ljagiello/ctf-skills

ctf-similar-search

Searches for similar CTF challenge writeups using Tavily API for search and content extraction.

Quelltext ansehen

Verwendung

  1. Installationsbefehl kopieren und das Quellpaket vor der Installation in der eigenen Agentenumgebung prüfen.
  2. Benötigte Werkzeuge, Zugangsdaten und Hosts im Original prüfen.
  3. Eingabe und gewünschtes Ergebnis beschreiben und die Ausgabe mit den Quellen abgleichen.
npx skills add https://github.com/ljagiello/ctf-skills --skill ctf-similar-search

Vor dem Start

  • Die Installation umfasst weder Modellabo noch API-Kontingent oder Dateizugriffsrechte.
  • Sterne und Installationen zeigen Aktivität, keine unabhängige Qualitäts- oder Sicherheitsprüfung.
Originales Skill-Dokument

Aus dem Quell-Repository gerendert; Überschriften, Beispiele, Code, Tabellen, Links und Bilder bleiben erhalten.

CTF Similar Challenge Search

Search for similar CTF challenge writeups using Tavily API.

Prerequisites

bash
pip install requests tavily

Set your Tavily API key (from https://tavily.com) before running:

bash
export TAVILY_API_KEY='tvly-...'

API Overview

This skill provides two interfaces:

InterfacePurposeCommand
Tavily SearchSearch for writeups and articles./search.sh search <keyword>
Tavily ExtractExtract content from URLs./search.sh extract <url1> [url2] ...

Search Workflow

Step 1: Search with Keywords

Choose keywords based on available information:

Scenario 1: Known Competition + Challenge Name

bash
# Format: [Competition Name] [Challenge Name] — max 3 words
./search.sh search "DASCTF URL Storage"
./search.sh search "HGAME baby web"
./search.sh search "BUUCTF pwn1"

Scenario 2: Challenge Name Only (no competition info)

bash
# Use challenge name directly — max 3 words
./search.sh search "URL Storage"
./search.sh search "baby overflow"
./search.sh search "crypto-rsa"

Scenario 3: Unique Identifiers (code snippets, strings)

bash
# Use unique, non-trivial strings from the challenge — NO word limit
./search.sh search "def encrypt_flag(key): return base64"
./search.sh search "CUSTOM_MAGIC_BYTES"
./search.sh search "ERROR: invalid padding in AES block"

⚠️ Critical: 3-Word Limit for Non-Code Queries

All keyword searches that are NOT code snippets or unique identifier strings MUST NOT exceed 3 words. This constraint ensures precise, focused queries that return relevant CTF writeup results instead of broad, diluted searches.

Search TypeWord LimitExamples
Competition + Challenge name≤ 3 words"DASCTF URL Storage", "HGAME baby web"
Challenge name only≤ 3 words"URL Storage", "baby overflow"
Code snippets / stringsNo limit"def encrypt_flag(key): return base64"
Error messages / identifiersNo limit"CUSTOM_MAGIC_BYTES", "ERROR: invalid padding in AES block"

For competition + challenge name searches, drop filler words (year numbers, "CTF", "competition", "writeup", "solution") and keep only the 3 most distinctive words:

  • ❌ "HGAME 2024 baby web challenge" (5 words)
  • ✅ "HGAME baby web" (3 words)
  • ❌ "DASCTF 2023 URL Storage writeup" (5 words)
  • ✅ "DASCTF URL Storage" (3 words)
  • ❌ "PlaidCTF 2025 zero day exploit solution" (6 words)
  • ✅ "PlaidCTF zero day" (3 words)

For code/string searches, use the entire unique snippet — these are exempt from the word limit:

  • ✅ "def xor_encrypt(data, key):" (code — exempt)
  • ✅ "ERROR: invalid padding in AES block" (error string — exempt)
  • ✅ "CUSTOM_MAGIC_BYTES" (identifier — exempt)

Keyword Rules

✅ Good Keywords❌ Bad Keywords
Competition + Challenge name (≤3 words)Single vulnerability type (SSRF, XSS)
Challenge name (≤3 words)Generic terms (web, pwn, crypto)
Unique code snippets (no word limit)Full sentences
Specific error messages (no word limit)Articles (a, the, in)
Library/framework namesGeneric strings (flag{}, etc.)
Custom function namesTool names alone

Why avoid these?

  • "SSRF" → returns generic vulnerability explanations, not CTF writeups
  • "flag{" → returns millions of unrelated results
  • "URL Storage DASCTF" → returns specific CTF challenges

Why the 3-word limit?

  • Forces precision: only the most distinctive keywords survive
  • Filters noise: filler words like "challenge", "writeup", "solution" dilute results
  • Improves API efficiency: shorter, focused queries consume fewer credits

Key principle: Use keywords that uniquely identify THIS challenge, not the general technique or common patterns. Keep non-code queries to 3 words or fewer.

Step 2: Review Search Results

The search returns:

  • Answer: AI-generated summary if available
  • Results: List of URLs with titles and content previews
  • Credits: API usage information

Step 3: Extract Content (Optional)

If a search result looks promising, extract its full content:

bash
# Single URL
./search.sh extract "https://example.com/writeup"

# Multiple URLs
./search.sh extract "https://url1.com" "https://url2.com"

Step 4: Analyze and Pivot

Based on extracted content:

  • Identify common techniques used in similar challenges
  • Determine if the approach is applicable
  • Pivot to category-specific skill if needed

When to Pivot

  • If the challenge is already well-categorized, use the specific ctf-* skill
  • If you need OSINT techniques, use ctf-osint
  • If you need to generate a writeup after solving, use ctf-writeup

Quick Start

bash
# Scenario 1: Competition + Challenge name (≤3 words)
./search.sh search "DASCTF URL Storage"

# Scenario 2: Challenge name only (≤3 words)
./search.sh search "URL Storage"

# Scenario 3: Unique identifier from challenge (no word limit)
./search.sh search "def xor_encrypt(data, key):"
./search.sh search "ERROR: invalid padding"

# Extract content from promising results
./search.sh extract "https://ctftime.org/writeup/12345"

Tips

  1. Be specific: Use competition name + challenge name when available
  2. Use unique strings: Code snippets, error messages, unique identifiers
  3. Avoid generic terms: Don't search "SSRF CTF writeup" - too broad
  4. Review first: Check search results before extracting
  5. Extract selectively: Only extract URLs that look relevant
  6. Respect the 3-word limit: For non-code queries, strip filler words and keep only the 3 most distinctive keywords

$ARGUMENTS

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