apsdehal/awesome-ctf

★ 11,519JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 1/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((awesome-ctf))
    Challenge types
      Cryptography
      Forensics
      Reverse engineering
      Web exploits
      Steganography
    Resources
      Beginner packs
      Wargame platforms
      Writeup collections
    Audience
      CTF beginners
      Security learners
      Experienced players
    Format
      Markdown links
      Tool descriptions
      Community maintained

mindmap root((awesome-ctf)) Challenge types Cryptography Forensics Reverse engineering Web exploits Steganography Resources Beginner packs Wargame platforms Writeup collections Audience CTF beginners Security learners Experienced players Format Markdown links Tool descriptions Community maintained

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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Find the right tool for a specific CTF challenge category, cryptography, forensics, reverse engineering, or web exploits.

USE CASE 2

Discover wargame platforms listed in the resources section to practice CTF skills year-round outside of competitions.

USE CASE 3

Read community writeups linked in the repo to learn how past challenges were solved and pick up new techniques.

Tech stack

JavaScriptMarkdown

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

This is a curated link list, nothing to install in the repo itself, individual tools linked within require their own setup.

License terms were not described in the explanation.

In plain English

Awesome CTF is a curated list of tools, frameworks, libraries, and learning resources for people who participate in Capture The Flag competitions. A CTF is a cybersecurity contest where participants solve a series of puzzles and challenges, each requiring them to find a hidden piece of text (the "flag") by breaking into simulated systems, decoding encrypted messages, analyzing files, or exploiting software vulnerabilities in a controlled environment. CTFs are widely used for learning and practicing security skills. The list is organized into two main sections: tools for creating CTF challenges, and tools for solving them. The solving side covers categories like cryptography (breaking or decoding encrypted data), forensics (examining files and disk images), reverse engineering (figuring out how compiled programs work), web vulnerabilities, steganography (finding data hidden inside images or audio), networking, and exploitation. Each category lists specific tools with brief descriptions and links. There is also a resources section covering beginner starter packs, wargame platforms where you can practice year-round, wikis, and collections of writeups, which are detailed explanations of how past challenges were solved. Reading writeups is a common way to learn new techniques. The project is aimed at both people new to CTFs who want a starting point and experienced participants who want a single organized reference rather than scattered bookmarks. With nearly 11,500 stars, it has become one of the go-to references in the security competition community.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I am new to CTF competitions. Based on the awesome-ctf resource list, suggest a learning path: which categories to start with, which wargame platform to practice on first, and which tools to install.

Prompt 2

I am stuck on a CTF forensics challenge involving a disk image. List the tools from awesome-ctf that are useful for disk forensics and explain what each one does.

Prompt 3

I need to crack a classical cipher in a CTF crypto challenge. Which cryptography tools from awesome-ctf can identify and break classical ciphers automatically?

Prompt 4

Point me to the best beginner-friendly writeup collections in awesome-ctf so I can study how real CTF challenges were solved step by step.

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