Getting Started
This guide walks you through installing Basilisk and running your first LLM security scan.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.11 or higher
- An API key for the LLM provider you want to test (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
Installation
via pip (Recommended)
pip install basilisk-ai
basilisk --version
via Docker
docker pull rothackers/basilisk:latest
via Source
git clone https://github.com/noobforanonymous/basilisk
cd basilisk
pip install -e ".[dev]"
Configuration
Set your API key as an environment variable:
# OpenAI
export OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-..."
# Anthropic
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."
# Google
export GOOGLE_API_KEY="AIza..."
Your First Scan
Quick Scan (fastest, no evolution)
basilisk scan -t https://api.target.com/chat -p openai --mode quick
Standard Scan (with evolution)
basilisk scan -t https://api.target.com/chat -p openai
Deep Scan (10 generations of evolution)
basilisk scan -t https://api.target.com/chat -p openai --mode deep --generations 10
Understanding Output
Basilisk will display real-time progress in your terminal:
[*] Basilisk v0.1.0 — AI Red Teaming Framework
[*] Recon: Fingerprinting target model...
[+] Model identified: GPT-4 (OpenAI)
[*] Guardrail profile: 6/8 categories blocked
[*] Loading 29 attack modules across 8 categories...
[!] FINDING: System prompt extracted via role confusion
[+] Scan complete. 4 findings (1 Critical, 2 High, 1 Medium)
[*] Report saved: basilisk-reports/report.html
Next Steps
- Attack Modules — Explore all 29 modules
- Evolution Engine — How SPE-NL works
- CLI Reference — All commands and flags
- Reporting — Output formats and CI/CD integration