Here’s a beginner-friendly Awesome List on creating, designing, and maintaining tools for bug bounty and cybersecurity development. This list focuses on a streamlined approach with templates, checklists, and best practices.
Awesome Tool Creation for Cybersecurity
A curated list of resources, templates, and checklists to help you quickly create tools that are functional, good-looking, and easy to maintain.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Building custom tools for bug bounty or cybersecurity tasks is a skill that can save time, reduce errors, and improve efficiency. This list will guide you through creating tools with:
Proper documentation.
Easy-to-use interfaces.
Scalability for future updates.
2. Development Basics
Languages to Learn
Python: Great for automation and scripting.
Bash: Perfect for lightweight scripts and command-line tools.
Go: Efficient and fast for building scalable tools.
"Automate the Boring Stuff with Python" by Al Sweigart.
"Black Hat Python" by Justin Seitz.
This list is a starting point for building your tools and automating tasks. Feel free to customize and expand it for your needs. 🚀
Comprehensive guidelines for building effective, scalable, and user-friendly tools, focusing on bug bounty, cybersecurity, and automation.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Building tools isn't just about automating tasks; it's about creating reliable, efficient, and reusable workflows. This list provides detailed steps to go from zero to building highly functional tools for bug bounty and security research.
2. Getting Started with Tool Development
Languages to Learn
Python: Ideal for rapid development and API integration.
Bash: Great for quick and lightweight automation scripts.
Go (Golang): Perfect for building high-performance tools.
JavaScript: Use for browser automation and interacting with web apps.
Tools to Install
Git for version control:
sudo apt install git
Package managers:
Python: pip and pipenv
JavaScript: npm or yarn
Go: go install
Development Environment:
IDE: VSCode, PyCharm, or IntelliJ.
Linters: flake8 for Python, shellcheck for Bash, and golangci-lint for Go.
3. Tool Design Fundamentals
Key Design Principles
User-friendly interface:
Use clear command-line options (-h, --help).
Add error messages for incorrect inputs.
Scalable architecture:
Use modular functions.
Store reusable logic in libraries.
Comprehensive output:
Include color-coded CLI output.
Generate reports in multiple formats (JSON, CSV, Markdown).
Use GNU Parallel for running commands on multiple cores:
cat subdomains.txt | parallel -j 10 "curl -Is {}"
Tool Dependency Checker
Ensure all required tools are installed before execution:
tools=("nuclei" "amass" "subfinder")
for tool in "${tools[@]}"; do
if ! command -v $tool &>/dev/null; then
echo "$tool is not installed. Please install it first!"
exit 1
fi
done
Interlace: Automate tool chaining for multithreaded scans.
Fuzzing Tools
ffuf: Fast web fuzzer for directories and parameters.
GoFuzz: Fuzzing Go applications.
19. Continuous Improvement
Set Benchmarks
Track metrics for improvement:
Time to find vulnerabilities.
Tool efficiency (false positives vs. true positives).
Automation speed.
Integrate Machine Learning
Use AI-based tools like ChatGPT or Weka to analyze recon data patterns for hidden vulnerabilities.
20. Resources for Inspiration
Books
"Black Hat Python" by Justin Seitz.
"Hacking APIs" by Corey Ball.
Communities
Learning Platforms
This extended guide is designed to give you everything you need to get started with tool development, automation, and advanced recon workflows. Here’s an extended Awesome List to further cover the essentials and advanced aspects of scripting, automation, and tool creation in bug hunting and cybersecurity. This builds on the previous list with new categories and actionable insights:
31. Web Scraping and Automation
Python Web Scraping
Scraping with requests and BeautifulSoup:
import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
url = "https://example.com"
response = requests.get(url)
soup = BeautifulSoup(response.content, "html.parser")
for link in soup.find_all("a"):
print(link.get("href"))
import socket
def scan(ip, port):
try:
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
sock.settimeout(1)
sock.connect((ip, port))
print(f"Port {port} is open on {ip}")
sock.close()
except:
pass
scan("192.168.1.1", 80)
33. OSINT Automation
OSINT Tools
Email Enumeration with holehe:
holehe -l emails.txt
Search Leaked Credentials:
theharvester -d target.com -b all
Custom Scripts
Automate Google Dorking:
dorks=("site:example.com inurl:admin" "site:example.com ext:sql")
for dork in "${dorks[@]}"; do
query=$(echo $dork | sed 's/ /+/g')
curl "https://www.google.com/search?q=$query"
done
cat live.txt | while read url; do
eyewitness -u $url
done
Check for WAF:
wafw00f https://example.com
This expanded list includes even more actionable insights for scripting, automation, and creating tools with over 40 unique sections. Each item is tailored to help you create effective, automated, and scalable bug bounty workflows.
