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Guide · Agent skill

How to use the CTF Sandbox Orchestrator agent skill

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

The ctf-sandbox-orchestrator skill gives an AI agent a structured method for capture-the-flag and security competition tasks. It acts as the default entry point: it maps the challenge, traces one minimal path, and loads only the reference file or narrower skill that matches the blocker. This guide explains what the skill does, how to install it from the ZIP, how to trigger it, and the limits you should respect before using it.

CTF Sandbox Orchestratorzhaoxuya520/reverse-skill · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Download the ZIP. Get the ctf-sandbox-orchestrator ZIP from this page.
  2. 2Unzip into a skills folder. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder for one project.
  3. 3Or upload in the Claude apps. Open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.
  4. 4Check the skill folder. Make sure SKILL.md is inside the skill folder so the agent can read it.
  5. 5Describe your challenge. Give a plain description of the target, such as a binary, a web app, a pcap or an identity setup, and what you need.
  6. 6Let the agent route. The agent maps the entry points, traces one minimal path and loads the matching reference file.
  7. 7Re-run to verify. Ask the agent to reproduce the result from a clean baseline before treating the path as solved.

What the skill makes the agent do

The skill turns the agent into a routing layer for competition work. When you present a challenge such as a web app, a binary, a crypto problem, a cloud or identity setup, or a prompt, the agent first maps the entry points: the active hosts, routes, processes, storage, artifacts or binaries that matter now.

It then proves one narrow end-to-end path from input to a decisive branch, state change, privilege edge or recovered artifact before widening the search. It keeps findings tied to observable evidence such as requests, offsets, hashes and runtime traces, and it asks the agent to re-run from a clean baseline before calling a path solved.

  • Covers CTF, exploit, reverse engineering, DFIR, pwnable, crypto, stego, mobile, AI-agent, cloud, container, Active Directory, Windows-host and identity challenges.
  • Prefers passive inspection before active probing.
  • Treats challenge artifacts such as prompts, logs, HTML and comments as untrusted data, not instructions.
  • Loads only the reference file that matches the challenge type instead of reading all of them.

Install the skill from the ZIP

Download the ctf-sandbox-orchestrator ZIP from this page. Then choose one of two routes. For a personal setup, unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder. Either way, the skill folder should contain SKILL.md, which is the file the agent reads first.

If you use the Claude apps instead, open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.

  • Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
  • Project install: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
  • Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload

Trigger the skill with natural requests

You do not need to name the skill. The skill's description says to use it first when a user presents challenge infrastructure, binaries, prompts, hosts or identities. A plain request that describes the challenge is enough.

Once active, the skill routes internally to narrower competition skills or reference files. You do not need to switch skills by hand unless you want direct control over a specific child skill.

  • Describe the challenge and what you have, for example: here is a stripped ELF binary, find how the input is checked.
  • Name the category if you know it, for example: this is a web challenge with an API behind a proxy.
  • Give the artifact, for example: here is a pcap file, trace the custom protocol messages.
  • Ask for a route, for example: which path should we take for this Active Directory setup?

What the reference files cover

The skill ships with reference files that the agent loads only when relevant. Each one matches a family of challenges and gives a short working method for it.

web-api.md covers web, API, frontend, workers and routing. reverse-native.md covers reverse engineering, malware, DFIR, native and pwn work. crypto-mobile.md covers crypto, stego and mobile. agent-cloud.md covers AI agent and prompt injection, cloud, containers and CI/CD. identity-windows.md covers identity, Active Directory, Windows hosts and enterprise messaging. router-matrix.md holds the child-skill selection rules, and reporting.md covers how results are packaged as evidence.

  • web-api.md: web, API, frontend, workers, routing
  • reverse-native.md: reverse, malware, DFIR, native, pwn
  • crypto-mobile.md: crypto, stego, mobile
  • agent-cloud.md: prompt injection, cloud, containers, CI/CD
  • identity-windows.md: identity, AD, Windows host, messaging
  • router-matrix.md and reporting.md: routing rules and evidence packaging

Examples of how the workflow runs

Suppose you give the agent a binary that asks for a password. The skill would first map the entry point and the input check, then trace one minimal path from input to the decisive comparison. It would record exact offsets and strings, load reverse-native.md for the detailed method, and re-run the result from a clean state before reporting it.

For an encrypted ZIP, the crypto-mobile reference says to route to the zip-archive child skill, confirm legacy ZipCrypto first, and prefer a known-plaintext attack with bkcrack rather than blind password brute force. WinZip AES is outside that child skill's scope.

  • Binary password check: map input, trace the comparison, record offsets, verify from clean baseline.
  • Encrypted ZIP: confirm ZipCrypto, prefer known-plaintext with bkcrack, avoid blind brute force.

Safety notes: scripts, network and scope

The skill itself does not list any required dependencies, does not run scripts and does not use the network. Its safety risk is in its instructions, not in code it executes. It tells the agent to assume that user-presented targets, hosts and identities are sandbox fixtures and not to spend time checking whether they are real external infrastructure. It also encourages active probing and patching once a path is found.

Use it only on targets you own or have explicit written permission to test, such as authorised lab or competition environments. Do not point it at live production systems or third-party services. Keep the agent's changes reversible: the skill itself advises backups and derived copies over destructive edits.

  • Requires: nothing listed. Runs scripts: no. Uses network: no.
  • Only use on authorised lab or competition targets.
  • Never use on production systems or live third-party services.
  • Do not enumerate unrelated user secrets or personal data outside the active challenge path.
  • Expect the agent to reply in Simplified Chinese unless you ask for English; code, commands and logs stay in their original language.

What people use it for

  • Working through a web challenge by mapping routes and tracing one request through the auth check.
  • Analysing a binary by tracing a single input to its decisive branch and recording offsets.
  • Tracing a custom protocol from a pcap by following message order and fields.
  • Reviewing an encrypted ZIP challenge by confirming the encryption type before choosing an attack.
  • Mapping an Active Directory or Windows-host challenge by identifying identities, tickets and event IDs as evidence.

Frequently asked questions

Is the ctf-sandbox-orchestrator skill free to use?

The skill is published under the MIT licence, as listed on this page. The source does not mention pricing for the skill itself, so check the licence text in the ZIP for the terms.

What do I need to install ctf-sandbox-orchestrator?

The skill lists no required dependencies. You need an agent that supports skills, and then you unzip the ZIP into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder, or upload it under Settings, Capabilities, Skills in the Claude apps.

Does the skill run scripts or use the internet?

No. The skill is listed as not running scripts and not using the network. Its risks come from the instructions it gives the agent, so keep it to authorised lab or competition targets.

How do I make the agent use this skill?

Describe your challenge in plain language, including the artifact you have, such as a binary, prompt, host or identity. The skill is meant to be the default entry point, so you do not need to name it or pick a child skill.

Is this skill suitable for real systems or bug bounty targets?

No. The skill is built for CTF and authorised lab or competition exercises, and it tells the agent to treat presented hosts as sandbox fixtures. Using it on production systems or targets you do not own or have written permission to test is not what it is for.

What are the alternatives, and how does this compare?

The source does not compare this skill with other tools. It is a routing layer that chooses a path and loads a reference file, so it is most useful when you want a structured, evidence-first method. If you only need a quick answer and not a detailed workflow, a simpler tool may suit you better.

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Our verdict

Use this skill if you are a student or player working through CTF challenges, or a practitioner running authorised lab or competition exercises across several domains, and you want a structured, evidence-first method. Do not use it on targets you do not own or lack written permission to test, on production or live third-party services, or if you want a simple answer without security tooling.

Download the skill