shannon/CLAUDE.md

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Overview

This is an AI-powered penetration testing agent designed for defensive security analysis. The tool automates vulnerability assessment by combining external reconnaissance tools with AI-powered code analysis to identify security weaknesses in web applications and their source code.

Commands

Installation & Setup

npm install

Running the Penetration Testing Agent

shannon <WEB_URL> <REPO_PATH> --config <CONFIG_FILE>

Example:

shannon "https://example.com" "/path/to/local/repo"
shannon "https://juice-shop.herokuapp.com" "/home/user/juice-shop" --config juice-shop-config.yaml

Alternative Execution

npm start <WEB_URL> <REPO_PATH> --config <CONFIG_FILE>

Configuration Validation

# Configuration validation is built into the main script
shannon --help  # Shows usage and validates config on execution

Generate TOTP for Authentication

TOTP generation is now handled automatically via the generate_totp MCP tool during authentication flows.

Development Commands

# No linting or testing commands available in this project
# Development is done by running the agent in pipeline-testing mode
shannon <commands> --pipeline-testing

Session Management Commands

# Setup session without running
shannon --setup-only <WEB_URL> <REPO_PATH> --config <CONFIG_FILE>

# Check session status (shows progress, timing, costs)
shannon --status

# List all available agents by phase
shannon --list-agents

# Show help
shannon --help

Execution Commands

# Run all remaining agents to completion
shannon --run-all [--pipeline-testing]

# Run a specific agent
shannon --run-agent <agent-name> [--pipeline-testing]

# Run a range of agents
shannon --run-agents <start-agent>:<end-agent> [--pipeline-testing]

# Run a specific phase
shannon --run-phase <phase-name> [--pipeline-testing]

# Pipeline testing mode (minimal prompts for fast testing)
shannon <command> --pipeline-testing

Rollback & Recovery Commands

# Rollback to specific checkpoint
shannon --rollback-to <agent-name>

# Rollback and re-execute specific agent
shannon --rerun <agent-name> [--pipeline-testing]

Session Cleanup Commands

# Delete all sessions (with confirmation)
shannon --cleanup

# Delete specific session by ID
shannon --cleanup <session-id>

Architecture & Components

Main Entry Point

• src/shannon.ts - Main orchestration script that coordinates the entire penetration testing workflow (compiles to dist/shannon.js)

Core Modules

• src/config-parser.ts - Handles YAML configuration parsing, validation, and distribution to agents
• src/error-handling.ts - Comprehensive error handling with retry logic and categorized error types
• src/tool-checker.ts - Validates availability of external security tools before execution
• src/session-manager.ts - Manages persistent session state and agent lifecycle
• src/checkpoint-manager.ts - Git-based checkpointing system for rollback capabilities
• Pipeline orchestration is built into the main src/shannon.ts script
• src/queue-validation.ts - Validates deliverables and agent prerequisites

Five-Phase Testing Workflow

1. Pre-Reconnaissance (pre-recon) - External tool scans (nmap, subfinder, whatweb) + source code analysis
2. Reconnaissance (recon) - Analysis of initial findings and attack surface mapping
3. Vulnerability Analysis (5 agents)
   • injection-vuln - SQL injection, command injection
   • xss-vuln - Cross-site scripting
   • auth-vuln - Authentication bypasses
   • authz-vuln - Authorization flaws
   • ssrf-vuln - Server-side request forgery
4. Exploitation (5 agents)
   • injection-exploit - Exploit injection vulnerabilities
   • xss-exploit - Exploit XSS vulnerabilities
   • auth-exploit - Exploit authentication issues
   • authz-exploit - Exploit authorization flaws
   • ssrf-exploit - Exploit SSRF vulnerabilities
5. Reporting (report) - Executive-level security report generation

Configuration System

The agent supports YAML configuration files with JSON Schema validation:

• configs/config-schema.json - JSON Schema for configuration validation
• configs/example-config.yaml - Template configuration file
• configs/juice-shop-config.yaml - Example configuration for OWASP Juice Shop
• configs/keygraph-config.yaml - Configuration for Keygraph applications
• configs/chatwoot-config.yaml - Configuration for Chatwoot applications
• configs/metabase-config.yaml - Configuration for Metabase applications
• configs/cal-com-config.yaml - Configuration for Cal.com applications

