RedHands

RedHands

Enterprise-grade MCP server for offensive security tools

Built in Go with zero external dependencies. Multi-transport (stdio/SSE/WebSocket), tool chaining, structured parsing, report generation, plugin system, rate limiting, caching, and audit logging.

go install github.com/yasindce1998/redhands/cmd/redhands@latest

Quick Start

One-Line Install (Linux/macOS)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yasindce1998/redhands/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

This downloads the redhands binary and prints MCP configuration instructions. To also install security tools:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yasindce1998/redhands/main/scripts/install.sh | bash -s -- --with-tools --profile=web

Install from Source

git clone https://github.com/yasindce1998/redhands.git && cd redhands
make build
sudo make install

# Install security tool dependencies (pick a profile)
sudo make install-tools PROFILE=minimal   # nmap, nuclei, httpx, subfinder
sudo make install-tools PROFILE=web       # web assessment tools
sudo make install-tools PROFILE=network   # network/infrastructure tools
sudo make install-tools PROFILE=ad        # Active Directory tools
sudo make install-tools PROFILE=k8s       # Kubernetes offensive tools
sudo make install-tools PROFILE=uefi      # UEFI bootkit simulation
sudo make install-tools PROFILE=all       # everything

# Check what's installed
make check-deps

Windows (PowerShell)

git clone https://github.com/yasindce1998/redhands.git; cd redhands
go build -o bin\redhands.exe .\cmd\redhands

# Install tool dependencies
.\scripts\install-tools.ps1 -Profile web
.\scripts\install-tools.ps1 -Check    # show what's installed/missing

MCP Configuration

Add to your MCP client config:

Claude Code (~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json), Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json), VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "redhands": {
      "command": "redhands"
    }
  }
}

Running

# stdio (default, for MCP clients)
redhands

# SSE transport (remote/team use)
REDHANDS_TRANSPORT=sse REDHANDS_SSE_ADDR=:8080 redhands

# WebSocket transport
REDHANDS_TRANSPORT=ws REDHANDS_WS_ADDR=:8081 redhands

# Docker (all tools pre-installed)
docker compose up

Installation Profiles

| Profile | Tools Included | Use Case | |---------|---------------|----------| | minimal | nmap, subfinder, httpx, nuclei | Quick recon and scanning | | web | minimal + ffuf, katana, nikto, sqlmap, feroxbuster | Web application testing | | network | minimal + masscan, rustscan, tshark, chisel, ligolo | Network/infrastructure | | ad | minimal + impacket, certipy, crackmapexec, hashcat, john | Active Directory attacks | | k8s | nmap, kubedagger-client, kubedagger-operator | Kubernetes offensive (eBPF) | | uefi | barzakh-adversary, barzakh-scanner | UEFI bootkit adversary simulation | | recon | minimal + amass, gau, waybackurls, arjun, whatweb | Deep reconnaissance | | all | Everything | Full offensive toolkit |

Requirements

• Go 1.26+ (for building from source)
• Security tools on PATH (installed via scripts above, Docker, or manually)

Available Tools

Nmap (toolset: nmap)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | nmap_port_scan | TCP/UDP port scanning (SYN, connect, UDP) | | nmap_service_detect | Service and version detection (-sV) | | nmap_os_detect | OS fingerprinting (-O) | | nmap_vuln_scan | NSE vulnerability scripts |

Recon (toolset: recon)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | subfinder_enum | Subdomain enumeration from passive sources | | amass_enum | Network mapping and ASN discovery (OWASP Amass) | | dns_lookup | DNS record queries via dig (A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, etc.) | | waybackurls | Fetch archived URLs from the Wayback Machine | | gau_urls | Fetch URLs from AlienVault OTX, Wayback, CommonCrawl, URLScan | | arjun_discover | HTTP parameter discovery (hidden GET/POST params) |

Web (toolset: web)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | httpx_probe | HTTP service probing with tech detection | | katana_crawl | Next-gen web crawler (JS crawling, headless) | | nikto_scan | Web server vulnerability scanner | | whatweb_fingerprint | Web technology fingerprinting | | testssl_scan | TLS/SSL encryption testing |

Fuzzing (toolset: fuzz)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | ffuf_fuzz | Web fuzzing (dirs, params, vhosts) | | gobuster_dir | Directory/file brute-forcing | | feroxbuster_scan | Recursive content discovery (forced browsing) |

Scanning (toolset: scan)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | masscan_scan | Internet-scale port scanning (10M pps) | | rustscan_scan | Modern fast port scanner (all 65535 ports in seconds) |

Exploit (toolset: exploit)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | sqlmap_scan | Automatic SQL injection detection and exploitation |

