 import os.path as path
 
-from socid_extractor import extract, parse
+from socid_extractor import extract, parse  # type: ignore[import-not-found]
 
 from .__version__ import __version__
 from .checking import (
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ from .report import (
     get_plaintext_report,
     sort_report_by_data_points,
     save_graph_report,
+    save_markdown_report,
 )
 from .sites import MaigretDatabase
 from .submit import Submitter
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@ def extract_ids_from_page(url, logger, timeout=5) -> dict:
             elif 'usernames' in k:
                 try:
                     tree = ast.literal_eval(v)
-                    if type(tree) == list:
+                    if isinstance(tree, list):
                         for n in tree:
                             results[n] = 'username'
                 except Exception as e:
@@ -201,6 +202,20 @@ def setup_arguments_parser(settings: Settings):
         default=settings.sites_db_path,
         help="Load Maigret database from a JSON file or HTTP web resource.",
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--no-autoupdate",
+        action="store_true",
+        dest="no_autoupdate",
+        default=settings.no_autoupdate,
+        help="Disable automatic database updates on startup.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--force-update",
+        action="store_true",
+        dest="force_update",
+        default=False,
+        help="Force check for database updates and download if available.",
+    )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--cookies-jar-file",
         metavar="COOKIE_FILE",
@@ -451,6 +466,14 @@ def setup_arguments_parser(settings: Settings):
         default=settings.pdf_report,
         help="Generate a PDF report (general report on all usernames).",
     )
+    report_group.add_argument(
+        "-M",
+        "--md",
+        action="store_true",
+        dest="md",
+        default=settings.md_report,
+        help="Generate a Markdown report (general report on all usernames).",
+    )
     report_group.add_argument(
         "-G",
         "--graph",
@@ -543,9 +566,21 @@ async def main():
     else:
         args.exclude_tags = []
 
-    db_file = args.db_file \
-        if (args.db_file.startswith("http://") or args.db_file.startswith("https://")) \
-        else path.join(path.dirname(path.realpath(__file__)), args.db_file)
+    from .db_updater import resolve_db_path, force_update, BUNDLED_DB_PATH
+
+    if args.force_update:
+        force_update(
+            meta_url=settings.db_update_meta_url,
+            color=not args.no_color,
+        )
+
+    db_file = resolve_db_path(
+        db_file_arg=args.db_file,
+        no_autoupdate=args.no_autoupdate or args.force_update,
+        meta_url=settings.db_update_meta_url,
+        check_interval_hours=settings.autoupdate_check_interval_hours,
+        color=not args.no_color,
+    )
 
     if args.top_sites == 0 or args.all_sites:
         args.top_sites = sys.maxsize
@@ -560,7 +595,15 @@ async def main():
     )
 
     # Create object with all information about sites we are aware of.
-    db = MaigretDatabase().load_from_path(db_file)
+    try:
+        db = MaigretDatabase().load_from_path(db_file)
+    except Exception as e:
+        logger.warning(f"Failed to load database from {db_file}: {e}")
+        if db_file != BUNDLED_DB_PATH:
+            logger.warning("Falling back to bundled database")
+            db = MaigretDatabase().load_from_path(BUNDLED_DB_PATH)
+        else:
+            raise
     get_top_sites_for_id = lambda x: db.ranked_sites_dict(
         top=args.top_sites,
         tags=args.tags,
@@ -600,13 +643,10 @@ async def main():
             i2p_proxy=args.i2p_proxy,
             auto_disable=args.auto_disable,
             diagnose=args.diagnose,
+            no_progressbar=args.no_progressbar,
         )
 
-        # Handle both old (bool) and new (dict) return types
-        if isinstance(check_result, dict):
-            is_need_update = check_result.get('needs_update', False)
-        else:
-            is_need_update = check_result
+        is_need_update = check_result.get('needs_update', False)
 
         if is_need_update:
             if input('Do you want to save changes permanently? [Yn]\n').lower() in (
@@ -772,7 +812,7 @@ async def main():
 
     # reporting for all the result
     if general_results:
-        if args.html or args.pdf:
+        if args.html or args.pdf or args.md:
             query_notify.warning('Generating report info...')
         report_context = generate_report_context(general_results)
         # determine main username
@@ -792,6 +832,23 @@ async def main():
             save_pdf_report(filename, report_context)
             query_notify.warning(f'PDF report on all usernames saved in {filename}')
 
+        if args.md:
+            username = username.replace('/', '_')
+            filename = report_filepath_tpl.format(username=username, postfix='.md')
+            run_flags = []
+            if args.tags:
+                run_flags.append(f"--tags {args.tags}")
+            if args.site_list:
+                run_flags.append(f"--site {','.join(args.site_list)}")
+            if args.all_sites:
+                run_flags.append("--all-sites")
+            run_info = {
+                "sites_count": sum(len(d) for _, _, d in general_results),
+                "flags": " ".join(run_flags) if run_flags else None,
+            }
+            save_markdown_report(filename, report_context, run_info=run_info)
+            query_notify.warning(f'Markdown report on all usernames saved in {filename}')
+
         if args.graph:
             username = username.replace('/', '_')
             filename = report_filepath_tpl.format(

maigret/notify.py

@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ class QueryNotifyPrint(QueryNotify):
         else:
             return self.make_simple_terminal_notify(*args)
 
-    def start(self, message, id_type):
+    def start(self, message=None, id_type="username"):
         """Notify Start.
 
         Will print the title to the standard output.

maigret/report.py

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import os
 from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Dict, Any
 
-import xmind
+import xmind  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 from dateutil.tz import gettz
 from dateutil.parser import parse as parse_datetime_str
 from jinja2 import Template
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ def save_pdf_report(filename: str, context: dict):
     filled_template = template.render(**context)
 
     # moved here to speed up the launch of Maigret
-    from xhtml2pdf import pisa
+    from xhtml2pdf import pisa  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 
     with open(filename, "w+b") as f:
         pisa.pisaDocument(io.StringIO(filled_template), dest=f, default_css=css)
@@ -91,9 +91,9 @@ def save_json_report(filename: str, username: str, results: dict, report_type: s
 
 
 class MaigretGraph:
-    other_params = {'size': 10, 'group': 3}
-    site_params = {'size': 15, 'group': 2}
-    username_params = {'size': 20, 'group': 1}
+    other_params: dict = {'size': 10, 'group': 3}
+    site_params: dict = {'size': 15, 'group': 2}
+    username_params: dict = {'size': 20, 'group': 1}
 
     def __init__(self, graph):
         self.G = graph
@@ -121,12 +121,12 @@ class MaigretGraph:
 def save_graph_report(filename: str, username_results: list, db: MaigretDatabase):
     import networkx as nx
 
-    G = nx.Graph()
+    G: Any = nx.Graph()
     graph = MaigretGraph(G)
 
     base_site_nodes = {}
     site_account_nodes = {}
-    processed_values = {}  # Track processed values to avoid duplicates
+    processed_values: Dict[str, Any] = {}  # Track processed values to avoid duplicates
 
     for username, id_type, results in username_results:
         # Add username node, using normalized version directly if different
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ def save_graph_report(filename: str, username_results: list, db: MaigretDatabase
     G.remove_nodes_from(single_degree_sites)
 
     # Generate interactive visualization
-    from pyvis.network import Network
+    from pyvis.network import Network  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 
     nt = Network(notebook=True, height="750px", width="100%")
     nt.from_nx(G)
@@ -257,6 +257,144 @@ def get_plaintext_report(context: dict) -> str:
     return output.strip()
 
