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Installation#

Requirements#

Component Requirement
Container Runtime Docker, Podman, or nerdctl
Python 3.10+ (for CLI wrapper; not needed for container-direct)
OS Linux, macOS, Windows (WSL2 recommended)

Install the CLI#

pip install git+https://github.com/darksidesecurity/aphids.git

With MCP support:

pip install "aphids-cli[mcp] @ git+https://github.com/darksidesecurity/aphids.git"

uv is a fast Python package manager written in Rust. It's significantly faster than pip and handles virtual environments automatically.

# Install uv (if you don't have it)
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Install APHIDS
uv pip install git+https://github.com/darksidesecurity/aphids.git

# With MCP support
uv pip install "aphids-cli[mcp] @ git+https://github.com/darksidesecurity/aphids.git"

Or use uv tool to install as an isolated CLI tool:

uv tool install "aphids-cli @ git+https://github.com/darksidesecurity/aphids.git"

pipx installs CLI tools in isolated virtual environments, keeping your system Python clean.

# Install pipx (if you don't have it)
pip install pipx && pipx ensurepath

# Install APHIDS
pipx install git+https://github.com/darksidesecurity/aphids.git

# With MCP support
pipx install "aphids-cli[mcp] @ git+https://github.com/darksidesecurity/aphids.git"

git clone https://github.com/darksidesecurity/aphids.git && cd aphids
pip install -e ".[mcp,dev]"

Pull the Container#

docker pull ghcr.io/darksidesecurity/aphids:latest

The APHIDS container is based on Kali Linux and ships with all 40+ security tools pre-installed. No additional tool installation is required.

Container Runtimes#

APHIDS auto-detects your container runtime in this priority order:

  1. Docker — Most widely available
  2. Podman — Rootless, daemonless (RHEL/Fedora)
  3. nerdctl — containerd CLI (Rancher Desktop, Lima)

Override auto-detection:

# CLI flag
aphids-cli --runtime podman -o options.yaml

# Environment variable
export APHIDS_CONTAINER_RUNTIME=podman

Container Security#

APHIDS containers run with hardened security defaults:

  • Ephemeral containers (--rm) — no persistent state
  • Dropped capabilities (--cap-drop ALL)
  • No privilege escalation (--security-opt no-new-privileges)
  • Read-only workspace mounts (:ro) for static analysis
  • Network isolation (--network none) for SAST tools

Custom Container Images#

Build a custom image with additional tools:

FROM ghcr.io/darksidesecurity/aphids:latest

# Add your tools
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y your-tool

# Or add custom scripts
COPY my-scripts/ /home/sasquatch/app/Wrappers/my-tool/

docker build -t aphids-custom:latest .
aphids-cli -o options.yaml -i aphids-custom:latest

Verify Installation#

# Check CLI
aphids-cli --help

# Check container
docker run --rm ghcr.io/darksidesecurity/aphids:latest --help

# Check MCP mode
aphids-cli --mcp --mcp-refresh  # Force tool discovery