Configuration includes:

• Authentication settings (form, SSO, API, basic auth)
• Multi-factor authentication with TOTP support
• Custom login flow instructions
• Application-specific testing parameters

Prompt Templates

The prompts/ directory contains specialized prompt templates for each testing phase:

• pre-recon-code.txt - Initial code analysis prompts
• recon.txt - Reconnaissance analysis prompts
• vuln-*.txt - Vulnerability assessment prompts (injection, XSS, auth, authz, SSRF)
• exploit-*.txt - Exploitation attempt prompts
• report-executive.txt - Executive report generation prompts

Claude Agent SDK Integration

The agent uses the @anthropic-ai/claude-agent-sdk with maximum autonomy configuration:

• maxTurns: 10_000 - Allows extensive autonomous analysis
• permissionMode: 'bypassPermissions' - Full system access for thorough testing
• Playwright MCP integration for web browser automation
• Working directory set to target local repository
• Configuration context injection for authenticated testing

Authentication & Login Resources

• prompts/shared/login-instructions.txt - Login flow template for all agents
• TOTP token generation via MCP generate_totp tool
• Support for multi-factor authentication workflows
• Configurable authentication mechanisms (form, SSO, API, basic)

Output & Deliverables

All analysis results are saved to the deliverables/ directory within the target local repository, including:

• Pre-reconnaissance reports with external scan results
• Vulnerability assessment findings
• Exploitation attempt results
• Executive-level security reports with business impact analysis

External Tool Dependencies

The agent integrates with external security tools:

• nmap - Network port scanning
• subfinder - Subdomain discovery
• whatweb - Web technology fingerprinting

Tools are validated for availability before execution using the tool-checker module.

Git-Based Checkpointing System

The agent implements a sophisticated checkpoint system using git:

• Every agent creates a git checkpoint before execution
• Rollback to any previous agent state using --rollback-to or --rerun
• Failed agents don't affect completed work
• Rolled-back agents marked in audit system with status: "rolled-back"
• Reconciliation automatically syncs Shannon store with audit logs after rollback
• Fail-fast safety prevents accidental re-execution of completed agents

Unified Audit & Metrics System

The agent implements a crash-safe, self-healing audit system (v3.0) with the following guarantees:

Architecture:

• audit-logs/: Centralized metrics and forensic logs (source of truth)
  • {hostname}_{sessionId}/session.json - Comprehensive metrics with attempt-level detail
  • {hostname}_{sessionId}/prompts/ - Exact prompts used for reproducibility
  • {hostname}_{sessionId}/agents/ - Turn-by-turn execution logs
• .shannon-store.json: Minimal orchestration state (completedAgents, checkpoints)

Crash Safety:

• Append-only logging with immediate flush (survives kill -9)
• Atomic writes for session.json (no partial writes)
• Event-based logging (tool_start, tool_end, llm_response) closes data loss windows

Self-Healing:

• Automatic reconciliation before every CLI command
• Recovers from crashes during rollback
• Audit logs are source of truth; Shannon store follows

Forensic Completeness:

• All retry attempts logged with errors, costs, durations
• Rolled-back agents preserved with status: "rolled-back"
• Partial cost capture for failed attempts
• Complete event trail for debugging

Concurrency Safety:

• SessionMutex prevents race conditions during parallel agent execution
• Safe parallel execution of vulnerability and exploitation phases

Metrics & Reporting:

• Export metrics to CSV with ./scripts/export-metrics.js
• Phase-level and agent-level timing/cost aggregations
• Validation results integrated with metrics

For detailed design, see docs/unified-audit-system-design.md.

Development Notes

Key Design Patterns

• Configuration-Driven Architecture: YAML configs with JSON Schema validation
• Modular Error Handling: Categorized error types with retry logic
• Pure Functions: Most functionality is implemented as pure functions for testability
• SDK-First Approach: Heavy reliance on Claude Agent SDK for autonomous AI operations
• Progressive Analysis: Each phase builds on previous phase results
• Local Repository Setup: Target applications are accessed directly from user-provided local directories

Error Handling Strategy

The application uses a comprehensive error handling system with:

• Categorized error types (PentestError, ConfigError, NetworkError, etc.)
• Automatic retry logic for transient failures
• Graceful degradation when external tools are unavailable
• Detailed error logging and user-friendly error messages

Testing Mode

The agent includes a testing mode that skips external tool execution for faster development cycles.

