Maltego: Troubleshooting
This page covers the most common issues you may encounter when running DomainTools transforms in Maltego.
How errors are surfaced
Section titled “How errors are surfaced”The integration shows two kinds of error text in Maltego’s transform output:
- Wrapped messages from the integration itself. Two fixed strings:
Unauthorized Access - Query DeniedandData not found. Both are described below. - Raw DomainTools API errors. Any other error text you see is the error message returned by the underlying DomainTools API (Iris Investigate, WHOIS, Parsed RDAP, etc.) surfaced verbatim. Read it directly — the message describes the specific failure.
”Unauthorized Access - Query Denied”
Section titled “”Unauthorized Access - Query Denied””The integration returns this wrapped message when required credentials (API Username or API Key) are missing or blank. Other credential or entitlement problems surface as raw API errors (see the next section).
Causes in roughly descending order of likelihood:
- Credentials are wrong or missing. Open transform settings and confirm that API Username and API Key are set, with no leading or trailing whitespace. A blank or whitespace-only value in either field triggers this wrapped message.
- Credentials are valid, but the account doesn’t include the API behind this transform. This typically surfaces as a raw API error rather than this wrapped message, but the remediation is the same: entitlements are per-API and may differ between transform families. See Which API backs which transform below.
- Account-level block. If you’ve exceeded your plan’s usage or your account is otherwise restricted, requests return unauthorized until the block clears. Contact support.
”Data not found”
Section titled “”Data not found””The integration returns this wrapped message when the API call succeeded but the specific field the transform was asked to produce was empty or had no value (for example, a WHOIS record with no SOA email address, or a parsed RDAP record with no registrar entity). This is informational, not an error.
Common reasons:
- The domain, IP, email, or other input has no data in DomainTools’ data for the requested attribute.
- The domain was registered in the past day or so, or expired in the past day or so.
- The input is malformed (for example, a URL pasted into a Domain entity instead of a bare domain).
Check the entity value first, then try a known-populated input (for example, domaintools.com) to confirm the transform itself is working.
A transform returns a raw API error
Section titled “A transform returns a raw API error”Any error text other than the two wrapped messages in the preceding sections is the error returned by the underlying DomainTools API, surfaced verbatim. The message typically describes the specific validation or policy failure — read it directly and adjust the input or the transform settings accordingly. Common examples:
- Validation errors such as “Domain is required” or “Invalid IP address” — fix the input entity value.
- Authorization errors from the backing API — the account doesn’t have entitlement to that API, or the API key is invalid. Check the table below to confirm which API the transform uses.
Which API backs which transform
Section titled “Which API backs which transform”When you hit an entitlement-related error, the table below tells you which DomainTools API the transform calls. If Iris transforms work but a WHOIS-family transform doesn’t (or vice versa), it’s usually a missing entitlement on the corresponding API.
| Transform family | Backing DomainTools API |
|---|---|
| Iris transforms (all entries on the Iris Investigate transforms page) | Iris Investigate |
| WHOIS, parsed WHOIS, WHOIS History | WHOIS + WHOIS History |
| Reverse IP / shared hosting, reverse nameserver, reverse WHOIS, hosting history | Respective reverse-lookup and hosting-history APIs |
| Domain Reputation | Domain Reputation |
| RDAP transforms | Parsed RDAP |
If you’re not sure what your account includes, contact your DomainTools representative or EnterpriseSupport@domaintools.com.
A transform runs slowly or times out
Section titled “A transform runs slowly or times out”A few transforms in this integration draw from heavier endpoints (WHOIS History, hosting history, reverse IP/NS, reverse WHOIS, shared domains). For large result sets these can take noticeably longer than a typical Maltego transform. The practical fix is to scope the input: reverse lookups on common values (for example, a shared hosting IP with thousands of domains) return large result sets, so narrowing the query speeds things up.
If transforms regularly time out on normal-sized inputs, contact support.
A transform’s name doesn’t match what you see in the client
Section titled “A transform’s name doesn’t match what you see in the client”Transform display names are set by the Transform Hub listing and may differ slightly from the names used in this documentation. The Maltego client shows the listing’s display name in the context menu; the transform endpoint name used internally is a third identifier and isn’t customer-facing. Match on the transform’s inputs, outputs, and description rather than on the label. If you can’t find a transform described here in your Maltego client, contact your DomainTools representative.
Fewer results than expected in Maltego Community Edition
Section titled “Fewer results than expected in Maltego Community Edition”The DomainTools integration can be run from Maltego Community Edition (CE) — the transforms are distributed via Maltego’s public TDS — but CE returns up to 24 results per transform execution, fewer than commercial editions. If you’re seeing fewer results in CE than you expect on a reverse lookup, shared-domains query, or historical transform, this is the CE-tier cap, not a bug. Use a commercial edition of Maltego for full-volume results. See the Maltego pricing page for commercial editions.
How to get help
Section titled “How to get help”- For questions about access, entitlement, or account-level errors: your DomainTools representative, or EnterpriseSupport@domaintools.com.
- For questions about Maltego itself (installation, activation, the Transform Hub): Maltego support.