Command Examples

Real-world AutoPentestX command-line usage examples and scenarios

This page provides comprehensive examples of AutoPentestX commands for various penetration testing scenarios.

Quick Start Examples

Basic Full Scan

The simplest way to perform a complete penetration test:

python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.100

Expected Output

╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ AutoPentestX v1.0 ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓       ║
║      Automated Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Assessment    ║
╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

┌────────────────────── [MISSION BRIEFING] ─────────────────────────┐
│ ► Target IP/Domain: 192.168.1.100
│ ► Operator: AutoPentestX Team
│ ► Safe Mode: [✓] ENABLED
│ ► Timestamp: 2026-03-11 14:30:00
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

[▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Phase 1: Network Reconnaissance
[*] Running Nmap scan...
[*] Discovered 15 open ports

[▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Phase 2: Service Detection
[*] Identifying service versions...
[*] Detected 12 services with version info

[▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Phase 3: Web Vulnerability Scanning
[*] Running Nikto scan on port 80...
[*] Running SQLMap on detected forms...

[▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Phase 4: CVE Lookup
[*] Querying vulnerability databases...
[*] Found 8 potential CVEs

[▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Phase 5: Exploitation Assessment
[*] Analyzing exploitability...
[*] Generated Metasploit RC scripts

[▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] Phase 6: Report Generation
[*] Creating PDF report...
[✓] Report saved: reports/AutoPentestX_Report_20260311_143000.pdf

[✓] Assessment completed successfully

Custom Tester Name

Identify yourself in the generated reports:

python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.100 -n "John Doe"

python3 main.py -t example.com --tester-name "Security Team"

Using the Wrapper Script

For automatic virtual environment handling:

./autopentestx.sh 127.0.0.1

Wrapper Script Output

   ___       __       ___           __           __  _  __
  / _ |__ __/ /____  / _ \___ ___  / /____  ___ / /_| |/ /
 / __ / // / __/ _ \/ ___/ -_) _ \/ __/ -_|(_-</ __/>  < 
/_/ |_\_,_/\__/\___/_/   \__/_//_/\__/\__/___/\__/_/|_| 
                                                         
           Automated Penetration Testing Toolkit

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
                    ⚠️  LEGAL WARNING ⚠️
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
This tool should ONLY be used on systems you own or have
explicit written authorization to test.

Unauthorized access to computer systems is ILLEGAL!
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

[*] Starting AutoPentestX...
[*] Target: 127.0.0.1
[*] Log file: logs/autopentestx_20260311_143000.log

[Scanning begins...]

[✓] Assessment completed successfully
[i] Check the reports/ directory for PDF report
[i] Log file saved to: logs/autopentestx_20260311_143000.log

Scenario-Based Examples

Web Application Testing

Complete Assessment

# Full web application penetration test
python3 main.py -t web.example.com -n "Application Security Team"

Includes:

• Port scanning and service detection
• Nikto web server vulnerability scanning
• SQLMap SQL injection testing
• CVE lookups for detected services
• Exploitation assessment
• Comprehensive PDF report

Duration: 20-30 minutes

Read-Only Scan

# Web vulnerability assessment without exploitation
python3 main.py -t web.example.com --skip-exploit -n "Security Audit"

Includes:

• All scanning modules
• Web vulnerability detection
• CVE identification
• Risk scoring

Excludes:

• Active exploitation attempts
• Metasploit module testing

Duration: 15-20 minutes

Quick Recon

# Rapid web service reconnaissance
python3 main.py -t web.example.com --skip-web --skip-exploit

Includes:

• Port scanning
• Service version detection
• Basic vulnerability enumeration

Excludes:

• Web-specific scanning (Nikto, SQLMap)
• Exploitation attempts

Duration: 5-10 minutes

Network Infrastructure Testing

Router/Switch Assessment

# Network device security audit
python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.1 --skip-web -n "Network Security Team"

Rationale:

• Network devices typically don’t run web applications
• Focus on management interfaces and service hardening
• Includes exploitation for privilege escalation

Firewall Configuration Review

# Firewall penetration test
python3 main.py -t 10.0.0.1 --skip-web --skip-exploit -n "Perimeter Security"

Rationale:

• Avoid exploitation on critical network infrastructure
• Identify open management ports
• Detect outdated firmware versions

Database Server Testing

# Database server security assessment
python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.50 --skip-web -n "Database Security Audit"

Test Coverage:

• MySQL/PostgreSQL/MongoDB port scanning
• Service version detection
• CVE lookups for database engines
• Exploitation assessment for known vulnerabilities

AutoPentestX does not perform authenticated database testing. For comprehensive database security, use specialized tools after initial reconnaissance.

