Pentagi

Overview

Pentagi (pronounced "pen-ta-gi") is a fully autonomous AI agent system designed for complex penetration testing tasks. Developed by vxcontrol, it represents a significant step toward autonomous cybersecurity operations, enabling AI agents to perform end-to-end penetration testing workflows with minimal human intervention. With over 20,000 GitHub stars, it has rapidly become one of the most notable open-source AI penetration testing frameworks.

Pentagi distinguishes itself from single-task AI security tools by offering a comprehensive agent system that can plan, execute, and report on entire penetration testing engagements. It combines multiple AI agents working in concert to handle reconnaissance, vulnerability scanning, exploitation, post-exploitation, and report generation.

The framework is built in Go for performance and reliability, making it suitable for production security assessments. It supports both standalone operation and integration with existing security toolchains.

Features

• Autonomous penetration testing: Full engagement lifecycle from reconnaissance to reporting
• Multi-agent architecture: Multiple specialized agents collaborating on security tasks
• Go-based for performance: Native Go implementation for speed and reliability
• Tool orchestration: Integrates with established security tools (Nmap, Burp, Metasploit, etc.)
• Adaptive planning: AI-driven test planning that adapts to target characteristics
• Evidence collection: Automated capture and organization of security findings
• Report generation: Structured reports with severity ratings and remediation recommendations
• API-accessible: REST API for integration with CI/CD and DevSecOps pipelines

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi
cd pentagi

# Build with Go
go build -o pentagi ./cmd/pentagi

# Or install via go install
go install github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi@latest

Quick Start

package main

import (
    "context"
    "github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi/core"
    "github.com/vxcontrol/pentagi/config"
)

func main() {
    // Configure the agent
    cfg := &config.AgentConfig{
        Target:    "https://example.com",
        Scope:     "limited",
        Verbose:   true,
        MaxAgents: 5,
    }

    // Create and run the agent
    agent := core.NewAgent(cfg)
    results, err := agent.Run(context.Background())
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal(err)
    }

    // Generate report
    report, _ := agent.GenerateReport(results)
    agent.SaveReport(report, "pentest-report.md")
}

Core Concepts

Autonomous Planning

Pentagi agents analyze the target and dynamically generate a testing plan, selecting appropriate tools and techniques based on the target's characteristics, technology stack, and scope constraints.

Multi-Agent Collaboration

The system employs a hierarchical agent architecture where a coordinator agent delegates tasks to specialized agents for reconnaissance, vulnerability assessment, exploitation, and reporting.

Evidence-Driven Results

Every finding is backed by collected evidence, ensuring reports are verifiable and actionable for remediation teams.

Advanced Features

Custom Agent Configuration

Define custom agents with specific skill sets, tool access, and execution parameters for tailored security assessments.

CI/CD Integration

Run penetration tests as part of your deployment pipeline with configurable severity thresholds and automated blocking.

Target Profiling

Automated technology stack identification and attack surface mapping before testing begins.

Examples

Basic Web Application Scan

cfg := &config.AgentConfig{
    Target:  "https://myapp.example.com",
    Scope:   "web",
    Profile: "owasp-top-10",
}

agent := core.NewAgent(cfg)
results, _ := agent.Run(ctx)

// Access specific findings
for _, finding := range results.HighSeverity {
    fmt.Printf("High severity: %s - %s\n", finding.Title, finding.Description)
}

Network Infrastructure Assessment

cfg := &config.AgentConfig{
    Target:  "192.168.1.0/24",
    Scope:   "network",
    Profile: "infrastructure",
    Agents:  []string{"scanner", "exploiter", "auditor"},
}

Pros

• ✅ Fully autonomous end-to-end penetration testing
• ✅ Go-based for high performance and reliability
• ✅ Multi-agent architecture for complex tasks
• ✅ Integration with existing security toolchains
• ✅ Structured reporting with evidence collection
• ✅ API access for DevSecOps integration
• ✅ Open-source with active development

Cons

• ✅ Newer project with evolving API
• ✅ Requires Go environment for deployment
• ✅ May produce false positives requiring validation
• ✅ Ethical use requires proper authorization
• ✅ Resource-intensive for large-scale assessments

When to Use

Pentagi is ideal for security teams that need automated penetration testing capabilities, DevSecOps pipelines that require continuous security assessment, and organizations building AI-driven security operations centers. It is particularly valuable for ongoing security validation in agile development environments.

Resources

• GitHub Repository
• Documentation