What the Archive Helper does
The Max Intel Archive Helper is a small userscript that lets seven Max Intel archive tools run full Wayback Machine scans from your own browser and IP address. It is free, optional, and about 150 lines long.
Web pages cannot read most Wayback Machine data. The snapshot index (the CDX search API) and the archived pages themselves are served by web.archive.org without the cross-origin (CORS) headers a browser needs before it lets one site read another site's data. Until 9 October 2026, Max Intel tools sent those requests through a shared proxy server. When many people scanned at once, the Internet Archive rate-limited that one server and everyone's scans slowed down or failed.
The tools no longer use the proxy for the Wayback Machine. Without the helper they run a quick check using the one archive.org endpoint that browsers are allowed to read: the Wayback Machine availability API. With the helper installed they run a full scan: your userscript manager makes the requests, which browser extensions are allowed to do, and hands the results back to the page.
Install the Archive Helper (v1.0.0)
Needs a userscript manager first; see the three steps below. Opening the link with one installed shows the full source before you confirm.
Quick check vs full scan, tool by tool
A quick check answers one question per URL: does the Wayback Machine have a recent capture of it? It finds the most recent capture only. That API also sometimes misses URLs that are archived, so a quick "not found" is not proof that nothing was saved.
| Tool | Quick check (default) | Full scan adds (with the helper) |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost Finder | Most recent capture of each profile URL, with links | Every capture, bios, emails, names, linked accounts, ghost/private status, cross-references |
| Career Intel | Which careers pages and job boards were archived, latest capture | Job listings parsed from snapshots, hiring timeline, departments, tech stack |
| WHOIS History | Which contact, about and WHOIS-lookup pages were archived | Emails, phones, names, addresses and organisations extracted from archived pages, with first/last seen |
| Wayback Recon | 15 high-value paths (robots.txt, .env, /admin, /login and so on) | Every archived URL under the domain and its subdomains |
| Sitemap Historian | Whether sitemap files and robots.txt were archived, latest capture | URL counts, revision diffs, vanished URLs, growth chart |
| Exposed | 11 sensitive files (.env, .git/config, database.sql and others) | All 20 paths, snapshot counts, first-seen dates |
| Domain Recon | Latest capture of the domain | Capture count from the CDX index |
Every tool shows which mode it is in at the top: an amber Quick check mode note, or a green Full scan mode note once the helper is detected.
How to install it in three steps
- Install a userscript manager. Tampermonkey works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and Opera. Violentmonkey is a free, open-source alternative for Chrome, Edge and Firefox.
- Chrome and Edge only: allow user scripts. Since Chrome 138, Chrome-based browsers run userscripts only after you turn this on. Right-click the Tampermonkey icon, choose Manage extension, and turn on Allow User Scripts. On older versions, turn on Developer mode at chrome://extensions instead (Tampermonkey FAQ; Chrome userScripts API docs).
- Install the script. Open maxintel-archive-helper.user.js. Your userscript manager shows the source and what it is allowed to connect to (archive.org and web.archive.org only). Click Install, then reload any of the tools above. The mode note turns green.
Updates come from the same address. To remove the helper, delete it from your userscript manager's dashboard. The tools go back to quick checks.
What it can and cannot do
The script enforces these rules itself, on every request:
- Runs only on Max Intel. It matches https://maxintel.org/* and https://www.maxintel.org/*, only in the top window and never in iframes, so ad frames cannot reach it.
- Talks only to the Wayback Machine. It fetches three kinds of address and refuses everything else: archive.org/wayback/available, web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx and web.archive.org/web/…. Its
@connectlines also stop the userscript manager from contacting any other host. - Answers only the page itself. Messages from iframes or other windows are ignored.
- Sends no cookies. Requests are anonymous, so your archive.org login, if you have one, is never used.
- Stays within limits. It runs at most 3 requests at once and returns at most 20 MB per response.
- No tracking. It has no analytics and makes no other network calls. You can read the whole source in your userscript manager.
Privacy: who sees what
In both modes, the URLs a tool checks (profile addresses, domains, file paths) go from your browser straight to the Internet Archive, which sees your IP address as it would if you browsed the Wayback Machine yourself. The Internet Archive's terms and privacy policy apply to those requests. Max Intel's servers are not involved, so Max Intel does not see what you check. Other parts of some tools, such as certificate or DNS lookups, work as described on each tool page and in the privacy policy.
Because full scans now come from your IP, the Internet Archive's rate limits apply to you alone. If a tool reports that the Wayback Machine is rate-limiting, wait a few minutes and use the tool's retry button. Results already found are kept.
Troubleshooting
- The note still says Quick check mode. Check that the script is enabled in your userscript manager, that Allow User Scripts (or Developer mode) is on in Chrome or Edge, and that the address bar starts with https://maxintel.org or https://www.maxintel.org. Then reload the page.
- Tampermonkey asks to allow a domain. It should only ever ask about archive.org or web.archive.org. Refuse anything else and tell us at the [email protected].
- Scans stop with "the Wayback Machine did not answer". The Internet Archive is rate-limiting your IP or is offline. Its status is posted on its official social accounts. Wait, then retry.
- Private or incognito windows. Most userscript managers are off in private windows unless you allow them in the extension settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need the Archive Helper to use Max Intel archive tools?
No. Without it, Ghost Finder, Career Intel, WHOIS History, Wayback Recon, Sitemap Historian, Exposed and Domain Recon run quick checks with the Wayback Machine availability API, straight from your browser. The helper is only needed for full scans: snapshot lists, every capture, and data extracted from archived pages.
Why can a userscript do what the web page cannot?
Browsers stop one website from reading another site's data unless that site sends cross-origin (CORS) headers, and web.archive.org does not send them for its snapshot index or archived pages. Userscript managers such as Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey are browser extensions, which may make cross-site requests to hosts the script declares. The Archive Helper declares only archive.org and web.archive.org.
Is the Archive Helper safe to install?
It is about 150 lines of readable JavaScript that your userscript manager shows you before installing. It runs only on maxintel.org pages, only answers the page itself and not iframes, fetches only Wayback Machine lookup, index and snapshot addresses, sends no cookies, and makes no other network calls.
Does Max Intel see what I search?
Not for Wayback Machine lookups. Quick checks and full scans both go from your browser directly to archive.org, so the Internet Archive sees the request and your IP address, and Max Intel does not.
Why does Chrome need the Allow User Scripts setting?
Since Chrome 138, Chrome-based browsers only run userscripts from extensions such as Tampermonkey after you turn on the Allow User Scripts toggle in that extension's settings. Older versions use Developer mode instead. Firefox and Safari do not need this step.