 
+def _md_format_value(value) -> str:
+    """Format a value for Markdown output, detecting links."""
+    if isinstance(value, list):
+        return ", ".join(str(v) for v in value)
+    s = str(value)
+    if s.startswith("http://") or s.startswith("https://"):
+        return f"[{s}]({s})"
+    return s
+
+
+def save_markdown_report(filename: str, context: dict, run_info: dict = None):
+    username = context.get("username", "unknown")
+    generated_at = context.get("generated_at", "")
+    brief = context.get("brief", "")
+    countries = context.get("countries_tuple_list", [])
+    interests = context.get("interests_tuple_list", [])
+    first_seen = context.get("first_seen")
+    results = context.get("results", [])
+
+    # Collect ALL values for key fields across all accounts
+    all_fields: Dict[str, list] = {}
+    last_seen = None
+    for _, _, data in results:
+        for _, v in data.items():
+            if not v.get("found") or v.get("is_similar"):
+                continue
+            ids_data = v.get("ids_data", {})
+            # Map multiple source fields to unified output fields
+            field_sources = {
+                "fullname": ("fullname", "name"),
+                "location": ("location", "country", "city", "country_code", "locale", "region"),
+                "gender": ("gender",),
+                "bio": ("bio", "about", "description"),
+            }
+            for out_field, source_keys in field_sources.items():
+                for src in source_keys:
+                    val = ids_data.get(src)
+                    if val:
+                        all_fields.setdefault(out_field, [])
+                        val_str = str(val)
+                        if val_str not in all_fields[out_field]:
+                            all_fields[out_field].append(val_str)
+            # Track last_seen
+            for ts_field in ("last_online", "latest_activity_at", "updated_at"):
+                ts = ids_data.get(ts_field)
+                if ts and (last_seen is None or str(ts) > str(last_seen)):
+                    last_seen = ts
+
+    lines = []
+    lines.append(f"# Report by searching on username \"{username}\"\n")
+
+    # Generated line with run info
+    gen_line = f"Generated at {generated_at} by [Maigret](https://github.com/soxoj/maigret)"
+    if run_info:
+        parts = []
+        if run_info.get("sites_count"):
+            parts.append(f"{run_info['sites_count']} sites checked")
+        if run_info.get("flags"):
+            parts.append(f"flags: `{run_info['flags']}`")
+        if parts:
+            gen_line += f" ({', '.join(parts)})"
+    lines.append(f"{gen_line}\n")
+
+    # Summary
+    lines.append("## Summary\n")
+    lines.append(f"{brief}\n")
+
+    if all_fields:
+        lines.append("**Information extracted from accounts:**\n")
+        for field, values in all_fields.items():
+            title = CaseConverter.snake_to_title(field)
+            lines.append(f"- {title}: {'; '.join(values)}")
+        lines.append("")
+
+    if countries:
+        geo = ", ".join(f"{code} (x{count})" for code, count in countries)
+        lines.append(f"**Country tags:** {geo}\n")
+
+    if interests:
+        tags = ", ".join(f"{tag} (x{count})" for tag, count in interests)
+        lines.append(f"**Website tags:** {tags}\n")
+
+    if first_seen:
+        lines.append(f"**First seen:** {first_seen}")
+    if last_seen:
+        lines.append(f"**Last seen:** {last_seen}")
+    if first_seen or last_seen:
+        lines.append("")
+
+    # Accounts found
+    lines.append("## Accounts found\n")
+
+    for u, id_type, data in results:
+        for site_name, v in data.items():
+            if not v.get("found") or v.get("is_similar"):
+                continue
+
+            lines.append(f"### {site_name}\n")
+            lines.append(f"- **URL:** [{v.get('url_user', '')}]({v.get('url_user', '')})")
+
+            tags = v.get("status") and v["status"].tags or []
+            if tags:
+                lines.append(f"- **Tags:** {', '.join(tags)}")
+                lines.append("")
+
+            ids_data = v.get("ids_data", {})
+            if ids_data:
+                for field, value in ids_data.items():
+                    if field == "image":
+                        continue
+                    title = CaseConverter.snake_to_title(field)
+                    lines.append(f"- {title}: {_md_format_value(value)}")
+
+            lines.append("")
+
+    # Possible false positives
+    lines.append("## Possible false positives\n")
+    lines.append(
+        f"This report was generated by searching for accounts matching the username `{username}`. "
+        f"Accounts listed above may belong to different people who happen to use the same "
+        f"or similar username. Results without extracted personal information could contain "
+        f"some false positive findings. Always verify findings before drawing conclusions.\n"
+    )
+
+    # Ethical use
+    lines.append("## Ethical use\n")
+    lines.append(
+        "This report is a result of a technical collection of publicly available information "
+        "from online accounts and does not constitute personal data processing. If you intend "
+        "to use this data for personal data processing or collection purposes, ensure your use "
+        "complies with applicable laws and regulations in your jurisdiction (such as GDPR, "
+        "CCPA, and similar).\n"
+    )
+
+    with open(filename, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        f.write("\n".join(lines))
+
+
 """
 REPORTS GENERATING
 """
@@ -353,11 +491,12 @@ def generate_report_context(username_results: list):
                     if k in ["country", "locale"]:
                         try:
                             if is_country_tag(k):
-                                tag = pycountry.countries.get(alpha_2=v).alpha_2.lower()
+                                country = pycountry.countries.get(alpha_2=v)
+                                tag = country.alpha_2.lower()  # type: ignore[union-attr]
                             else:
                                 tag = pycountry.countries.search_fuzzy(v)[
                                     0
-                                ].alpha_2.lower()
+                                ].alpha_2.lower()  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
                             # TODO: move countries to another struct
                             tags[tag] = tags.get(tag, 0) + 1
                         except Exception as e:
@@ -513,8 +652,8 @@ def add_xmind_subtopic(userlink, k, v, supposed_data):
 
 
 def design_xmind_sheet(sheet, username, results):
-    alltags = {}
-    supposed_data = {}
+    alltags: Dict[str, Any] = {}
+    supposed_data: Dict[str, Any] = {}
 
     sheet.setTitle("%s Analysis" % (username))
     root_topic1 = sheet.getRootTopic()

maigret/resources/db_meta.json

@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+{
+    "version": 1,
+    "updated_at": "2026-04-07T16:18:18Z",
+    "sites_count": 3155,
+    "min_maigret_version": "0.5.0",
+    "data_sha256": "279fb90280814cd11dcd711b1b8e6c6a99fefea4ce6ef05c9d64dced6ac795c0",
+    "data_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/soxoj/maigret/main/maigret/resources/data.json"
+}

maigret/resources/settings.json

@@ -54,5 +54,9 @@
     "graph_report": false,
     "pdf_report": false,
     "html_report": false,
-    "web_interface_port": 5000
+    "md_report": false,
+    "web_interface_port": 5000,
+    "no_autoupdate": false,
+    "db_update_meta_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/soxoj/maigret/main/maigret/resources/db_meta.json",
+    "autoupdate_check_interval_hours": 24
 }

maigret/settings.py

@@ -42,7 +42,11 @@ class Settings:
     pdf_report: bool
     html_report: bool
     graph_report: bool
+    md_report: bool
     web_interface_port: int
+    no_autoupdate: bool
+    db_update_meta_url: str
+    autoupdate_check_interval_hours: int
 
     # submit mode settings
     presence_strings: list

maigret/sites.py

@@ -92,10 +92,12 @@ class MaigretSite:
     # Alexa traffic rank
     alexa_rank = None
     # Source (in case a site is a mirror of another site)
-    source = None
+    source: Optional[str] = None
 
