HackTricks MCP Server

MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for searching and querying HackTricks pentesting documentation directly from Claude.

Features

• Quick lookup - One-shot exploitation info with alias support (sqli, xss, ssrf, etc.)
• Grouped search results - Results aggregated by file with match count, title, and relevant sections
• Page outline - Quick table of contents to identify relevant sections
• Section extraction - Read specific sections instead of full pages (token-efficient)
• Cheatsheet mode - Extract only code blocks/commands from pages
• Category browsing - Discover available topics and file paths
• Fast grep search - Uses ripgrep for instant results
• Security hardened - Protection against command injection and path traversal

Quick Start

Installation

npm install -g hacktricks-mcp-server

The postinstall script automatically clones the HackTricks repository (~2 minutes on first install).

Configure Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude settings (~/.claude/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hacktricks": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["hacktricks-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop and try: "Search HackTricks for SQL injection"

Alternative: Install from Source

git clone https://github.com/Xplo8E/hacktricks-mcp-server.git
cd hacktricks-mcp-server
git submodule update --init --recursive
npm install
npm run build

Configuration for source install:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hacktricks": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/hacktricks-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Usage Examples

Once configured in Claude Desktop, you can ask:

• "Search HackTricks for SQL injection techniques"
• "Give me SUID privilege escalation commands"
• "Show me XSS payloads"
• "List all pentesting categories in HackTricks"
• "How do I exploit XXE vulnerabilities?"

The server provides 7 specialized tools for efficient HackTricks searching.

Available Tools

hacktricks_quick_lookup

⚡ One-shot exploitation lookup. Searches, finds best page, and returns exploitation sections + code blocks in one call.

Parameters:

• topic (string, required): Attack/technique to look up (e.g., 'SUID', 'sqli', 'xss', 'docker escape')
• category (string, optional): Category filter for faster results

Supported aliases: sqli, xss, rce, lfi, rfi, ssrf, csrf, xxe, ssti, idor, jwt, suid, privesc

Example:

hacktricks_quick_lookup("SSRF", category="pentesting-web")

Benefits: Reduces 3+ tool calls to 1 for "how do I exploit X" questions.

search_hacktricks

Search through HackTricks documentation. Returns results GROUPED BY FILE with match count, page title, and relevant section headers.

Parameters:

• query (string, required): Search term or regex pattern
• category (string, optional): Filter to specific category (e.g., 'pentesting-web')
• limit (number, optional): Max grouped results (default: 20)

Example output:

Found matches in 5 files for: "SUID"

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

📄 **Linux Privilege Escalation**
   Path: src/linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/README.md
   Matches: 12
   Sections: SUID Binaries | Finding SUID | GTFOBins
   Preview:
     L45: Find files with SUID bit set...
     L78: Common SUID exploitation techniques...

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

get_hacktricks_outline

Get the table of contents of a page (all section headers). Use this BEFORE reading full pages to understand structure.

Parameters:

• path (string): Relative path to markdown file

Example output:

# Linux Privilege Escalation
  ## Enumeration
    ### System Information
    ### Network
  ## SUID Binaries
    ### Finding SUID Files
    ### Exploiting SUID
  ## Capabilities

Benefits: See page structure in ~20 lines vs reading 500+ lines.

get_hacktricks_section

Extract a specific section from a page by header name. Much more efficient than reading the full page.

Parameters:

• path (string): Relative path to markdown file
• section (string): Section header to extract (partial match, case-insensitive)

Example:

get_hacktricks_section("src/linux-hardening/privilege-escalation/README.md", "SUID")

Benefits: Read just "SUID Binaries" section (~200 tokens) instead of entire page (~3000 tokens).

get_hacktricks_cheatsheet

Extract only code blocks from a page. Perfect when you just need commands, payloads, or examples.

Parameters:

• path (string): Relative path to markdown file

Example output:

find / -perm -4000 2>/dev/null

./vulnerable_suid -p

Benefits: Skip explanatory text when you just need "give me the command".

get_hacktricks_page

Get full content of a HackTricks page.

Parameters:

• path (string): Relative path to markdown file

Warning: Pages can be very long (3000+ tokens). Consider using get_hacktricks_outline + get_hacktricks_section instead.

list_hacktricks_categories

List categories and their contents.

Parameters:

• category (string, optional): Category to expand

Without category: Lists top-level categories With category: Shows full directory tree with file paths

Efficient Usage Pattern

For optimal token usage, Claude should:

1. Search with category filter → Get grouped results with context
2. Get outline of relevant page → See structure before reading
3. Extract specific section → Read only what's needed
4. Get cheatsheet → Quick command reference

Before (inefficient):

search_hacktricks("SUID")     → 50 raw lines
get_page(file1)               → 3000 tokens
get_page(file2)               → 2500 tokens  
Total: ~5500 tokens, 3 calls

After (efficient):

search_hacktricks("SUID", category="linux-hardening")  → Grouped results
get_outline(best_match)                                 → 20 lines
get_section(best_match, "SUID")                         → 200 tokens
Total: ~400 tokens, 3 calls

Requirements

• Node.js (v18 or higher)
• ripgrep (rg) - usually pre-installed on macOS/Linux
• Bun (for package management)

Development

Watch mode:

bun run dev

Test locally:

bun run start

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you'd like to improve the server:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/improvement)
3. Make your changes and test locally
4. Submit a pull request

Please ensure your PR includes tests for new features and maintains the existing code style.

License

MIT

Credits

• HackTricks by Carlos Polop
• Built with Model Context Protocol SDK