--- title: "PentestGPT" type: "tool" slug: "greydgl-pentestgpt" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/tools/greydgl-pentestgpt" github_url: "https://github.com/GreyDGL/PentestGPT" homepage_url: null stars: 14135 forks: 2456 primary_language: "Python" license: "MIT" categories: ["llm-frameworks"] tags: ["llm", "python", "large-language-models", "penetration-testing"] updated_at: "2026-07-07T18:30:29.671888+00:00" --- # PentestGPT > Automated Penetration Testing Agentic Framework Powered by Large Language Models PentestGPT is an AI-powered autonomous penetration testing agent that leverages large language models to perform advanced reasoning and solve security challenges. ## Facts - Repository: https://github.com/GreyDGL/PentestGPT - Stars: 14,135 · Forks: 2,456 · Open issues: 68 · Watchers: 345 - Primary language: Python - License: MIT - Last pushed: 2026-06-07T07:25:45+00:00 ## Categories - [LLM Frameworks](/categories/llm-frameworks.md) ## Tags llm, python, large language models, penetration-testing ## Related tools - [ollama](/tools/ollama-ollama.md) - Get up and running with Kimi-K2.6, GLM-5.1, MiniMax, DeepSeek, gpt-oss, Qwen, Gemma and other models. (★ 175,659) - [prompts.chat](/tools/f-prompts-chat.md) - The world's largest open-source prompt library for AI (★ 165,019) - [transformers](/tools/huggingface-transformers.md) - 🤗 Transformers: the model-definition framework for state-of-the-art machine learning models (★ 162,347) - [open-webui](/tools/open-webui-open-webui.md) - User-friendly AI Interface (Supports Ollama, OpenAI API, ...) (★ 144,575) - [awesome-llm-apps](/tools/shubhamsaboo-awesome-llm-apps.md) - 100+ AI Agent & RAG apps you can actually run — clone, customize, ship. (★ 116,702) - [LLMs-from-scratch](/tools/rasbt-llms-from-scratch.md) - Implement a ChatGPT-like LLM in PyTorch from scratch (★ 98,711) - [TradingAgents](/tools/tauricresearch-tradingagents.md) - TradingAgents: Multi-Agents LLM Financial Trading Framework (★ 91,610) - [caveman](/tools/juliusbrussee-caveman.md) - Cuts 65% of tokens in AI coding agent responses. (★ 86,150) ## README (excerpt) ```text [![Contributors][contributors-shield]][contributors-url] [![Forks][forks-shield]][forks-url] [![Stargazers][stars-shield]][stars-url] [![Issues][issues-shield]][issues-url] [![MIT License][license-shield]][license-url] [![Discord][discord-shield]][discord-url]

PentestGPT

AI-Powered Autonomous Penetration Testing Agent
Published at USENIX Security 2024

Official Website: pentestgpt.com »

Research Paper · Report Bug · Request Feature

GreyDGL%2FPentestGPT | Trendshift --- ## Demo ### Installation [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUNmoXqBwVg) ### PentestGPT in Action [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWi3Yb7RmZA) --- ## What's New in v1.0 (Agentic Upgrade) - **Iteration Loop** - The agent runs continuously, maintains a context file with progress, and restarts with prior context when hitting limits. Loop terminates on flag capture or max iterations. - **Autonomous Agent** - Agentic pipeline for intelligent, autonomous penetration testing - **Session Persistence** - Save and resume penetration testing sessions > **Multi-model support** is available today in the interactive **modernized legacy** mode > (`pentestgpt-legacy`) — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, xAI, Qwen, Moonshot, and > local Ollama. See [Interactive Multi-LLM Mode](#interactive-multi-llm-mode-modernized-legacy). --- ## Features - **AI-Powered Challenge Solver** - Leverages LLM advanced reasoning to perform penetration testing and CTFs - **Live Walkthrough** - Tracks steps in real-time as the agent works through challenges - **Multi-Category Support** - Web, Crypto, Reversing, Forensics, PWN, Privilege Escalation - **Real-Time Feedback** - Watch the AI work with live activity updates - **Extensible Architecture** - Clean, modular design ready for future enhancements --- ## Quick Start ### Prerequisites - **Python 3.12+** - **[uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/)** - Python package manager - **Claude Code CLI** (`claude`) - installed and authenticated. See [Claude Code docs](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code) ### Installation ```bash git clone https://github.com/GreyDGL/PentestGPT.git cd PentestGPT make install # runs uv sync ``` ### Commands Reference | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `make install` | Install dependencies | | `make test` | Run all tests | | `make check` | Run lint + typecheck | | `make build` | Build distributable package | --- ## Usage ```bash # Run against a target pentestgpt --target 10.10.11.234 # With challenge context pentestgpt --target 10.10.11.50 --instruction "WordPress site, focus on plugin vulnerabilities" # Limit iterations pentestgpt --target 10.10.11.234 --max-iterations 5 ``` The agent runs in an **iteration loop**: it works autonomously, maintains a context file with progress, and restarts with prior context when hitting limits. The loop terminates on flag capture or max iterations (default: 10). --- ## Interactive Multi-LLM Mode (modernized legacy) The classic, human-in-the-loop PentestGPT from the USENIX 2024 paper is preserved and modernized as `pentestgpt-legacy`. It runs three cooperating LLM sessions — **reasoning / generation / parsing** — that maintain a **Pentesting Task Tree (PTT)** while you drive the session interactively (`next`, `more`, `todo`, `disc ``` --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/tools/greydgl-pentestgpt`](/api/graphcanon/tools/greydgl-pentestgpt) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_