Install OWTF¶

Docker Compose is the supported way to run OWTF. Native installation is intended for contributors working on the codebase and is covered by the repository's contributing guide.

1. Install the prerequisites¶

Install:

Git
Docker with the Compose plugin

Confirm that both tools are available:

git --version
docker --version
docker compose version

2. Clone and start OWTF¶

git clone https://github.com/owtf/owtf.git
cd owtf
make compose-safe

The first build downloads base images and installs OWTF's dependencies, so it takes longer than later starts. The compose-safe target starts the split frontend, backend, and database development services without adding extra Linux capabilities to the application containers.

3. Open the web interface¶

Wait for the frontend and backend services to become ready, then open:

http://localhost:8019

The backend API is on port 8009; it is not the browser interface.

Stop OWTF¶

Press Ctrl+C in the Compose terminal. To stop a stack started in the background, run:

docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.dev.yml down

Update a development checkout¶

Review local changes before pulling updates. From a clean checkout:

git switch develop
git pull --ff-only origin develop
make compose-safe

Compose rebuilds services whose inputs changed.