Security Focus

This is explicitly designed as a defensive security tool for:

• Vulnerability assessment
• Security analysis
• Penetration testing
• Security report generation

The tool should only be used on systems you own or have explicit permission to test.

File Structure

src/                             # TypeScript source files
├── shannon.ts                   # Main orchestration script (entry point)
├── types/                       # TypeScript type definitions
│   ├── index.ts                 # Barrel exports
│   ├── agents.ts                # Agent type definitions
│   ├── config.ts                # Configuration interfaces
│   ├── errors.ts                # Error type definitions
│   └── session.ts               # Session type definitions
├── audit/                       # Unified audit system (v3.0)
│   ├── index.ts                 # Public API
│   ├── audit-session.ts         # Main facade (logger + metrics + mutex)
│   ├── logger.ts                # Append-only crash-safe logging
│   ├── metrics-tracker.ts       # Timing, cost, attempt tracking
│   └── utils.ts                 # Path generation, atomic writes
├── config-parser.ts             # Configuration handling
├── error-handling.ts            # Error management
├── tool-checker.ts              # Tool validation
├── session-manager.ts           # Session state + reconciliation
├── checkpoint-manager.ts        # Git-based checkpointing + rollback
├── queue-validation.ts          # Deliverable validation
├── ai/
│   └── claude-executor.ts       # Claude Agent SDK integration
└── utils/
dist/                            # Compiled JavaScript output
├── shannon.js                   # Compiled entry point
└── ...                          # Other compiled files
package.json                     # Node.js dependencies
.shannon-store.json              # Orchestration state (minimal)
audit-logs/                      # Centralized audit data (v3.0)
└── {hostname}_{sessionId}/
    ├── session.json             # Comprehensive metrics
    ├── prompts/                 # Prompt snapshots
    │   └── {agent}.md
    └── agents/                  # Agent execution logs
        └── {timestamp}_{agent}_attempt-{N}.log
configs/                         # Configuration files
├── config-schema.json           # JSON Schema validation
├── example-config.yaml          # Template configuration
├── juice-shop-config.yaml       # Juice Shop example
├── keygraph-config.yaml         # Keygraph configuration
├── chatwoot-config.yaml         # Chatwoot configuration
├── metabase-config.yaml         # Metabase configuration
└── cal-com-config.yaml          # Cal.com configuration
prompts/                         # AI prompt templates
├── shared/                      # Shared content for all prompts
│   ├── _target.txt              # Target URL template
│   ├── _rules.txt               # Rules template
│   ├── _vuln-scope.txt          # Vulnerability scope template
│   ├── _exploit-scope.txt       # Exploitation scope template
│   └── login-instructions.txt   # Login flow template
├── pre-recon-code.txt           # Code analysis
├── recon.txt                    # Reconnaissance
├── vuln-*.txt                   # Vulnerability assessment
├── exploit-*.txt                # Exploitation
└── report-executive.txt         # Executive reporting
scripts/                         # Utility scripts
└── export-metrics.js            # Export metrics to CSV
deliverables/                    # Output directory (in target repo)
docs/                            # Documentation
├── unified-audit-system-design.md
└── migration-guide.md

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• "Agent already completed": Use --rerun <agent> for explicit re-execution
• "Missing prerequisites": Check --status and run prerequisite agents first
• "No sessions found": Create a session with --setup-only first
• "Repository not found": Ensure target local directory exists and is accessible
• "Too many test sessions": Use --cleanup to remove old sessions and free disk space

External Tool Dependencies

Missing tools can be skipped using --pipeline-testing mode during development:

• nmap - Network scanning
• subfinder - Subdomain discovery
• whatweb - Web technology detection

Diagnostic & Utility Scripts

# Export metrics to CSV
./scripts/export-metrics.js --session-id <id> --output metrics.csv

Note: For recovery from corrupted state, simply delete .shannon-store.json or edit JSON files directly.