Vulnerability (toolset: vuln)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | nuclei_scan | Template-based vulnerability scanning |

Impacket (toolset: impacket)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | impacket_secretsdump | Dump SAM/LSA/NTDS.dit secrets | | impacket_psexec | PsExec-style remote execution | | impacket_wmiexec | WMI-based remote execution | | impacket_smbclient | SMB client operations | | impacket_dcomexec | DCOM remote execution | | impacket_get_tgt | Request Kerberos TGT | | impacket_get_st | Request service ticket (Kerberoast/delegation) | | impacket_ntlmrelay | NTLM relay attack |

Sliver C2 (toolset: sliver)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | sliver_generate | Generate implant (mTLS, HTTP/S, DNS, WireGuard) | | sliver_listeners | Manage C2 listeners | | sliver_sessions | List/interact with sessions | | sliver_beacons | List/interact with beacons | | sliver_execute | Execute commands on implant | | sliver_upload | Upload files to implant | | sliver_download | Download files from implant | | sliver_pivot | Pivot setup and management | | sliver_portfwd | Port forwarding through implant |

Tunneling (toolset: tunnel)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | chisel_server | Start Chisel reverse tunnel endpoint | | chisel_client | Chisel client (forward/reverse/SOCKS) | | ligolo_start | Start Ligolo-ng proxy server | | ligolo_route | Add routes through Ligolo tunnel | | ligolo_listener | Manage Ligolo listeners on agent |

Password Cracking (toolset: crack)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | hashcat_crack | Crack hashes (dictionary, rules, masks) | | hashcat_benchmark | Benchmark hash types | | hashcat_show | Show cracked from potfile | | john_crack | Crack passwords with John the Ripper | | john_show | Show cracked passwords | | john_formats | List supported hash formats |

CrackMapExec (toolset: crackmapexec)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | cme_smb | SMB enumeration/exec/pass-the-hash | | cme_winrm | WinRM execution | | cme_ldap | LDAP enumeration | | cme_mssql | MSSQL queries/execution | | cme_ssh | SSH credential spray/exec |

Certipy (toolset: certipy)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | certipy_find | Find AD CS templates and CAs | | certipy_req | Request certificates | | certipy_auth | Authenticate via PKINIT | | certipy_shadow | Shadow credentials attack | | certipy_forge | Golden certificate forgery | | certipy_relay | NTLM relay to AD CS |

tshark (toolset: tshark)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | tshark_capture | Capture packets (interface, filter, duration) | | tshark_read | Read pcap with display filter | | tshark_stats | Protocol statistics | | tshark_extract | Extract fields from captures | | tshark_follow | Follow TCP/UDP/HTTP streams |

KubeDagger (toolset: kubedagger)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | 57 tools | eBPF-powered Kubernetes offensive toolkit (see tools/kubedagger/) |

Barzakh (toolset: barzakh)

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | barzakh_list | List available UEFI bootkit payload types | | barzakh_generate | Generate a UEFI bootkit payload for adversary simulation | | barzakh_corpus | Generate full test corpus of malicious/clean firmware pairs | | barzakh_scan | Scan firmware images with 43 specialized bootkit detectors |

System

| Tool | Description | |------|-------------| | redhands_health | Server health check and binary dependency status |

Transports

RedHands supports three transport modes:

| Transport | Use Case | Config | |-----------|----------|--------| | stdio (default) | Local use with Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code | REDHANDS_TRANSPORT=stdio | | SSE | Remote/team deployment over HTTP | REDHANDS_TRANSPORT=sse + REDHANDS_SSE_ADDR=:8080 | | WebSocket | Real-time bidirectional (raw frame protocol) | REDHANDS_TRANSPORT=ws + REDHANDS_WS_ADDR=:8081 |

Authentication

| Mode | Config | Description | |------|--------|-------------| | none (default) | REDHANDS_AUTH=none | No authentication | | API key | REDHANDS_AUTH=apikey + REDHANDS_API_KEY= | X-API-Key header validation | | mTLS | REDHANDS_AUTH=mtls + cert/key/CA env vars | Client certificate verification |

Tool Chaining (Workflows)

Chain tools sequentially with variable substitution:

{
  "method": "workflow/run",
  "params": {
    "steps": [
      {"tool": "nmap_port_scan", "params": {"target": "10.0.0.1"}},
      {"tool": "nuclei_scan", "params": {"target": "$prev.text"}}
    ]
  }
}

Variables: $prev.text (previous step output), $step[N].text (Nth step output).