     # URL protocol (http/https)
     protocol = ''
+    # Protection types detected on this site (e.g. ["tls_fingerprint", "ddos_guard"])
+    protection: List[str] = []
 
     def __init__(self, name, information):
         self.name = name
@@ -173,7 +175,7 @@ class MaigretSite:
                         self.__dict__[CaseConverter.camel_to_snake(group)],
                     )
 
-            self.url_regexp = URLMatcher.make_profile_url_regexp(url, self.regex_check)
+            self.url_regexp = URLMatcher.make_profile_url_regexp(url, self.regex_check or "")
 
     def detect_username(self, url: str) -> Optional[str]:
         if self.url_regexp:
@@ -462,9 +464,9 @@ class MaigretDatabase:
             "tags": self._tags,
         }
 
-        json_data = json.dumps(db_data, indent=4)
+        json_data = json.dumps(db_data, indent=4, ensure_ascii=False)
 
-        with open(filename, "w") as f:
+        with open(filename, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             f.write(json_data)
 
         return self
@@ -564,7 +566,7 @@ class MaigretDatabase:
 
     def get_scan_stats(self, sites_dict):
         sites = sites_dict or self.sites_dict
-        found_flags = {}
+        found_flags: Dict[str, int] = {}
         for _, s in sites.items():
             if "presense_flag" in s.stats:
                 flag = s.stats["presense_flag"]
@@ -585,8 +587,8 @@ class MaigretDatabase:
     def get_db_stats(self, is_markdown=False):
         # Initialize counters
         sites_dict = self.sites_dict
-        urls = {}
-        tags = {}
+        urls: Dict[str, int] = {}
+        tags: Dict[str, int] = {}
         disabled_count = 0
         message_checks_one_factor = 0
         status_checks = 0

maigret/submit.py

@@ -6,8 +6,7 @@ import logging
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
 
 from aiohttp import ClientSession, TCPConnector
-from aiohttp_socks import ProxyConnector
-import cloudscraper
+import cloudscraper  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 from colorama import Fore, Style
 
 from .activation import import_aiohttp_cookies
@@ -68,8 +67,10 @@ class Submitter:
             else:
                 cookie_jar = import_aiohttp_cookies(args.cookie_file)
 
-        connector = ProxyConnector.from_url(proxy) if proxy else TCPConnector(ssl=False)
-        connector.verify_ssl = False
+        ssl_context = __import__('ssl').create_default_context()
+        ssl_context.check_hostname = False
+        ssl_context.verify_mode = __import__('ssl').CERT_NONE
+        connector = ProxyConnector.from_url(proxy) if proxy else TCPConnector(ssl=ssl_context)
         self.session = ClientSession(
             connector=connector, trust_env=True, cookie_jar=cookie_jar
         )
@@ -88,7 +89,9 @@ class Submitter:
         alexa_rank = 0
 
         try:
-            alexa_rank = int(root.find('.//REACH').attrib['RANK'])
+            reach_elem = root.find('.//REACH')
+            if reach_elem is not None:
+                alexa_rank = int(reach_elem.attrib['RANK'])
         except Exception:
             pass
 
@@ -127,7 +130,7 @@ class Submitter:
 
     async def detect_known_engine(
         self, url_exists, url_mainpage, session, follow_redirects, headers
-    ) -> [List[MaigretSite], str]:
+    ) -> Tuple[List[MaigretSite], str]:
 
         session = session or self.session
         resp_text, _ = await self.get_html_response_to_compare(
@@ -191,8 +194,9 @@ class Submitter:
     # TODO: replace with checking.py/SimpleAiohttpChecker call
     @staticmethod
     async def get_html_response_to_compare(
-        url: str, session: ClientSession = None, redirects=False, headers: Dict = None
+        url: str, session: Optional[ClientSession] = None, redirects=False, headers: Optional[Dict] = None
     ):
+        assert session is not None, "session must not be None"
         async with session.get(
             url, allow_redirects=redirects, headers=headers
         ) as response:
@@ -211,10 +215,10 @@ class Submitter:
         username: str,
         url_exists: str,
         cookie_filename="",  # TODO: use cookies
-        session: ClientSession = None,
+        session: Optional[ClientSession] = None,
         follow_redirects=False,
-        headers: dict = None,
-    ) -> Tuple[List[str], List[str], str, str]:
+        headers: Optional[dict] = None,
+    ) -> Tuple[Optional[List[str]], Optional[List[str]], str, str]:
 
         random_username = generate_random_username()
         url_of_non_existing_account = url_exists.lower().replace(
@@ -269,11 +273,8 @@ class Submitter:
         tokens_a = set(re.split(f'[{self.SEPARATORS}]', first_html_response))
         tokens_b = set(re.split(f'[{self.SEPARATORS}]', second_html_response))
 
-        a_minus_b = tokens_a.difference(tokens_b)
-        b_minus_a = tokens_b.difference(tokens_a)
-
-        a_minus_b = list(map(lambda x: x.strip('\\'), a_minus_b))
-        b_minus_a = list(map(lambda x: x.strip('\\'), b_minus_a))
+        a_minus_b: List[str] = [x.strip('\\') for x in tokens_a.difference(tokens_b)]
+        b_minus_a: List[str] = [x.strip('\\') for x in tokens_b.difference(tokens_a)]
 
         # Filter out strings containing usernames
         a_minus_b = [s for s in a_minus_b if username.lower() not in s.lower()]
@@ -378,7 +379,7 @@ class Submitter:
                 ).strip()
 
                 if field in ['tags', 'presense_strs', 'absence_strs']:
-                    new_value = list(map(str.strip, new_value.split(',')))
+                    new_value = list(map(str.strip, new_value.split(',')))  # type: ignore[assignment]
 
                 if new_value:
                     setattr(site, field, new_value)
@@ -424,12 +425,12 @@ class Submitter:
                 f"{Fore.YELLOW}[!] Sites with domain \"{domain_raw}\" already exists in the Maigret database!{Style.RESET_ALL}"
             )
 
-            status = lambda s: "(disabled)" if s.disabled else ""
+            site_status = lambda s: "(disabled)" if s.disabled else ""
             url_block = lambda s: f"\n\t{s.url_main}\n\t{s.url}"
             print(
                 "\n".join(
                     [
-                        f"{site.name} {status(site)}{url_block(site)}"
+                        f"{site.name} {site_status(site)}{url_block(site)}"
                         for site in matched_sites
                     ]
                 )
@@ -497,7 +498,7 @@ class Submitter:
             )
 
         print('Detecting site engine, please wait...')
-        sites = []
+        sites: List[MaigretSite] = []
         text = None
         try:
             sites, text = await self.detect_known_engine(
@@ -510,7 +511,7 @@ class Submitter:
         except KeyboardInterrupt:
             print('Engine detect process is interrupted.')
 
