Session Management¶

Manage your pentest sessions with PentLog's powerful workflow tools.

Creating an Engagement¶

pentlog create

Interactive wizard that guides you through:

1. Select Context Mode — Client, Exam/Lab, or Log Only
2. Enter Metadata — Client name, engagement details, scope
3. Confirm — Review and activate the context

Example: Client Mode¶

$ pentlog create
? Select context type: Client Mode
? Client name: ACME Corp
? Engagement name: Internal Pentest 2026
? Scope: 10.0.0.0/24
? Initial phase: reconnaissance
✓ Context created and activated

Example: Exam/Lab Mode¶

$ pentlog create
? Select context type: Exam/Lab Mode
? Exam name: OSCP Lab
? Target IP: 10.10.10.5
✓ Context created and activated

Starting a Recorded Shell¶

pentlog shell

Features: - Custom PS1 showing current context - Automatic ttyrec recording - Hotkeys for notes and vulnerabilities - Graceful exit handling

Custom PS1 Format¶

[ACME/internal-pentest/recon] user@host:~$

Switching Contexts¶

Interactive Switch¶

pentlog switch

Options: - Select from recent sessions - Enter new manual context - Toggle to previous session

Quick Toggle¶

pentlog switch -

Instantly switch to the previous session (great for multi-target engagements).

Switch by Type¶

Client Mode: Switch between phases

pentlog switch
? Select phase: exploitation

Exam/Lab Mode: Switch to new target

pentlog switch
? New Target IP: 10.10.10.6

Listing Sessions¶

pentlog sessions

Shows: - Active and completed sessions - Session metadata (client, engagement, phase) - File sizes and timestamps - Session states (active/completed/crashed)

Session States¶

Resetting Context¶

Clear the current active engagement:

pentlog reset

This removes the active context but preserves all recorded sessions.

Status Check¶

View current tool and engagement status:

pentlog status

Output:

PentLog v1.2.3
Active Context: ACME Corp / Internal Pentest 2026 / recon
Database: ~/.pentlog/pentlog.db
Storage: 2.3 GB used

Best Practices¶