Structured Output Parsing

Built-in parsers for common tool output formats:

• Nmap XML — parses -oX output into structured hosts/ports/services
• Nuclei JSON — parses JSONL findings into severity-grouped results
• Masscan JSON — parses -oJ output into host/port pairs

Report Generation

Generate reports from workflow results:

{
  "method": "report/generate",
  "params": {
    "format": "markdown",
    "data": { ... }
  }
}

Formats: markdown (.md) and html (self-contained with inline CSS).

Plugin System

Define custom tools via JSON without writing Go:

{
  "name": "custom_quick_scan",
  "description": "Quick nmap top-100 scan",
  "binary": "nmap",
  "args_template": ["-sS", "--top-ports", "100", "{{.target}}"],
  "input_schema": {
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "target": {"type": "string", "description": "Target IP or hostname"}
    },
    "required": ["target"]
  }
}

Drop JSON files in REDHANDS_PLUGINS_DIR (default ./plugins/) and they appear in tools/list automatically.

Configuration

All settings via environment variables:

| Variable | Default | Description | |----------|---------|-------------| | REDHANDS_TOOLSETS | (all) | Comma-separated toolsets to enable | | REDHANDS_TIMEOUT | 5m | Execution timeout per tool call | | REDHANDS_MAX_OUTPUT | 10485760 | Max output bytes per execution (10MB) | | REDHANDS_RATE_LIMIT | 10 | Token bucket refill rate (requests/sec) | | REDHANDS_RATE_BURST | 20 | Token bucket burst capacity | | REDHANDS_CACHE_TTL | 5m | Result cache TTL | | REDHANDS_CACHE_SIZE | 100 | Max cached results (LRU eviction) | | REDHANDS_AUDIT_FILE | audit.jsonl | Audit log file path | | REDHANDS_TRANSPORT | stdio | Transport mode: stdio, sse, or ws | | REDHANDS_SSE_ADDR | :8080 | SSE HTTP listen address | | REDHANDS_WS_ADDR | :8081 | WebSocket listen address | | REDHANDS_AUTH | none | Auth mode: none, apikey, or mtls | | REDHANDS_API_KEY | — | API key (required when auth=apikey) | | REDHANDS_TLS_CERT | — | TLS certificate path | | REDHANDS_TLS_KEY | — | TLS private key path | | REDHANDS_TLS_CA | — | CA certificate for mTLS client verification | | REDHANDS_PLUGINS_DIR | ./plugins | Directory for JSON plugin definitions |

Toolset Filtering

Enable only specific toolsets:

# AD/internal assessment
export REDHANDS_TOOLSETS=nmap,impacket,crackmapexec,certipy,sliver,crack

# External web assessment
export REDHANDS_TOOLSETS=nmap,recon,web,fuzz,scan,vuln

# Network analysis
export REDHANDS_TOOLSETS=nmap,scan,tshark,tunnel

# All tools (default when unset)
export REDHANDS_TOOLSETS=

Security

• Binary allowlist — only known security tools can be executed
• Shell metacharacter rejection on all inputs
• Target validation — strict format checks for IPs, domains, URLs
• Output size cap — 10MB per execution
• Execution timeout — configurable per tool call
• Rate limiting — token bucket prevents abuse
• Authentication — API key or mTLS for remote transports
• Full audit trail — every tool invocation logged as JSONL

Development

make build          # Build binary to bin/
make test           # Run tests with race detector
make lint           # Run golangci-lint
make docker         # Build Docker image
make install        # Install binary to /usr/local/bin
make install-tools  # Install security tools (PROFILE=minimal|web|network|ad|all)
make check-deps     # Check which tools are available

Docker

# Build and run
docker build -t redhands .
docker run -i redhands

# With Docker Compose (SSE mode)
docker compose up

# With authentication
REDHANDS_API_KEY=mysecret docker compose --profile secure up

The Docker image includes all supported security tools pre-installed:

• apt: nmap, masscan, tshark, hashcat, john, nikto, whatweb
• pip: impacket, certipy-ad, crackmapexec
• Go tools: subfinder, httpx, nuclei, ffuf, katana, gobuster, gau
• Releases: chisel, ligolo-ng, kubedagger

License

MIT

Disclaimer

RedHands is provided for authorized security testing, education, and research purposes only. You are solely responsible for ensuring you have explicit, written permission before using this tool against any system, network, or application. Unauthorized access to computer systems is illegal and punishable under applicable law including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), Computer Misuse Act, and equivalent legislation worldwide.

The authors and contributors of RedHands accept no liability for misuse or damage caused by this software. Use responsibly and ethically.

Source & license

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

• Author: yasindce1998
• Source: yasindce1998/RedHands
• License: MIT

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