-        if 'cloudflare' in text.lower():
+        if text and 'cloudflare' in text.lower():
             print(
                 'Cloudflare protection detected. I will use cloudscraper for further work'
             )
@@ -573,6 +574,8 @@ class Submitter:
                 found = True
                 break
 
+        assert chosen_site is not None, "No sites to check"
+
         if not found:
             print(
                 f"{Fore.RED}[!] The check for site '{chosen_site.name}' failed!{Style.RESET_ALL}"
@@ -631,8 +634,8 @@ class Submitter:
         #     chosen_site.alexa_rank = rank
 
         self.logger.info(chosen_site.json)
-        site_data = chosen_site.strip_engine_data()
-        self.logger.info(site_data.json)
+        stripped_site = chosen_site.strip_engine_data()
+        self.logger.info(stripped_site.json)
 
         if old_site:
             # Update old site with new values and log changes
@@ -651,7 +654,7 @@ class Submitter:
 
             for field, display_name in fields_to_check.items():
                 old_value = getattr(old_site, field)
-                new_value = getattr(site_data, field)
+                new_value = getattr(stripped_site, field)
                 if field == 'tags' and not new_tags:
                     continue
                 if str(old_value) != str(new_value):
@@ -661,7 +664,7 @@ class Submitter:
                 old_site.__dict__[field] = new_value
 
         # update the site
-        final_site = old_site if old_site else site_data
+        final_site = old_site if old_site else stripped_site
         self.db.update_site(final_site)
 
         # save the db in file

maigret/utils.py

@@ -71,7 +71,10 @@ class URLMatcher:
 
 
 def ascii_data_display(data: str) -> Any:
-    return ast.literal_eval(data)
+    try:
+        return ast.literal_eval(data)
+    except (ValueError, SyntaxError):
+        return data
 
 
 def get_dict_ascii_tree(items, prepend="", new_line=True):
@@ -86,7 +89,7 @@ def get_dict_ascii_tree(items, prepend="", new_line=True):
             new_result + new_line if num != len(items) - 1 else last_result + new_line
         )
 
-        if type(item) == tuple:
+        if isinstance(item, tuple):
             field_name, field_value = item
             if field_value.startswith("['"):
                 is_last_item = num == len(items) - 1

maigret/web/app.py

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import os
 import asyncio
 from datetime import datetime
 from threading import Thread
+from typing import Any, Dict
 import maigret
 import maigret.settings
 from maigret.sites import MaigretDatabase
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ app = Flask(__name__)
 app.secret_key = os.getenv('FLASK_SECRET_KEY', os.urandom(24).hex())
 
 # add background job tracking
-background_jobs = {}
+background_jobs: Dict[str, Any] = {}
 job_results = {}
 
 # Configuration
@@ -260,7 +261,7 @@ def search():
             target=process_search_task, args=(usernames, options, timestamp)
         ),
     }
-    background_jobs[timestamp]['thread'].start()
+    background_jobs[timestamp]['thread'].start()  # type: ignore[union-attr]
 
     return redirect(url_for('status', timestamp=timestamp))
 

pyinstaller/requirements.txt

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 maigret @ https://github.com/soxoj/maigret/archive/refs/heads/main.zip
 pefile==2023.2.7 # do not bump while pyinstaller is 6.11.1, there is a conflict
-psutil==7.1.3
-pyinstaller==6.16.0
+psutil==7.2.2
+pyinstaller==6.19.0
 pywin32-ctypes==0.2.3

pyproject.toml

@@ -38,18 +38,18 @@ arabic-reshaper = "^3.0.0"
 async-timeout = "^5.0.1"
 attrs = ">=25.3,<27.0"
 certifi = ">=2025.6.15,<2027.0.0"
-chardet = "^5.0.0"
+chardet = ">=5,<8"
 colorama = "^0.4.6"
 future = "^1.0.0"
 future-annotations= "^1.0.0"
 html5lib = "^1.1"
 idna = "^3.4"
 Jinja2 = "^3.1.6"
-lxml = ">=5.3,<7.0"
+lxml = ">=6.0.2,<7.0"
 MarkupSafe = "^3.0.2"
 mock = "^5.1.0"
 multidict = "^6.6.3"
-pycountry = "^24.6.1"
+pycountry = ">=24.6.1,<27.0.0"
 PyPDF2 = "^3.0.1"
 PySocks = "^1.7.1"
 python-bidi = "^0.6.3"
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ cloudscraper = "^1.2.71"
 flask = {extras = ["async"], version = "^3.1.1"}
 asgiref = "^3.9.1"
 platformdirs = "^4.3.8"
+curl-cffi = ">=0.14,<1.0"
 
 
 [tool.poetry.group.dev.dependencies]
@@ -94,4 +95,4 @@ black = ">=25.1,<27.0"
 [tool.poetry.scripts]
 # Run with: poetry run maigret <username>
 maigret = "maigret.maigret:run"
-update_sitesmd = "utils.update_site_data:main"
+update_sitesmd = "utils.update_site_data:main"

setup.cfg

@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-[mutmut]
-paths_to_mutate=maigret/
-tests_dir=tests/

tests/test_cli.py

@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ DEFAULT_ARGS: Dict[str, Any] = {
     'web': None,
     'with_domains': False,
     'xmind': False,
+    'md': False,
+    'no_autoupdate': False,
+    'force_update': False,
 }
 
 

tests/test_data.py

@@ -4,6 +4,30 @@ import pytest
 from maigret.utils import is_country_tag
 
 
+TOP_SITES_ALEXA_RANK_LIMIT = 50
+
+KNOWN_SOCIAL_DOMAINS = [
+    "facebook.com",
+    "instagram.com",
+    "twitter.com",
+    "tiktok.com",
+    "vk.com",
+    "reddit.com",
+    "pinterest.com",
+    "snapchat.com",
+    "linkedin.com",
+    "tumblr.com",
+    "threads.net",
+    "bsky.app",
+    "myspace.com",
+    "weibo.com",
+    "mastodon.social",
+    "gab.com",
+    "minds.com",
+    "clubhouse.com",
+]
+
+
 @pytest.mark.slow
 def test_tags_validity(default_db):
     unknown_tags = set()
@@ -19,3 +43,62 @@ def test_tags_validity(default_db):
     # if you see "unchecked" tag error, please, do
     # maigret --db `pwd`/maigret/resources/data.json --self-check --tag unchecked --use-disabled-sites
     assert unknown_tags == set()
+
+
+@pytest.mark.slow
+def test_top_sites_have_category_tag(default_db):
+    """Top sites by alexaRank must have at least one category tag (not just country codes)."""
+    sites_ranked = sorted(
+        [s for s in default_db.sites if s.alexa_rank],
+        key=lambda s: s.alexa_rank,
+    )[:TOP_SITES_ALEXA_RANK_LIMIT]
+
+    missing_category = []
+    for site in sites_ranked:
+        category_tags = [t for t in site.tags if not is_country_tag(t)]
+        if not category_tags:
+            missing_category.append(f"{site.name} (rank {site.alexa_rank})")
+
+    assert missing_category == [], (
+        f"{len(missing_category)} top-{TOP_SITES_ALEXA_RANK_LIMIT} sites have no category tag: "
+        + ", ".join(missing_category[:20])
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.slow
+def test_no_unused_tags_in_registry(default_db):
+    """Every tag in the registry should be used by at least one site."""
+    all_used_tags = set()
+    for site in default_db.sites:
+        for tag in site.tags:
+            if not is_country_tag(tag):
+                all_used_tags.add(tag)
+
+    registered_tags = set(default_db._tags)
+    unused = registered_tags - all_used_tags
+
+    assert unused == set(), f"Tags registered but not used by any site: {unused}"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.slow
+def test_social_networks_have_social_tag(default_db):
+    """Known social network domains must have the 'social' tag."""
+    from urllib.parse import urlparse
+
+    missing_social = []
+    for site in default_db.sites:
+        url = site.url_main or ""
+        try:
+            hostname = urlparse(url).hostname or ""
+        except Exception:
+            continue
+        for domain in KNOWN_SOCIAL_DOMAINS:
+            if hostname == domain or hostname.endswith("." + domain):
+                if "social" not in site.tags:
+                    missing_social.append(f"{site.name} ({domain})")
+                break
+
+    assert missing_social == [], (
+        f"{len(missing_social)} known social networks missing 'social' tag: "
+        + ", ".join(missing_social)
+    )

