DevGuard

Scan a repository for malware before you open it in your IDE, install its dependencies, or run it.

Malicious repositories (fake job-interview tasks, poisoned forks, hijacked packages) rarely wait for you to run main.py. They run automatically: a VS Code task on folder open, an npm postinstall script, a git hook, an AI assistant hook, a loader hidden in tailwind.config.js. DevGuard finds those triggers, follows them to the code they run, and tells you whether it is safe to proceed. It reads files as data and never executes anything.

Install

pipx install devguard-scanner        # or: uv tool install devguard-scanner

Use

devguard scan path/to/repo

DevGuard scan complete
Target:   interview-task
Verdict:  BLOCK | Do not open, install, or run this project. Strong indicators of malicious behavior were found.
Findings: 5 (1 critical, 2 high, 1 medium, 1 low)
  - [critical] Automatic trigger reaches dangerous code (package.json:5)
  - [high] Browser profile data targeted (lib/collect.js:7)
  - [high] Cryptocurrency wallet data targeted (lib/collect.js:10)
Report (md): ~/devguard-scanner/reports/interview-task-1a2b3c4d/latest/report.md

Exit code 1 means findings at or above --fail-on (default high), so it works as a CI gate.

Check whether others flagged it

devguard check                    # this checkout, by its GitHub remote; or: devguard check owner/repo
devguard flag --note "..."        # report it; the server re-scans and accepts only a `block` verdict

devguard scan shares its verdict and the repository or folder name (never code; private repositories without their owner) to count usage and warn others; turn it off with --no-share or DEVGUARD_SHARE=0. See community features.

Scan a GitHub repository without cloning it

devguard scan https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World  # add --ref BRANCH|TAG|SHA

The repository is downloaded into a temporary directory, scanned, and deleted. git is never run, so clone-time exploits and hooks cannot trigger, and the files never sit in a folder your IDE could open. Private repositories work with your own token (GH_TOKEN, GITHUB_TOKEN, or DEVGUARD_GITHUB_TOKEN).

No install: hosted API or Docker

# hosted API (public repositories), Swagger UI at https://devguard-scanner.vercel.app/docs
curl -s 'https://devguard-scanner.vercel.app/v1/scans/github/octocat/Hello-World?format=md'

# one-off scan in a throwaway container
docker run --rm ghcr.io/yilmazhasan/devguard-scanner scan https://github.com/octocat/Hello-World --stdout md

# self-hosted API, plus local scans of anything you copy into ~/devguard-scanner-data (mounted read-only)
docker compose up -d

See the API guide and the Docker guide. Optional AI explanations work with your own provider key; the server never stores it.

More

• Getting started: options, reports, exit codes
• AI investigation: optional explanations from Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, or a local model
• Provider plugins: connect any LLM with a small Python file
• MCP server: let Claude Code, Cursor, or Copilot check a repo before acting on it
• HTTP API · Docker: scan without installing, or self-host
• CI and pre-commit · Configuration · How it works
• Contributing · Security policy

Licensed under Apache-2.0.