Solve Challenge

This is the front door for CTF challenges when you don't yet know what you're dealing with. It runs triage on whatever you throw at it (a binary, a PCAP, a URL, a zip of mixed files), figures out if it's pwn, crypto, web, reversing, forensics, OSINT, malware, or misc, then hands off to the specialized skill for that category. The recon workflow is solid: it checks file types, pulls strings, fetches remote services, and even detects CTFd platforms to switch into API mode. Use this when you're staring at a challenge bundle with no obvious entry point. Skip it if you already know the category and can go straight to the specialist. It's a dispatcher, not a reference manual.

skills.sh installs: 9.5K
GitHub stars: 3.7K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add ljagiello/ctf-skills --skill solve-challenge --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

CTF Challenge Solver

You're a skilled CTF player. Your goal is to solve the challenge and find the flag.

Environment Setup

Two setup strategies depending on your workflow:

Pre-install (recommended before competitions)

Use the central installer entrypoint:

bash scripts/install_ctf_tools.sh all

Run a narrower mode when you only want one tool group:

bash scripts/install_ctf_tools.sh python
bash scripts/install_ctf_tools.sh apt
bash scripts/install_ctf_tools.sh brew
bash scripts/install_ctf_tools.sh gems
bash scripts/install_ctf_tools.sh go
bash scripts/install_ctf_tools.sh manual

The full package lists now live in scripts/install_ctf_tools.sh.

On-demand (during challenges)

Each category skill's SKILL.md has a Prerequisites section listing only the tools needed for that category. Install as you go.

Workflow

Before selecting or escalating a model, read difficulty-routing.md. Use its evidence-based scoring, stop-loss rules, and tier gates throughout the workflow.