IoT Device Testing

# IoT device penetration test
python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.200 -n "IoT Security Research"

Common Findings:

• Telnet/SSH with default credentials
• Unpatched embedded web servers
• Vulnerable UPnP implementations
• Outdated Linux kernel versions

Performance-Optimized Examples

Lightning Strike Mode (5-10 minutes)

Rapid reconnaissance with minimal footprint:

python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.100 --skip-web --skip-exploit

Use Cases:

• Initial network mapping
• Quick asset inventory
• Time-critical assessments
• Large-scale network sweeps

Terminal Output:

[▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓] LIGHTNING STRIKE - RECON ONLY
[*] Target: 192.168.1.100
[*] Mode: Maximum Speed | Minimal Footprint

[*] Phase 1: Network Scan... ✓ (2 min)
[*] Phase 2: Service Detection... ✓ (3 min)
[*] Phase 3: CVE Lookup... ✓ (2 min)
[*] Phase 4: Report Generation... ✓ (1 min)

[✓] Total time: 8 minutes
[i] Report: reports/AutoPentestX_Report_*.pdf

Tactical Assault Mode (10-20 minutes)

Balanced assessment with web scanning:

python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.100 --skip-exploit

Use Cases:

• Production environment scanning
• Compliance assessments
• Vulnerability enumeration
• Risk analysis without active exploitation

Total Annihilation Mode (20-30 minutes)

Comprehensive penetration testing:

python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.100

Use Cases:

• Complete security assessments
• Red team engagements
• Pre-production validation
• Lab environment testing

Batch Scanning Examples

Multiple Targets Sequential

#!/bin/bash
# Scan multiple targets in sequence

TARGETS=("192.168.1.100" "192.168.1.101" "192.168.1.102")

for target in "${TARGETS[@]}"; do
  echo "[*] Scanning $target..."
  python3 main.py -t "$target" -n "Batch Scanner"
  echo "[✓] Completed: $target"
  echo "-----------------------------------"
done

Subnet Scanning

#!/bin/bash
# Scan a subnet range

for i in {100..110}; do
  TARGET="192.168.1.$i"
  echo "[*] Testing $TARGET"
  
  # Quick connectivity check
  if ping -c 1 -W 1 "$TARGET" &> /dev/null; then
    echo "[+] Host alive: $TARGET"
    python3 main.py -t "$TARGET" --skip-exploit -n "Subnet Scan"
  else
    echo "[-] Host unreachable: $TARGET"
  fi
done

Parallel Scanning (Advanced)

#!/bin/bash
# Parallel scanning with GNU parallel

cat targets.txt | parallel -j 3 \
  'python3 main.py -t {} --skip-exploit -n "Parallel Scanner"'

targets.txt:

192.168.1.100
192.168.1.101
192.168.1.102
192.168.1.103
192.168.1.104

Performance Considerations:

• Parallel scanning generates high network traffic
• May trigger IDS/IPS alerts
• Requires sufficient system resources
• Can overwhelm target networks

Always obtain authorization before high-volume scanning.

CI/CD Integration Examples

GitHub Actions

name: Security Scan

on:
  push:
    branches: [ main, develop ]
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 2 * * 1'  # Weekly Monday 2 AM

jobs:
  security_scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    
    steps:
    - name: Checkout code
      uses: actions/checkout@v3
    
    - name: Setup Python
      uses: actions/setup-python@v4
      with:
        python-version: '3.10'
    
    - name: Install AutoPentestX
      run: |
        git clone https://github.com/your-org/AutoPentestX.git
        cd AutoPentestX
        ./install.sh
    
    - name: Run Security Scan
      run: |
        cd AutoPentestX
        source venv/bin/activate
        python3 main.py -t ${{ secrets.STAGING_SERVER }} \
          --no-safe-mode \
          --skip-exploit \
          -n "GitHub Actions CI"
    
