truscanner 0.2.3

Open-Source Static Analysis for Privacy Data Flows

truScanner

Open-Source Static Analysis for Privacy Data Flows

truScanner is a static code analysis tool designed to discover and analyze personal data elements in your source code. It helps developers and security teams identify privacy-related data flows and generate comprehensive reports.

🚀 Features

• Comprehensive Detection: Identifies 110+ personal data elements (PII, financial data, device identifiers, etc.)
• Interactive Menu: Arrow-key navigable menu for selecting output formats
• Real-time Progress: Visual progress indicator during scanning
• Multiple Report Formats: Generate reports in TXT, Markdown, or JSON format
• Backend Integration: Optional upload to backend API for centralized storage
• Auto-incrementing Reports: Automatically manages report file naming to prevent overwrites

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9 or higher
• pip or uv package manager

Install from Source

1. Clone or navigate to the truscanner directory:

   cd truscanner
   

2. Install dependencies:

   Using pip:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

   Or using uv:

   uv pip install -e .
   

3. Verify installation:

   truScanner --help
   

🛠️ Usage

Basic Usage

Scan a directory with the interactive menu:

truScanner scan <directory_path>

Example

truScanner scan ./src
truScanner scan ./my-project
truScanner scan C:\Users\username\projects\my-app

Interactive Workflow

1. Select Output Format:

   • Use arrow keys (↑↓) to navigate
   • Press Enter to select
   • Options: txt, md, json, or All (generates all three formats)

2. Scanning Progress:

   • Real-time progress bar shows file count and percentage
   • Example: Scanning: 50/200 (25%) [████████░░░░░░░░░░░░] filename.js

3. Report Generation:

   • Reports are saved in Reports/{directory_name}/ folder
   • Files are named: truscan_report.txt, truscan_report.md, truscan_report.json
   • Subsequent scans auto-increment: truscan_report1.txt, truscan_report2.txt, etc.

4. Backend Upload (Optional):

   • After reports are saved, you'll be prompted: Do you want to analyze? (Y/n):
   • Enter Y to upload scan results to backend API
   • Requires TRUSCANNER_BACKEND_URL in environment variables

Command Options

truScanner scan <directory> [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --with-presidio    Enable Presidio NLP scanner (requires model download)
  --with-ai          Enable AI/LLM scanner (requires OPENAI_API_KEY)
  --personal-only    Only report personal identifiable information (PII)
  --help             Show help message

Examples with Options

# Scan with only PII data
truScanner scan ./src --personal-only

# Scan with Presidio NLP scanner
truScanner scan ./src --with-presidio

# Scan with AI/LLM scanner
truScanner scan ./src --with-ai

📊 Report Output

Report Location

Reports are saved in: Reports/{sanitized_directory_name}/

Report Formats

• TXT Report (truscan_report.txt): Plain text format, easy to read
• Markdown Report (truscan_report.md): Formatted markdown with headers and code blocks
• JSON Report (truscan_report.json): Structured JSON data for programmatic access

Report Contents

Each report includes:

• Scan Report ID: Unique 32-bit hash identifier
• Summary: Total findings, time taken, files scanned
• Findings by File: Detailed list of data elements found in each file
• Summary by Category: Aggregated statistics by data category

Report ID

Each scan generates a unique Scan Report ID (32-bit MD5 hash) that:

• Appears in the terminal after scanning
• Is included at the top of all generated report files
• Can be used to track and reference specific scans

🔧 Configuration

🔧 Configuration

The truscanner package is pre-configured with the live backend URL for seamless scan uploads. No additional configuration is required.

📁 Project Structure

truscanner/
├── src/
│   ├── main.py              # CLI entry point
│   ├── regex_scanner.py     # Core scanning engine
│   ├── report_utils.py      # Report utilities
│   └── utils.py             # Interactive menu & backend integration
├── data_elements/           # Data element definitions (JSON files)
├── Reports/                 # Generated reports (created automatically)
├── requirements.txt         # Python dependencies
└── README.md

🐛 Troubleshooting

Interactive Menu Not Working

If the arrow-key menu doesn't appear, ensure inquirer is installed:

pip install inquirer

Backend Upload Fails

• Verify network connectivity to the internet
• Check if the backend server is currently under maintenance

No Reports Generated

• Ensure you have write permissions in the current directory
• Check that the directory you're scanning contains readable files
• Verify Python version is 3.9 or higher

📝 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

🤝 Support

For issues, questions, or contributions, please contact: [e-mail]