ctf-solving-with-ctfctl

name	ctf-solving-with-ctfctl
description	Use when a user provides a CTF challenge description, attachments, or a target URL and wants solving to start immediately through this repository's ctfctl workflow.

CTF Solving With ctfctl

Overview

Treat ctfctl as the default control plane. If the user already gave a description, attachments, or a URL, do not ask for extra prompting or a plan before starting. Infer reasonable defaults and begin.

Startup Rules

1. Infer initial metadata:

• Name: short label from the title, description, or URL host
• Category: infer from context; fall back to misc
• Flag format: use the explicit format if present, otherwise flag{...}

2. Initialize the runtime:

ctfctl image ensure --image kali/rolling
ctfctl challenge init --name "<name>" --category "<category>" --description "<description>" --flag-format 'flag{...}'
ctfctl workspace create --challenge <challenge-id>
ctfctl memory branch create --challenge <challenge-id> --name main

3. For each attachment with a local path, import it:

ctfctl artifact add --challenge <challenge-id> --file <path>

4. Record the user-provided description, URL, and attachment summary as early evidence note entries.

Reconnaissance

Use ctfctl exec run as the default executor.

• If the challenge is web or a URL is present, start with curl -iL, response body inspection, header inspection, and basic path discovery.
• If the challenge is reverse, pwn, forensics, or misc with files, start with file, sha256sum, strings, checksec, binwalk, 7z l, xxd, or other high-signal triage commands.
• If the challenge type is unclear, do generic file and network reconnaissance first instead of asking the user for more prompt engineering.

Always attach a concrete --reason to each exec run invocation.

Solve Loop

• Keep using ctfctl exec run for commands by default.
• When you confirm a fact, record it with ctfctl evidence note.
• When a path becomes validated, save it with ctfctl memory commit create.
• When you produce a useful derived file, exploit script, decoded output, or write-up, add it with ctfctl artifact add.
• Continue until you recover a flag or hit a real blocker such as missing access, broken upstream service, or missing attachments.

Questions

Only ask follow-up questions when progress is actually blocked. Missing prompt polish is not a blocker. The normal expectation is: description + attachments + URL is enough to start immediately.