    - name: Upload Report
      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
      with:
        name: security-report
        path: AutoPentestX/reports/*.pdf
        retention-days: 30

GitLab CI/CD

stages:
  - security

security_scan:
  stage: security
  image: python:3.10
  
  before_script:
    - apt-get update && apt-get install -y nmap nikto sqlmap
    - git clone https://github.com/your-org/AutoPentestX.git
    - cd AutoPentestX && ./install.sh
  
  script:
    - source venv/bin/activate
    - python3 main.py -t $STAGING_SERVER \
        --no-safe-mode \
        --skip-exploit \
        -n "GitLab CI Pipeline"
  
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - AutoPentestX/reports/*.pdf
      - AutoPentestX/database/autopentestx.db
    expire_in: 30 days
  
  only:
    - develop
    - main
  
  when: manual

Jenkins Pipeline

pipeline {
    agent any
    
    parameters {
        string(name: 'TARGET', defaultValue: '192.168.1.100', description: 'Scan target')
        choice(name: 'SCAN_MODE', choices: ['full', 'quick', 'no-exploit'], description: 'Scan mode')
    }
    
    stages {
        stage('Security Scan') {
            steps {
                script {
                    def skipFlags = ''
                    if (params.SCAN_MODE == 'quick') {
                        skipFlags = '--skip-web --skip-exploit'
                    } else if (params.SCAN_MODE == 'no-exploit') {
                        skipFlags = '--skip-exploit'
                    }
                    
                    sh """
                        cd AutoPentestX
                        source venv/bin/activate
                        python3 main.py -t ${params.TARGET} \
                            --no-safe-mode \
                            ${skipFlags} \
                            -n "Jenkins Build ${BUILD_NUMBER}"
                    """
                }
            }
        }
        
        stage('Archive Results') {
            steps {
                archiveArtifacts artifacts: 'AutoPentestX/reports/*.pdf', fingerprint: true
                archiveArtifacts artifacts: 'AutoPentestX/database/autopentestx.db', fingerprint: true
            }
        }
    }
}

Troubleshooting Examples

Permission Issues

# Error: Permission denied for raw socket operations
sudo python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.100

Virtual Environment Activation

# Manual virtual environment handling
cd AutoPentestX
source venv/bin/activate
python3 main.py -t 192.168.1.100
deactivate

Checking Scan Logs

# View real-time scan progress
tail -f logs/autopentestx_*.log

# Search for errors
grep -i error logs/autopentestx_*.log

# Review specific phase
grep "Phase 3" logs/autopentestx_*.log

Database Query Examples

# Access scan results database
sqlite3 database/autopentestx.db

# List all scans
SELECT scan_id, target, start_time FROM scans;

# View vulnerabilities from specific scan
SELECT * FROM vulnerabilities WHERE scan_id = 1;

# Export to CSV
.mode csv
.output scan_results.csv
SELECT * FROM scans;
.quit

Advanced Examples

Custom Report Naming

While AutoPentestX automatically generates timestamped reports, you can organize them:

#!/bin/bash
# Scan with custom organization

TARGET="192.168.1.100"
PROJECT="WebApp-Q1-2026"

python3 main.py -t "$TARGET" -n "$PROJECT"

# Rename report with custom naming
LATEST_REPORT=$(ls -t reports/AutoPentestX_Report_*.pdf | head -1)
mv "$LATEST_REPORT" "reports/${PROJECT}_${TARGET}_$(date +%Y%m%d).pdf"

echo "[✓] Report saved: reports/${PROJECT}_${TARGET}_$(date +%Y%m%d).pdf"

Notification Integration

#!/bin/bash
# Scan with Slack notification

TARGET="192.168.1.100"
SLACK_WEBHOOK="https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR/WEBHOOK/URL"

python3 main.py -t "$TARGET" -n "Automated Scanner"

if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
  curl -X POST "$SLACK_WEBHOOK" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{"text":"✅ Security scan completed for '"$TARGET"'"}'
else
  curl -X POST "$SLACK_WEBHOOK" \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{"text":"❌ Security scan failed for '"$TARGET"'"}'
fi

Related Documentation

CLI Options

Detailed flag documentation

Target Specification

Target format and selection

Report Analysis

Understanding generated reports

Automation Guide

CI/CD integration strategies