tests/test_db_updater.py

@@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
+"""Tests for the database auto-update system."""
+
+import json
+import os
+import hashlib
+from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
+from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+
+from maigret.db_updater import (
+    _parse_version,
+    _needs_check,
+    _is_version_compatible,
+    _is_update_available,
+    _load_state,
+    _save_state,
+    _best_local,
+    _now_iso,
+    resolve_db_path,
+    force_update,
+    CACHED_DB_PATH,
+    BUNDLED_DB_PATH,
+    STATE_PATH,
+    MAIGRET_HOME,
+)
+
+
+def test_parse_version():
+    assert _parse_version("0.5.0") == (0, 5, 0)
+    assert _parse_version("1.2.3") == (1, 2, 3)
+    assert _parse_version("bad") == (0, 0, 0)
+    assert _parse_version("") == (0, 0, 0)
+
+
+def test_needs_check_no_state():
+    assert _needs_check({}, 24) is True
+
+
+def test_needs_check_recent():
+    state = {"last_check_at": _now_iso()}
+    assert _needs_check(state, 24) is False
+
+
+def test_needs_check_expired():
+    old_time = (datetime.now(timezone.utc) - timedelta(hours=25)).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
+    state = {"last_check_at": old_time}
+    assert _needs_check(state, 24) is True
+
+
+def test_needs_check_corrupt():
+    state = {"last_check_at": "not-a-date"}
+    assert _needs_check(state, 24) is True
+
+
+def test_version_compatible():
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.__version__", "0.5.0"):
+        assert _is_version_compatible({"min_maigret_version": "0.5.0"}) is True
+        assert _is_version_compatible({"min_maigret_version": "0.4.0"}) is True
+        assert _is_version_compatible({"min_maigret_version": "0.6.0"}) is False
+        assert _is_version_compatible({}) is True  # missing field = compatible
+
+
+def test_update_available_no_cache(tmp_path):
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(tmp_path / "nonexistent.json")):
+        assert _is_update_available({"updated_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"}, {}) is True
+
+
+def test_update_available_newer(tmp_path):
+    cache = tmp_path / "data.json"
+    cache.write_text("{}")
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(cache)):
+        state = {"last_meta": {"updated_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}
+        meta = {"updated_at": "2026-02-01T00:00:00Z"}
+        assert _is_update_available(meta, state) is True
+
+
+def test_update_available_same(tmp_path):
+    cache = tmp_path / "data.json"
+    cache.write_text("{}")
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(cache)):
+        state = {"last_meta": {"updated_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}
+        meta = {"updated_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"}
+        assert _is_update_available(meta, state) is False
+
+
+def test_load_state_missing(tmp_path):
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(tmp_path / "missing.json")):
+        assert _load_state() == {}
+
+
+def test_load_state_corrupt(tmp_path):
+    corrupt = tmp_path / "state.json"
+    corrupt.write_text("not json{{{")
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(corrupt)):
+        assert _load_state() == {}
+
+
+def test_save_and_load_state(tmp_path):
+    state_file = tmp_path / "state.json"
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(state_file)):
+        with patch("maigret.db_updater.MAIGRET_HOME", str(tmp_path)):
+            _save_state({"last_check_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"})
+            loaded = _load_state()
+            assert loaded["last_check_at"] == "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"
+
+
+def test_best_local_with_valid_cache(tmp_path):
+    cache = tmp_path / "data.json"
+    cache.write_text('{"sites": {}, "engines": {}, "tags": []}')
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(cache)):
+        assert _best_local() == str(cache)
+
+
+def test_best_local_with_corrupt_cache(tmp_path):
+    cache = tmp_path / "data.json"
+    cache.write_text("not json")
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(cache)):
+        assert _best_local() == BUNDLED_DB_PATH
+
+
+def test_best_local_no_cache(tmp_path):
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(tmp_path / "missing.json")):
+        assert _best_local() == BUNDLED_DB_PATH
+
+
+def test_resolve_db_path_custom_url():
+    result = resolve_db_path("https://example.com/db.json")
+    assert result == "https://example.com/db.json"
+
+
+def test_resolve_db_path_custom_file():
+    result = resolve_db_path("custom/path.json")
+    assert result.endswith("custom/path.json")
+
+
+def test_resolve_db_path_no_autoupdate(tmp_path):
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(tmp_path / "missing.json")):
+        result = resolve_db_path("resources/data.json", no_autoupdate=True)
+        assert result == BUNDLED_DB_PATH
+
+
+def test_resolve_db_path_no_autoupdate_with_cache(tmp_path):
+    cache = tmp_path / "data.json"
+    cache.write_text('{"sites": {}, "engines": {}, "tags": []}')
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(cache)):
+        result = resolve_db_path("resources/data.json", no_autoupdate=True)
+        assert result == str(cache)
+
+
+@patch("maigret.db_updater._fetch_meta")
+def test_resolve_db_path_network_failure(mock_fetch, tmp_path):
+    mock_fetch.return_value = None
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.MAIGRET_HOME", str(tmp_path)):
+        with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(tmp_path / "state.json")):
+            with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(tmp_path / "missing.json")):
+                result = resolve_db_path("resources/data.json")
+                assert result == BUNDLED_DB_PATH
+
+
+# --- force_update tests ---
+
+
+@patch("maigret.db_updater._fetch_meta")
+def test_force_update_network_failure(mock_fetch, tmp_path):
+    mock_fetch.return_value = None
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.MAIGRET_HOME", str(tmp_path)):
+        with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(tmp_path / "state.json")):
+            assert force_update() is False
+
+
+@patch("maigret.db_updater._fetch_meta")
+def test_force_update_incompatible_version(mock_fetch, tmp_path):
+    mock_fetch.return_value = {"min_maigret_version": "99.0.0", "sites_count": 100}
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.MAIGRET_HOME", str(tmp_path)):
+        with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(tmp_path / "state.json")):
+            assert force_update() is False
+
+
+@patch("maigret.db_updater._download_and_verify")
+@patch("maigret.db_updater._fetch_meta")
+def test_force_update_success(mock_fetch, mock_download, tmp_path):
+    mock_fetch.return_value = {
+        "min_maigret_version": "0.1.0",
+        "sites_count": 3200,
+        "updated_at": "2099-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+        "data_url": "https://example.com/data.json",
+        "data_sha256": "abc123",
+    }
+    mock_download.return_value = str(tmp_path / "data.json")
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.MAIGRET_HOME", str(tmp_path)):
+        with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(tmp_path / "state.json")):
+            with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(tmp_path / "missing.json")):
+                assert force_update() is True
+                state = _load_state()
+                assert state["last_meta"]["sites_count"] == 3200
+
+
+@patch("maigret.db_updater._fetch_meta")
+def test_force_update_already_up_to_date(mock_fetch, tmp_path):
+    cache = tmp_path / "data.json"
+    cache.write_text('{"sites": {}, "engines": {}, "tags": []}')
+    state_file = tmp_path / "state.json"
+    state_file.write_text(json.dumps({
+        "last_check_at": _now_iso(),
+        "last_meta": {"updated_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z", "sites_count": 3000},
+    }))
+    mock_fetch.return_value = {
+        "min_maigret_version": "0.1.0",
+        "sites_count": 3000,
+        "updated_at": "2026-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+    }
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.MAIGRET_HOME", str(tmp_path)):
+        with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(state_file)):
+            with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(cache)):
+                assert force_update() is False
+
+
+@patch("maigret.db_updater._download_and_verify")
+@patch("maigret.db_updater._fetch_meta")
+def test_force_update_download_fails(mock_fetch, mock_download, tmp_path):
+    mock_fetch.return_value = {
+        "min_maigret_version": "0.1.0",
+        "sites_count": 3200,
+        "updated_at": "2099-01-01T00:00:00Z",
+        "data_url": "https://example.com/data.json",
+        "data_sha256": "abc123",
+    }
+    mock_download.return_value = None
+    with patch("maigret.db_updater.MAIGRET_HOME", str(tmp_path)):
+        with patch("maigret.db_updater.STATE_PATH", str(tmp_path / "state.json")):
+            with patch("maigret.db_updater.CACHED_DB_PATH", str(tmp_path / "missing.json")):
+                assert force_update() is False

tests/test_errors.py

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def test_notify_about_errors():
         },
     }
 
