First 30 Minutes

Get from zero to your first scan results in 30 minutes or less.

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Minute 0-5: Install

# Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/six2dez/reconftw.git
cd reconftw
./install.sh

☕ While it installs (~15-20 min): Read the next sections.

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Minute 5-10: Understand What You're Running

reconFTW in One Sentence

reconFTW finds subdomains, probes them, and scans for vulnerabilities—automatically.

Available Scan Modes

reconFTW offers multiple modes for different use cases:

Mode	Flag	Description	Activity Level
Passive	-p	No direct contact with target, uses only public sources	None
Subdomains	-s	Subdomain enumeration only	Low-Medium
OSINT	-n	OSINT gathering only	Low
Web	-w	Web analysis on known subdomains	Medium
Recon	-r	Default/recommended. Full recon + light vuln scan (nuclei on webs)	Medium-High
All	-a	Full recon + aggressive vulnerability scanning	Very High

⚠️ Important: Even -r mode performs active scanning (DNS queries, HTTP requests, port scans). Always ensure you have authorization.

About the -a (All) Mode

🔴 WARNING: The -a flag runs aggressive vulnerability testing including SQLi payloads, fuzzing, and multiple scanner tools. This generates significant traffic and may trigger security alerts. Only use when you have explicit written authorization for penetration testing.

Quick Decision Tree

Do I have written authorization for this target?
├── No → STOP. Get permission first.
└── Yes
    ├── First time? → Start with -p (passive)
    ├── Need subdomains only? → Use -s
    ├── Standard recon? → Use -r (recommended)
    └── Full pentest scope? → Use -a (read warning above)

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Minute 10-15: Configure API Keys (Optional but Recommended)

API keys improve results by adding more data sources. Set up at least these 3:

1. Shodan (Free tier available)

# Get key: https://shodan.io → Account → API Key
echo 'SHODAN_API_KEY="your_key"' >> secrets.cfg

2. GitHub Token (Free)

# Get token: GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens
echo 'GITHUB_TOKEN="your_token"' >> secrets.cfg

3. SecurityTrails (Free tier)

# Get key: https://securitytrails.com/app/api
# Add to ~/.config/subfinder/provider-config.yaml

No keys? reconFTW still works, just with fewer data sources.

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Minute 15-20: Verify Installation

# Check all tools installed
./reconftw.sh --check-tools

# You should see green checkmarks ✓
# Red X means a tool failed - usually fixed by running install.sh again

Common Issues

Problem	Fix
go: command not found	source ~/.bashrc or restart terminal
Tool shows ✗	Run ./install.sh again
Permission denied	chmod +x reconftw.sh

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Minute 20-25: Run Your First Scan

Option A: Safe Passive Scan (Recommended First)

./reconftw.sh -d example.com -p

This:

• ✅ No direct contact with target

• ✅ Uses only public data sources

• ✅ Fast (~15 minutes)

• ✅ Safe for any authorized target

Option B: Quick Subdomain Discovery

./reconftw.sh -d example.com -s

This:

• ⚠️ Makes DNS queries (minimal noise)

• ✅ Finds subdomains only

• ✅ ~30 minutes

What's Happening?

[sub_passive] Running: Subdomain enumeration...
  → Querying 40+ data sources
  → Certificate Transparency logs
  → DNS brute-forcing (if -s or -r)
  
[webprobe_simple] Running: Web probing...
  → Checking which subdomains are alive
  → Detecting technologies

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Minute 25-30: Check Your Results

Where Are Results?

ls Recon/example.com/

Recon/example.com/
├── subdomains/
│   └── subdomains.txt    ← All found subdomains
├── webs/
│   └── webs.txt          ← Live web servers
├── osint/
│   └── emails.txt        ← Found email addresses
└── .log/
    └── reconftw.log      ← Execution log

Quick Results Check

# How many subdomains?
wc -l Recon/example.com/subdomains/subdomains.txt

# What's alive?
cat Recon/example.com/webs/webs.txt

# Any interesting findings?
cat Recon/example.com/osint/*.txt

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What's Next?

If Passive Scan Looks Good → Run Full Recon

./reconftw.sh -d example.com -r

If You Need Vulnerabilities → Run All

./reconftw.sh -d example.com -a

If Scan Was Interrupted → Just Resume

# Run the same command again - it continues from where it stopped
./reconftw.sh -d example.com -r

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Quick Reference Card

Essential Commands

# Passive (safe, fast)
./reconftw.sh -d target.com -p

# Recon (full discovery)
./reconftw.sh -d target.com -r

# All (recon + vulns)
./reconftw.sh -d target.com -a

# Multiple targets
./reconftw.sh -l targets.txt -r

# Resume interrupted scan
./reconftw.sh -d target.com -r  # just run again

Essential Locations

What	Where
Results	Recon/<domain>/
Config	reconftw.cfg
API Keys	secrets.cfg
Logs	Recon/<domain>/.log/

Getting Help

./reconftw.sh -h              # Show help
./reconftw.sh --check-tools   # Verify installation

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Common First-Timer Questions

"It's taking forever"

Normal! Full scans take 1-8 hours. Use -p for quick results.

"I got rate limited"

Add to reconftw.cfg:

HTTPX_RATELIMIT=50
NUCLEI_RATELIMIT=50

"Results are empty"

1. Check target exists: dig target.com

2. Check API keys are set

3. Look at logs: cat Recon/target.com/.log/*.log

"Can I stop and resume?"

Yes! Just Ctrl+C to stop, run same command to resume.

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🎉 You're Ready!

You now know enough to:

• Run passive reconnaissance

• Find subdomains

• Check results

• Resume interrupted scans

Next steps:

• Full Usage Guide - All flags explained

• Configuration - Customize behavior

• OPSEC & Legal - Stay safe and legal