htbx 0.1.2

Terminal client for selected Hack The Box Labs API workflows.

htb-terminal

Python terminal client for selected HTB Labs v4 API workflows: machines, VPN, OVPN files, and raw API calls. Zero external dependencies.

See the command reference for every command, option, default, and the API endpoint each command calls.

Sources

• Official HTB Enterprise Public API documentation: https://enterprise-help.hackthebox.com/en/articles/13375637-introduction-to-enterprise-public-api
• Official HTB article on Lab/OpenVPN access: https://help.hackthebox.com/en/articles/5185687-gs-introduction-to-lab-access
• v4 Postman collection: https://documenter.getpostman.com/view/13129365/TVeqbmeq
• Readable community reference for Labs v4 endpoints: https://github.com/D3vil0p3r/HackTheBox-API

Note: HTB officially documents the Enterprise API. The Labs v4 endpoints used here come from the Postman collection and community references; they may change without notice.

Screenshots

Compact active-machine output keeps the session details and profile-only status text readable without dumping the full HTB profile.

Tables use compact columns, terminal colors, and truncation by default. Use --wide when you need full values.

Installation

Requires Python 3.10+. This project has no external dependencies.

Install as a global command with pipx (recommended) so htb is available from any directory:

pipx install htbx
htb --help

Or with pip:

pip install htbx
htb --help

The package is published on PyPI as htbx; it installs the htb command (an htbx alias is installed too). To run the latest from source without installing, use a clone:

chmod +x ./htb
./htb --help

Authentication

Generate an App Token from your HTB profile settings, then save it once with init:

htb init
# Paste your HTB App Token (input hidden): ...

htb init --check   # also verify the token and print who you are

init stores the token in your user config directory (~/.config/htb-terminal/token, or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/htb-terminal/token) with owner-only permissions, so a pipx-installed htb finds it from anywhere. You can also pass it non-interactively:

htb init --token "$MY_TOKEN"
echo "$MY_TOKEN" | htb init

The token is resolved in this order, first match wins:

1. HTB_API_TOKEN environment variable.
2. --token-file PATH, when given.
3. ./api.token in the current directory (handy as a per-project override).
4. The user config file written by htb init.

api.token is gitignored; never commit your token.

Examples

Full details for each command are in the command reference.

./htb machine active
./htb machine profile "BoardLight"
./htb machine list
./htb machine list --retired --page 1
./htb machine list --sp-tier 1
./htb machine search board
./htb machine search kerberos --all --limit 10
./htb machine search "breach creds" --all --profiles

./htb machine start "BoardLight" --mode auto
./htb machine start 444 --mode play
./htb machine start 478 --mode spawn
./htb machine stop
./htb machine reset
./htb machine extend
./htb machine submit 444 HTB{flag} --difficulty 50
./htb machine active --oneline

./htb user info

./htb vpn servers
./htb vpn switch us-free-1
./htb vpn download us-free-1 -o lab-vpn.ovpn
./htb vpn connect us-free-1 -o lab-vpn.ovpn

./htb raw GET /machine/active
./htb raw POST /vm/spawn --data '{"machine_id":478}'

Output

By default, commands print human-readable output with terminal-width wrapping and automatic color when stdout is an interactive terminal.

Use raw JSON for scripts:

./htb --json machine active

Color can be controlled globally:

./htb --color never machine active
./htb --color always machine list

Tables are compact by default and truncate long cells to fit common terminal widths. Use --wide to keep full table values:

./htb --wide machine list
./htb --wide machine search active-directory --all

machine active enriches the active session response with the matching machine profile when a machine is active, but prints a compact summary by default. The summary includes useful profile-only text such as info_status and description when HTB returns it. Use --details for synopsis and Academy module names, or --json before the command for the full enriched response:

./htb machine active --details
./htb --json machine active

Machine search

machine search intentionally uses the documented/listed Labs v4 machine list endpoints and filters the results locally. It does not depend on an undocumented search endpoint.

By default it scans playable machines:

./htb machine search linux

Useful options:

• --retired: search retired machines only.
• --all: search playable and retired machines.
• --profiles: also fetch each scanned machine profile and search profile-only fields such as descriptions.
• --limit N: stop after printing up to N matches.
• --max-pages N: cap the number of API pages scanned per list.

Without --profiles, the query matches machine id, name, OS, difficulty, tags, maker names, and common list fields. Use --profiles for terms that may only exist in the detailed machine profile, for example description text mentioning breached credentials.

Shell completion

Enable tab-completion for commands, subcommands, and options. The same script works for both the htb and htbx commands.

# bash — add to ~/.bashrc:
eval "$(htb completion bash)"

# zsh — add to ~/.zshrc (before compinit, or save to a file on your $fpath):
eval "$(htb completion zsh)"

Architecture

• htb_terminal/config.py: loads/saves the token and API URL.
• htb_terminal/http.py: authenticated HTTP client.
• htb_terminal/output.py: human-readable and JSON rendering.
• htb_terminal/timefmt.py: relative time formatting for display.
• htb_terminal/completion.py: bash/zsh completion scripts from one command map.
• htb_terminal/services/machines.py: MachineService — machine API operations.
• htb_terminal/services/user.py: UserService — current-user profile.
• htb_terminal/services/payloads.py: pure helpers that reshape machine-list JSON.
• htb_terminal/services/search.py: local machine search and result ranking.
• htb_terminal/services/spawn.py: transient spawn-failure detection.
• htb_terminal/services/vpn.py: VPN and OVPN operations.
• htb_terminal/cli.py: CLI parsing and orchestration.

Each module keeps a single responsibility to make future changes easier if HTB changes an endpoint. MachineService only talks to the API; payload reshaping, search ranking, and spawn-error detection are stateless modules it composes, so they are testable in isolation and stay small.

Development

Install the dev tools and run the test suite:

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest
ruff check .

The tests are also runnable with the standard library alone:

python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v

License

MIT — see LICENSE.