-    results = notify_about_errors(results, query_notify=None, show_statistics=True)
+    notifications = notify_about_errors(results, query_notify=None, show_statistics=True)
 
     # Check the output
     expected_output = [
@@ -55,4 +55,4 @@ def test_notify_about_errors():
         ('Access denied: 25.0%', '!'),
         ('You can see detailed site check errors with a flag `--print-errors`', '-'),
     ]
-    assert results == expected_output
+    assert notifications == expected_output

tests/test_executors.py

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import pytest
 import asyncio
 import logging
+from typing import Any, List, Tuple, Callable, Dict
 from maigret.executors import (
     AsyncioSimpleExecutor,
     AsyncioProgressbarExecutor,
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ async def func(n):
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_simple_asyncio_executor():
-    tasks = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
+    tasks: List[Tuple[Callable, list, dict]] = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
     executor = AsyncioSimpleExecutor(logger=logger)
     assert await executor.run(tasks) == [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
     assert executor.execution_time > 0.2
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ async def test_simple_asyncio_executor():
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_asyncio_progressbar_executor():
-    tasks = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
+    tasks: List[Tuple[Callable, list, dict]] = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
 
     executor = AsyncioProgressbarExecutor(logger=logger)
     # no guarantees for the results order
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ async def test_asyncio_progressbar_executor():
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_asyncio_progressbar_semaphore_executor():
-    tasks = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
+    tasks: List[Tuple[Callable, list, dict]] = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
 
     executor = AsyncioProgressbarSemaphoreExecutor(logger=logger, in_parallel=5)
     # no guarantees for the results order
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ async def test_asyncio_progressbar_semaphore_executor():
 @pytest.mark.slow
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_asyncio_progressbar_queue_executor():
-    tasks = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
+    tasks: List[Tuple[Callable, list, dict]] = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
 
     executor = AsyncioProgressbarQueueExecutor(logger=logger, in_parallel=2)
     assert await executor.run(tasks) == [0, 1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 7, 5, 9, 8]
@@ -81,22 +82,22 @@ async def test_asyncio_progressbar_queue_executor():
 
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
 async def test_asyncio_queue_generator_executor():
-    tasks = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
+    tasks: List[Tuple[Callable, list, dict]] = [(func, [n], {}) for n in range(10)]
 
     executor = AsyncioQueueGeneratorExecutor(logger=logger, in_parallel=2)
-    results = [result async for result in executor.run(tasks)]
+    results = [result async for result in executor.run(tasks)]  # type: ignore[arg-type]
     assert results == [0, 1, 3, 2, 4, 6, 7, 5, 9, 8]
     assert executor.execution_time > 0.5
     assert executor.execution_time < 0.6
 
     executor = AsyncioQueueGeneratorExecutor(logger=logger, in_parallel=3)
-    results = [result async for result in executor.run(tasks)]
+    results = [result async for result in executor.run(tasks)]  # type: ignore[arg-type]
     assert results == [0, 3, 1, 4, 6, 2, 7, 9, 5, 8]
     assert executor.execution_time > 0.4
     assert executor.execution_time < 0.5
 
     executor = AsyncioQueueGeneratorExecutor(logger=logger, in_parallel=5)
-    results = [result async for result in executor.run(tasks)]
+    results = [result async for result in executor.run(tasks)]  # type: ignore[arg-type]
     assert results in (
         [0, 3, 6, 1, 4, 7, 9, 2, 5, 8],
         [0, 3, 6, 1, 4, 9, 7, 2, 5, 8],
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ async def test_asyncio_queue_generator_executor():
     assert executor.execution_time < 0.4
 
     executor = AsyncioQueueGeneratorExecutor(logger=logger, in_parallel=10)
-    results = [result async for result in executor.run(tasks)]
+    results = [result async for result in executor.run(tasks)]  # type: ignore[arg-type]
     assert results == [0, 3, 6, 9, 1, 4, 7, 2, 5, 8]
     assert executor.execution_time > 0.2
     assert executor.execution_time < 0.3

tests/test_maigret.py

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import asyncio
 import copy
+from unittest.mock import patch
 
 import pytest
 from mock import Mock
@@ -11,7 +12,8 @@ from maigret.maigret import (
     extract_ids_from_page,
     extract_ids_from_results,
 )
-from maigret.sites import MaigretSite
+from maigret.checking import site_self_check
+from maigret.sites import MaigretSite, MaigretDatabase
 from maigret.result import MaigretCheckResult, MaigretCheckStatus
 from tests.conftest import RESULTS_EXAMPLE
 
@@ -37,6 +39,86 @@ async def test_self_check_db(test_db):
     assert test_db.sites_dict['InvalidInactive'].disabled is True
 
 
+@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_self_check_no_progressbar(test_db):
+    """Verify that no_progressbar=True disables the alive_bar in self_check."""
+    logger = Mock()
+
+    with patch('maigret.checking.alive_bar') as mock_alive_bar:
+        mock_bar = Mock()
+        mock_alive_bar.return_value.__enter__ = Mock(return_value=mock_bar)
+        mock_alive_bar.return_value.__exit__ = Mock(return_value=False)
+
+        await self_check(
+            test_db, test_db.sites_dict, logger, silent=True,
+            no_progressbar=True,
+        )
+
+        # First call is the self-check progress bar; subsequent calls are
+        # from inner search() invocations.
+        self_check_call = mock_alive_bar.call_args_list[0]
+        _, kwargs = self_check_call
+        assert kwargs.get('title') == 'Self-checking'
+        assert kwargs.get('disable') is True
+
+
+@pytest.mark.slow
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_self_check_progressbar_enabled_by_default(test_db):
+    """Verify that alive_bar is enabled by default (no_progressbar=False)."""
+    logger = Mock()
+
+    with patch('maigret.checking.alive_bar') as mock_alive_bar:
+        mock_bar = Mock()
+        mock_alive_bar.return_value.__enter__ = Mock(return_value=mock_bar)
+        mock_alive_bar.return_value.__exit__ = Mock(return_value=False)
+
+        await self_check(
+            test_db, test_db.sites_dict, logger, silent=True,
+        )
+
+        self_check_call = mock_alive_bar.call_args_list[0]
+        _, kwargs = self_check_call
+        assert kwargs.get('title') == 'Self-checking'
+        assert kwargs.get('disable') is False
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_site_self_check_handles_exception(test_db):
+    """Verify that site_self_check catches unexpected exceptions and returns a valid result."""
+    logger = Mock()
+    sem = asyncio.Semaphore(1)
+    site = test_db.sites_dict['ValidActive']
+
+    with patch('maigret.checking.maigret', side_effect=RuntimeError("test crash")):
+        result = await site_self_check(site, logger, sem, test_db)
+
+    assert isinstance(result, dict)
+    assert "issues" in result
+    assert len(result["issues"]) > 0
+    assert any("Unexpected error" in issue for issue in result["issues"])
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_self_check_handles_task_exception(test_db):
+    """Verify that self_check continues when individual site checks raise exceptions."""
+    logger = Mock()
+
+    with patch('maigret.checking.maigret', side_effect=RuntimeError("test crash")):
+        result = await self_check(
+            test_db, test_db.sites_dict, logger, silent=True,
+            no_progressbar=True,
+        )
+
+    assert isinstance(result, dict)
+    assert 'results' in result
+    assert len(result['results']) == len(test_db.sites_dict)
+    for r in result['results']:
+        assert 'site_name' in r
+        assert 'issues' in r
+
+
 @pytest.mark.slow
 @pytest.mark.skip(reason="broken, fixme")
 def test_maigret_results(test_db):
@@ -112,7 +194,7 @@ def test_extract_ids_from_page(test_db):
 
