# Argus

> An open-source AppSec agent that reasons like an analyst: real scanners, your org's context, and a conversation instead of 400 findings.

- **Type:** MCP server
- **Install:** `agentstack add mcp-argusappsec-argus`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [argusappsec](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/argusappsec)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [AI & ML](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/ai-and-ml)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Upstream author:** [argusappsec](https://github.com/argusappsec)
- **Source:** https://github.com/argusappsec/argus
- **Website:** https://github.com/argusappsec/argus/blob/main/docs/guide/getting-started.md

## Install

```sh
agentstack add mcp-argusappsec-argus
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

Not 400 findings. A conversation with someone who knows your codebase.

  
  
  
  
  

Argus is an open-source **application security agent** that reviews code the
way an analyst does: it runs real scanners, reads their findings, weighs them
against your organization's context, and tells you in plain language what
actually matters. Then you argue back — Argus answers. One long-lived daemon
per organization, reached where your team already works: a terminal chat,
GitHub pull requests, and MCP from your own AI tools.

## Why Argus

Deterministic scanners are precise but shallow — a missing ownership check
has no signature to pattern-match. Language models can read and reason about
code, but on their own they drown the signal in false positives. Argus pairs
the two and adds the missing third ingredient: **your organization**. Scanners
are wrapped as structured tools, the model is disciplined by curated
methodology, and every review is grounded in your company's stack, risk
tolerance, and accumulated knowledge. That's the difference between a report
nobody reads and a colleague you can ask a follow-up question.

## Quick start

```sh
git clone https://github.com/argusappsec/argus.git && cd argus
make build

./argus init     # pick a provider, set the API key, shape your org's SOUL
./argus doctor   # verify scanners and configuration
./argus          # chat with your security engineer
```

Prefer containers? The batteries-included image ships with `semgrep`,
`gitleaks`, and `osv-scanner` preinstalled:

```sh
docker run -it -v argus-data:/data -p 8080:8080 ghcr.io/argusappsec/argus
```

To review pull requests, connect a GitHub App with `./argus codehost setup`
and open a PR: the review arrives on its own, and you can answer back right
on the thread — *"Argus, is this finding real?"*.

New here? Start with **[Getting started](docs/guide/getting-started.md)**.

## Features

- **Reviews you can talk to.** Ask in chat, call over MCP, or let GitHub
  webhooks trigger them automatically — then discuss the findings instead of
  grepping a SARIF file.
- **Real scanners, no shell escape.** `semgrep`, `gitleaks`, and
  `osv-scanner` run as structured, code-reviewed Go tools; the model is
  deliberately given no generic `bash`/`exec`.
- **Knows your organization.** A SOUL file (company profile, stack,
  compliance posture, persona) rides along in every model call; curated
  memory and a topical knowledge base carry context across sessions.
- **Skills.** Multi-step methodologies bundled as markdown, triggered with
  `/` — four built-ins included, bring your own with a `SKILL.md`.
- **One trust model.** Every action across every channel is attributed to a
  principal with a role and recorded in an append-only audit log.
- **Hardened against prompt injection.** Reviewed code is data, never
  instructions: automatic reviews run least-privilege, file access is confined
  to the checkout, and confidentiality is enforced on what Argus posts.

## How it works

Argus runs as **one shared daemon per organization** (`argusd`). Every channel
is a goroutine inside that single process, sharing one provider, one tool
registry, one knowledge base, and one audit log.

| Channel | Transport | Identity |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **TUI** | local Unix socket | `local:$USER` (socket possession = auth) |
| **MCP** | HTTP (Model Context Protocol) | `mcp:` |
| **GitHub** | signed webhook events | Service principal (webhooks), `github:` (comments) |
| **Slack** *(planned)* | Socket Mode bot | `slack:` |

## Built-in skills

| Skill | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `authz-audit` | White-box hunt for broken authorization (BOLA/IDOR, BFLA) — validated at 100% recall / 100% precision on VAmPI |
| `pr-quick-check` | Fast security pass over a pull request diff |
| `secret-rotation-plan` | Find committed secrets and draft a prioritized rotation plan |
| `threat-modeling` | Build a STRIDE threat model of a codebase |

## Documentation

- **[Getting started](docs/guide/getting-started.md)** — install, bootstrap, first chat
- **[Configuration](docs/guide/configuration.md)** — the full `argus.yaml` reference
- **[GitHub channel](docs/guide/channels/github.md)** — automatic PR reviews and talking to Argus on threads
- **[MCP channel](docs/guide/channels/mcp.md)** — Argus as a consultable colleague for your AI tools
- **[Skills](docs/guide/skills.md)** — using, writing, and overriding skills
- **[Kubernetes deployment](docs/guide/deployment/kubernetes.md)** — hosting Argus on a cluster

Curious how it's designed? The domain vocabulary lives in
[CONTEXT.md](CONTEXT.md), every architectural decision is recorded under
[docs/adr/](docs/adr/), and deeper design rationale under
[docs/design/](docs/design/).

## Status

Argus is **pre-1.0** and moving fast. Defaults and configuration schemas may
change between minor versions — always loudly, with startup errors that name
their replacement, never silently.

## Security

Found a vulnerability in Argus itself? Please report it privately: email
[security@argusappsec.com](mailto:security@argusappsec.com) or use GitHub's
[private vulnerability reporting](https://github.com/argusappsec/argus/security/advisories/new).
See [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) for what's in scope and how disclosure works.

## License

Argus is licensed under the [Apache License 2.0](LICENSE). The Argus logo and
brand assets are licensed under [CC BY 4.0](brand/LICENSE).

## Source & license

This open-source MCP server is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [argusappsec](https://github.com/argusappsec)
- **Source:** [argusappsec/argus](https://github.com/argusappsec/argus)
- **License:** Apache-2.0
- **Homepage:** https://github.com/argusappsec/argus/blob/main/docs/guide/getting-started.md

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/mcp-argusappsec-argus
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/argusappsec
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

---
Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.
