Scanning

Overview

A scan is one execution of a tool or pipeline. Auto-Offensive offers three modes:

Quick comparison

Basic scan

A basic scan runs a single tool with light and deep options. It's the fastest way to test a target.

How to use via UI

1. Navigate to the Scans page from the sidebar.
2. Click the New Scan button.
3. Select Basic as the scan mode.
4. Enter your target (e.g., example.com).
5. Choose a tool from the dropdown (e.g., subfinder).
6. Click Submit Scan.

Medium scan

A medium scan runs a 4 tool and gives you control over options. The backend validates options against the tool's scan_config.medium schema and applies safe defaults.

How to use via UI

1. Select Medium as the scan mode.
2. Enter your target.
3. Choose a tool (e.g., nuclei).
4. A configuration form will appear. Adjust the tool-specific options (like Severity, Rate Limit, etc.).
5. Click Submit Scan.

Advanced pipeline scan

An advanced scan lets you write Unix-style pipelines where the output of one tool flows into the next. It's the most powerful way to perform full reconnaissance workflows.

Pipeline syntax

Use Unix pipes (|) to chain tools. In the CLI, escape the pipe with a backslash (\|) to prevent your local shell from interpreting it.

How to use via UI

1. Select Advanced as the scan mode.
2. Enter your target.
3. In the Pipeline editor, type your Unix-style command (e.g., subfinder -d example.com | httpx -sc).
4. Click Submit Scan.

Supported tools

Auto-Offensive runs 7 industry-standard security tools, all fully managed in sandboxed containers.

Queue & lifecycle

Scans are queued and processed by scalable workers. Each job moves through these states:

Queue management

Real-time streaming

While a scan is running, logs are streamed back via Server-Sent Events (SSE). This lets you watch results live, just like running the tool locally.