 
 def test_extract_ids_from_results(test_db):
-    TEST_EXAMPLE = copy.deepcopy(RESULTS_EXAMPLE)
+    TEST_EXAMPLE: dict = copy.deepcopy(RESULTS_EXAMPLE)
     TEST_EXAMPLE['Reddit']['ids_usernames'] = {'test1': 'yandex_public_id'}
     TEST_EXAMPLE['Reddit']['ids_links'] = ['https://www.reddit.com/user/test2']
 

tests/test_report.py

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import os
 import pytest
 from io import StringIO
 
-import xmind
+import xmind  # type: ignore[import-untyped]
 from jinja2 import Template
 
 from maigret.report import (

tests/test_sites.py

@@ -1,8 +1,10 @@
 """Maigret Database test functions"""
 
+from typing import Any, Dict
+
 from maigret.sites import MaigretDatabase, MaigretSite
 
-EXAMPLE_DB = {
+EXAMPLE_DB: Dict[str, Any] = {
     'engines': {
         "XenForo": {
             "presenseStrs": ["XenForo"],

tests/test_submit.py

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ async def test_detect_known_engine(test_db, local_test_db):
     url_exists = "https://devforum.zoom.us/u/adam"
     url_mainpage = "https://devforum.zoom.us/"
     # Mock extract_username_dialog to return "adam"
-    submitter.extract_username_dialog = MagicMock(return_value="adam")
+    submitter.extract_username_dialog = MagicMock(return_value="adam")  # type: ignore[method-assign]
 
     sites, resp_text = await submitter.detect_known_engine(
         url_exists, url_mainpage, session=None, follow_redirects=False, headers=None
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ async def test_check_features_manually_success(settings):
 
 @pytest.mark.slow
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
-async def test_check_features_manually_success(settings):
+async def test_check_features_manually_cloudflare(settings):
     # Setup
     db = MaigretDatabase()
     logger = logging.getLogger("test_logger")

utils/generate_db_meta.py

@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+"""Generate db_meta.json from data.json for the auto-update system."""
+
+import argparse
+import hashlib
+import json
+import os.path as path
+import sys
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+
+RESOURCES_DIR = path.join(path.dirname(path.dirname(path.abspath(__file__))), "maigret", "resources")
+DATA_JSON_PATH = path.join(RESOURCES_DIR, "data.json")
+META_JSON_PATH = path.join(RESOURCES_DIR, "db_meta.json")
+DEFAULT_DATA_URL = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/soxoj/maigret/main/maigret/resources/data.json"
+
+
+def get_current_version():
+    version_file = path.join(path.dirname(path.dirname(path.abspath(__file__))), "maigret", "__version__.py")
+    with open(version_file) as f:
+        for line in f:
+            if line.startswith("__version__"):
+                return line.split("=")[1].strip().strip("'\"")
+    return "0.0.0"
+
+
+def main():
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Generate db_meta.json from data.json")
+    parser.add_argument("--min-version", default=None, help="Minimum compatible maigret version (default: current version)")
+    parser.add_argument("--data-url", default=DEFAULT_DATA_URL, help="URL where data.json can be downloaded")
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    min_version = args.min_version or get_current_version()
+
+    with open(DATA_JSON_PATH, "rb") as f:
+        raw = f.read()
+        sha256 = hashlib.sha256(raw).hexdigest()
+
+    data = json.loads(raw)
+    sites_count = len(data.get("sites", {}))
+
+    meta = {
+        "version": 1,
+        "updated_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ"),
+        "sites_count": sites_count,
+        "min_maigret_version": min_version,
+        "data_sha256": sha256,
+        "data_url": args.data_url,
+    }
+
+    with open(META_JSON_PATH, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+        json.dump(meta, f, indent=4, ensure_ascii=False)
+
+    print(f"Generated {META_JSON_PATH}")
+    print(f"  sites: {sites_count}")
+    print(f"  sha256: {sha256[:16]}...")
+    print(f"  min_version: {min_version}")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()

utils/site_check.py

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent))
 
 try:
     import aiohttp
+    from yarl import URL as YarlURL
 except ImportError:
     print("aiohttp not installed. Run: pip install aiohttp")
     sys.exit(1)
@@ -74,8 +75,14 @@ def color(text: str, c: str) -> str:
 
 
 async def check_url_aiohttp(url: str, headers: dict = None, follow_redirects: bool = True,
-                            timeout: int = 15, ssl_verify: bool = False) -> dict:
-    """Check a URL using aiohttp and return detailed response info."""
+                            timeout: int = 15, ssl_verify: bool = False,
+                            method: str = "GET", payload: dict = None) -> dict:
+    """Check a URL using aiohttp and return detailed response info.
+
+    Args:
+        method: HTTP method ("GET" or "POST").
+        payload: JSON payload for POST requests (dict, will be serialized).
+    """
     headers = headers or DEFAULT_HEADERS.copy()
     result = {
         "method": "aiohttp",
@@ -96,7 +103,14 @@ async def check_url_aiohttp(url: str, headers: dict = None, follow_redirects: bo
         timeout_obj = aiohttp.ClientTimeout(total=timeout)
 
         async with aiohttp.ClientSession(connector=connector, timeout=timeout_obj) as session:
-            async with session.get(url, headers=headers, allow_redirects=follow_redirects) as resp:
+            # Use encoded=True if URL contains percent-encoded chars to prevent double-encoding
+            request_url = YarlURL(url, encoded=True) if '%' in url else url
+            request_kwargs = dict(headers=headers, allow_redirects=follow_redirects)
+            if method.upper() == "POST" and payload is not None:
+                request_kwargs["json"] = payload
+
+            request_fn = session.post if method.upper() == "POST" else session.get
+            async with request_fn(request_url, **request_kwargs) as resp:
                 result["status"] = resp.status
                 result["final_url"] = str(resp.url)
 
@@ -438,21 +452,54 @@ async def diagnose_site(site_config: dict, site_name: str) -> dict:
         print(f"  {color('[!]', Colors.RED)} No usernameClaimed defined")
         return diagnosis
 
-    # Build full URL
+    # Build full URL (display URL)
     url_template = url.replace("{urlMain}", url_main).replace("{urlSubpath}", site_config.get("urlSubpath", ""))
 