retry() {
local n=1
local max=5
local delay=5
while true; do
"$@" && break || {
if [[ $n -lt $max ]]; then
((n++))
echo "Command failed. Attempt $n/$max:"
sleep $delay;
else
echo "Command failed after $n attempts."
return 1
fi
}
done
}
GitHub has blocked your push because it detected a secret (like a GitHub Personal Access Token) in your repository. To resolve this and safeguard your repository:
Steps to Fix and Prevent Issues
1. Remove Secrets from History
Identify the Secret: GitHub tells you where the secret is located, e.g., MyMac/Automated-Scanner/tools/.tokens:1. Open the file and remove the secret.
Amend the Commit: After removing the secret, re-commit the changes:
2. Use git filter-repo to Remove Secrets from Entire History
If the secret exists in older commits:
Install git-filter-repo:
pip install git-filter-repo
Remove the Secret: Replace <path> with the file path containing the secret:
git filter-repo --path <path> --invert-paths
Force Push Clean History:
git push origin main --force
Set Up Best Practices to Prevent Future Issues
3. Enable GitHub Push Protection
GitHub will block pushes containing sensitive information by default if push protection is enabled. Ensure it's active in your repository settings:
Go to Settings > Code Security and Analysis > Push Protection.
Enable Push Protection.
4. Use .gitignore to Prevent Secrets from Being Committed
Add paths of sensitive files to a .gitignore file:
# Ignore token files
*.tokens
*.env
Then stage and commit the .gitignore file:
git add .gitignore
git commit -m "Add .gitignore to prevent committing sensitive files"
git push origin main
5. Scan for Secrets Locally
ggshield secret scan pre-commit
6. Replace Existing Tokens
If a token was exposed, revoke it and create a new one:
Revoke the token via GitHub's Settings > Developer Settings > Personal Access Tokens.
Create a new token and securely store it in environment variables or secret management tools like AWS Secrets Manager or HashiCorp Vault.
7. Use .env Files for Secrets
Store secrets in .env files and load them dynamically into your scripts using tools like dotenv. Example .env file:
GITHUB_TOKEN=your_token_here
Add .env to .gitignore:
.env
Push Again After Fixing Issues
After cleaning the history and ensuring no secrets remain, retry your push:
git push origin main
Comprehensive GitHub Solutions and Best Practices
Here’s a detailed guide to handling common Git issues, maintaining repository hygiene, securing your code, and improving workflows for professional-grade repositories.
"The Web Application Hacker's Handbook" by Dafydd Stuttard.
"Practical Binary Analysis" by Dennis Andriesse.
This expanded Awesome List now provides 200+ actionable tips, tools, and workflows for building, automating, and optimizing cybersecurity scripts and tools!
: Fast HTTP requests.
: Vulnerability scanner.
: Simplified HTTP requests.
: Web scraping.
: Subdomain enumeration.
: Fast web fuzzer.
: Security best practices.
: Offensive techniques.
: Exploitation payloads.
Use :
Use tools like to scan your commits for secrets before pushing:
Use tools like :
Use :
This list ensures you have everything covered, from basic Git operations to advanced GitHub features, to help you create efficient, secure, and collaborative workflows. If you still encounter issues, GitHub’s documentation provides more details on resolving blocked pushes.