Installation

Recommended: Git Clone

Cloning the repo lets you audit the source before running, and verifies integrity via SHA-256 checksums.

git clone https://github.com/darkbrew/darkbrew.git
cd darkbrew
bash install.sh

Alternative: One-liner

curl -fsSL https://darkbrew.sh/install.sh | bash

System Requirements

Quick Start

# Install DarkBrew globally
darkbrew setup

# Install ~30 essential tools
darkbrew install --quick

# Or install specific tools
darkbrew install nmap hydra ffuf nuclei

# Or install by category
darkbrew install --category recon,web

# Or install everything
darkbrew install --all

Package Management

Discovery

System & Maintenance

Workflows

Infrastructure

Security & Integrity

DarkBrew performs integrity checking by querying the underlying package managers (Homebrew, pip, Go modules) to confirm that installed binaries match their expected state. The --self flag checks the SHA-256 hash of darkbrew.sh against the saved checksum from installation.

Profiles

Profiles are curated sets of tools for specific use cases. Install an entire loadout with one command.

darkbrew profile bugbounty    # Install all bug bounty tools
darkbrew profile list         # Show all available profiles

Pipelines

Pipelines are automated tool chains that run sequentially against a target. Each step's output feeds the next.

darkbrew pipeline recon target.com
darkbrew pipeline webscan https://target.com
darkbrew pipeline list

Practice Labs

Labs are Docker-based vulnerable applications for practice. Requires Docker Desktop.

darkbrew lab start dvwa       # Launch DVWA
darkbrew lab stop dvwa        # Stop it
darkbrew lab list             # Show all labs

Engagements

The engage command creates a full pentest engagement workspace with structured directories, scope templates, scan scripts, and optional tmux layout. Each engagement includes an audit trail that logs all DarkBrew actions.

darkbrew engage client-pentest

This creates:

~/pentests/2026-01-15_client-pentest/
├── SCOPE.md                    # Scope definition template
├── audit.log                   # Automatic action audit trail
├── notes/README.md             # Engagement notes
├── scans/{nmap,web,vuln}/      # Organized scan output
├── loot/{creds,files,screenshots}/
├── exploits/
└── reports/

Reports & Obsidian Export

Generate structured pentest reports from engagement data. Parses nmap, nuclei, and sqlmap outputs automatically.

# Markdown report (default)
darkbrew report ~/pentests/engagement

# HTML report
darkbrew report ~/pentests/engagement --html

# Export as Obsidian vault
darkbrew report ~/pentests/engagement --obsidian

The --obsidian flag creates a vault structure with interlinked notes, scan pages, findings templates, and evidence galleries — ready to open in Obsidian.

Offline Mode

Use --offline to install tools from your local Homebrew cache without network access. Useful for air-gapped environments or when working on unstable connections.

# Pre-download tools (while online)
darkbrew install --all

# Later, reinstall from cache (offline)
darkbrew install --offline nmap

Tool Categories

Directory Structure

~/.darkbrew/
├── bin/                    # DarkBrew binary + symlinks
├── Cellar/                 # Installed formula metadata
├── opt/                    # Git-cloned tools
├── etc/                    # Configuration files
├── share/
│   ├── wordlists/          # Arsenal downloads
│   └── zsh/site-functions/ # Shell completions
└── var/
    ├── db/
    │   ├── manifest.json   # Installed tools registry
    │   ├── pinned.json     # Pinned versions
    │   ├── history.json    # Version history
    │   └── darkbrew.sha256 # Self-verification hash
    └── log/
        └── darkbrew.log    # Operation log

Environment Variables

Troubleshooting

darkbrew: command not found

# Re-run setup
bash darkbrew.sh setup

# Or add to PATH manually
export PATH="$HOME/.darkbrew/bin:$PATH"

Homebrew not found

# Install Homebrew
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# On Apple Silicon, add to PATH
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

Permission denied

DarkBrew never requires sudo. If you see permission errors, the directory structure may have been created with wrong permissions:

chmod -R u+rwX ~/.darkbrew

Full system check

darkbrew doctor

This runs 15+ diagnostic checks including SIP status, firewall, architecture, disk space, all dependencies, directory integrity, and PATH configuration.