+    # Build probe URL (what Maigret actually requests)
+    url_probe = site_config.get("urlProbe", "")
+    if url_probe:
+        probe_template = url_probe.replace("{urlMain}", url_main).replace("{urlSubpath}", site_config.get("urlSubpath", ""))
+    else:
+        probe_template = url_template
+
+    # Detect request method and payload
+    request_method = site_config.get("requestMethod", "GET").upper()
+    request_payload_template = site_config.get("requestPayload")
+
     headers = DEFAULT_HEADERS.copy()
+    # For API probes (urlProbe, POST), use neutral Accept header instead of text/html
+    # which can cause servers to return HTML instead of JSON
+    if url_probe or request_method == "POST":
+        headers["Accept"] = "*/*"
     if site_config.get("headers"):
         headers.update(site_config["headers"])
 
+    if url_probe:
+        print(f"  urlProbe: {url_probe}")
+    if request_method != "GET":
+        print(f"  requestMethod: {request_method}")
+    if request_payload_template:
+        print(f"  requestPayload: {request_payload_template}")
+
     # 2. Connectivity test
     print(f"\n--- {color('2. CONNECTIVITY TEST', Colors.BOLD)} ---")
-    url_claimed = url_template.replace("{username}", claimed)
-    url_unclaimed = url_template.replace("{username}", unclaimed)
+    probe_claimed = probe_template.replace("{username}", claimed)
+    probe_unclaimed = probe_template.replace("{username}", unclaimed)
+
+    # Build payloads with username substituted
+    payload_claimed = None
+    payload_unclaimed = None
+    if request_payload_template and request_method == "POST":
+        payload_claimed = json.loads(
+            json.dumps(request_payload_template).replace("{username}", claimed)
+        )
+        payload_unclaimed = json.loads(
+            json.dumps(request_payload_template).replace("{username}", unclaimed)
+        )
 
     result_claimed, result_unclaimed = await asyncio.gather(
-        check_url_aiohttp(url_claimed, headers),
-        check_url_aiohttp(url_unclaimed, headers)
+        check_url_aiohttp(probe_claimed, headers, method=request_method, payload=payload_claimed),
+        check_url_aiohttp(probe_unclaimed, headers, method=request_method, payload=payload_unclaimed)
     )
 
     print(f"  Claimed ({claimed}): status={result_claimed['status']}, error={result_claimed['error']}")
@@ -523,7 +570,18 @@ async def diagnose_site(site_config: dict, site_name: str) -> dict:
             diagnosis["warnings"].append(f"absenceStrs not found in unclaimed page")
             print(f"  {color('[WARN]', Colors.YELLOW)} absenceStrs not found in unclaimed page")
 
-        if presense_found_claimed and not absence_found_claimed and absence_found_unclaimed:
+        # Check works if: claimed is detected as present AND unclaimed is detected as absent.
+        # Presence detection: presenseStrs found (or empty = always true).
+        # Absence detection: absenceStrs found in unclaimed (or empty = never, rely on presenseStrs only).
+        # With only presenseStrs: works if found in claimed but NOT in unclaimed.
+        # With only absenceStrs: works if found in unclaimed but NOT in claimed.
+        # With both: standard combination.
+        claimed_is_present = presense_found_claimed and not absence_found_claimed
+        unclaimed_is_absent = (
+            (absence_strs and absence_found_unclaimed) or
+            (presense_strs and not presense_found_unclaimed)
+        )
+        if claimed_is_present and unclaimed_is_absent:
             print(f"  {color('[OK]', Colors.GREEN)} Message check should work correctly")
             diagnosis["working"] = True
 

utils/update_site_data.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ This module generates the listing of supported sites in file `SITES.md`
 and pretty prints file with sites data.
 """
 import sys
+import socket
 import requests
 import logging
 import threading
@@ -64,6 +65,49 @@ def get_base_domain(url):
         return ""
 
 
+def check_dns(domain, timeout=5):
+    """Check if a domain resolves via DNS. Returns True if it resolves."""
+    try:
+        socket.setdefaulttimeout(timeout)
+        socket.getaddrinfo(domain, None)
+        return True
+    except (socket.gaierror, socket.timeout, OSError):
+        return False
+
+
+def check_sites_dns(sites):
+    """Check DNS resolution for all sites. Returns a set of site names that failed."""
+    SKIP_TLDS = ('.onion', '.i2p')
+    domains = {}
+    for site in sites:
+        domain = get_base_domain(site.url_main)
+        if domain and not any(domain.endswith(tld) for tld in SKIP_TLDS):
+            domains.setdefault(domain, []).append(site)
+
+    failed_sites = set()
+    results = {}
+
+    def resolve(domain):
+        results[domain] = check_dns(domain)
+
+    threads = []
+    for domain in domains:
+        t = threading.Thread(target=resolve, args=(domain,))
+        threads.append(t)
+        t.start()
+
+    for t in threads:
+        t.join()
+
+    for domain, resolved in results.items():
+        if not resolved:
+            for site in domains[domain]:
+                failed_sites.add(site.name)
+            logging.warning(f"DNS resolution failed for {domain}")
+
+    return failed_sites
+
+
 def get_step_rank(rank):
     def get_readable_rank(r):
         return RANKS[str(r)]
@@ -86,6 +130,8 @@ def main():
     parser.add_argument('--empty-only', help='update only sites without rating', action='store_true')
     parser.add_argument('--exclude-engine', help='do not update score with certain engine',
                         action="append", dest="exclude_engine_list", default=[])
+    parser.add_argument('--dns-check', help='disable sites whose domains do not resolve via DNS',
+                        action='store_true')
 
     pool = list()
 
@@ -103,6 +149,24 @@ Rank data fetched from Majestic Million by domains.
 
 """)
 
+        if args.dns_check:
+            print("Checking DNS resolution for all site domains...")
+            failed = check_sites_dns(sites_subset)
+            disabled_count = 0
+            re_enabled_count = 0
+            for site in sites_subset:
+                if site.name in failed:
+                    if not site.disabled:
+                        site.disabled = True
+                        disabled_count += 1
+                        print(f"  Disabled {site.name}: DNS does not resolve ({get_base_domain(site.url_main)})")
+                else:
+                    if site.disabled:
+                        # Re-enable previously disabled site if DNS now resolves
+                        # (only if it was likely disabled due to DNS failure)
+                        pass
+            print(f"DNS check complete: {disabled_count} site(s) disabled, {len(failed)} domain(s) unresolvable.")
+
         majestic_ranks = {}
         if args.with_rank:
             majestic_ranks = fetch_majestic_million()
@@ -153,6 +217,26 @@ Rank data fetched from Majestic Million by domains.
         site_file.write(f'\nThe list was updated at ({datetime.now(timezone.utc).date()})\n')
         db.save_to_file(args.base_file)
 
+        # Regenerate db_meta.json to stay in sync with data.json
+        try:
+            import hashlib, json, os
+            db_data_raw = open(args.base_file, 'rb').read()
+            db_data_parsed = json.loads(db_data_raw)
+            meta = {
+                "version": 1,
+                "updated_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).strftime("%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ"),
+                "sites_count": len(db_data_parsed.get("sites", {})),
+                "min_maigret_version": "0.5.0",
+                "data_sha256": hashlib.sha256(db_data_raw).hexdigest(),
+                "data_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/soxoj/maigret/main/maigret/resources/data.json",
+            }
+            meta_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(args.base_file), "db_meta.json")
+            with open(meta_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as mf:
+                json.dump(meta, mf, indent=4, ensure_ascii=False)
+            print(f"Updated {meta_path} ({meta['sites_count']} sites)")
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"Warning: could not regenerate db_meta.json: {e}")
+
         statistics_text = db.get_db_stats(is_markdown=True)
         site_file.write('## Statistics\n\n')
         site_file.write(statistics_text)