Installation¶

Get PentLog installed and configured on your system. Choose your preferred installation method.

System Requirements¶

Before installing, ensure your system meets these requirements:

Component	Requirement
Operating System	macOS 10.15+ or Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, Alpine, etc.)
Go Version	1.24.0 or later (for building from source)
Shell	Bash, Zsh, or compatible POSIX shell
Disk Space	~50 MB for installation, plus space for logs
Dependencies	`ttyrec` (auto-installed by `pentlog setup`)

Installation Methods¶

Quick Install (Recommended)Homebrew (macOS)Build from SourceDocker

The fastest way to install PentLog on macOS or Linux:

curl -sSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aancw/pentlog/main/install.sh | sh

This script will:

Download the latest release binary
Install to ~/.local/bin/pentlog
Add to your PATH if needed

Verify the installation

After installation, run:

pentlog version

Coming soon! For now, use the quick install method:

curl -sSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aancw/pentlog/main/install.sh | sh

Build PentLog from the latest source code:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/aancw/pentlog.git
cd pentlog

# Build the binary
go build -o pentlog main.go

# Install system-wide (optional)
sudo mv pentlog /usr/local/bin/

Go Version Required

Ensure Go 1.24.0+ is installed:

go version

Cross-Compile¶

Target	Command
Linux ARM64	`GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm64 go build -o pentlog main.go`
macOS AMD64	`GOOS=darwin GOARCH=amd64 go build -o pentlog main.go`
macOS ARM64	`GOOS=darwin GOARCH=arm64 go build -o pentlog main.go`

Run PentLog in a container:

docker pull aancw/pentlog:latest
docker run -it --rm -v ~/.pentlog:/root/.pentlog aancw/pentlog

Post-Installation Setup¶

After installing PentLog, run the setup command to:

Verify system dependencies
Install ttyrec if missing
Create the ~/.pentlog/ directory structure

pentlog setup

You should see output like:

✓ PentLog Setup Complete
  • ttyrec: /usr/local/bin/ttyrec
  • ttyplay: /usr/local/bin/ttyplay
  • Database: ~/.pentlog/pentlog.db
  • Logs: ~/.pentlog/logs/

Manual Dependency Installation¶

If automatic dependency installation fails, install ttyrec manually:

macOSUbuntu / DebianFedoraAlpine LinuxArch Linux

brew install ttyrec

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ttyrec

sudo dnf install ttyrec

sudo apk add ttyrec

sudo pacman -S ttyrec

Shell Completion¶

Generate auto-completion for your shell:

pentlog completion

Follow the prompts to install for Bash or Zsh.

Verify Installation¶

Confirm PentLog is working correctly:

# Check version
pentlog version

# Show status
pentlog status

# Test help
pentlog --help

Troubleshooting¶

"command not found: pentlog"¶

The installation directory isn't in your PATH. Add it:

# For Bash
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# For Zsh
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

"ttyrec not found"¶

Install ttyrec manually using the commands above for your OS, then re-run:

pentlog setup

Permission denied on macOS¶

If you see "cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified":

# Remove the quarantine attribute
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/.local/bin/pentlog

Build errors from source¶

Ensure you have Go 1.24.0+:

# Check Go version
go version

# If needed, update Go (macOS example)
brew update
brew upgrade go

Security Best Practices¶

Password Protection

Use interactive mode (pentlog archive) instead of --password flag to avoid storing passwords in shell history.

File Permissions

Sensitive files are created with 0600 permissions automatically.

Evidence Integrity

Use pentlog freeze before archiving for compliance audits.

Next Steps¶

Now that PentLog is installed, continue to the Quick Start guide to create your first engagement and start logging.

Quick Start Guide