CLI Options

Overview

This page documents every CLI flag available in IronBullet, including aliases, data types, default values, and validation rules.

Argument Parser

IronBullet uses a custom argument parser implemented in cli.rs:30-98. Arguments are parsed from left to right, supporting both long-form (--flag) and short-form (-f) syntax.

Flag Reference

—config

--config

string

required

Alias: -cRequired: YesDescription: Path to the configuration fileSupported Formats:

.rfx - IronBullet native binary format
.svb - SilverBullet XML format
.opk - OpenBullet compressed format
.loli - LoliCode script format
.json - JSON format

Format Detection: For .rfx files, IronBullet loads the native format directly. For all other extensions, the file is read as bytes and the format is auto-detected by the import system.Validation:

File must exist and be readable
Must be a valid config in one of the supported formats

Source: cli.rs:43-45, cli.rs:119-144Example:

ironbullet --config /path/to/config.rfx -w wordlist.txt
ironbullet -c imported-config.svb -w data.txt

—wordlist

--wordlist

string

required

Alias: -wRequired: YesDescription: Path to the wordlist/combo file containing data lines to processFormat: Plain text file with one entry per line. Format depends on config’s data pool settings:

Line mode: Each line is treated as a single value
CSV mode: Lines are split by delimiter into multiple fields

Validation:

File must exist and be readable
Empty files are allowed but will result in no processing

Source: cli.rs:47-49, cli.rs:172-173Example:

ironbullet -c config.rfx --wordlist combos.txt
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w /data/emails.txt

—threads

--threads

u32

Alias: -tRequired: NoDefault: Uses pipeline.runner_settings.threads from config fileDescription: Number of concurrent worker threadsRange: Typically 1-500. Higher values require more system resources.Validation:

Must be a positive integer
Value is parsed with .parse::<u32>()
Invalid values (non-numeric, negative, too large) cause error

Override Behavior: When specified, this value replaces the thread count in the config file at cli.rs:153-155Source: cli.rs:51-54Example:

ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --threads 100
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt -t 25

Error Example:

$ ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --threads abc
error: invalid thread count: abc

—proxies

--proxies

string

Alias: -pRequired: NoDefault: No proxies (direct connection)Description: Path to proxy list fileFormat: Plain text file, one proxy per line. Supports:

http://host:port
https://host:port
socks5://host:port
socks4://host:port
Optional authentication: protocol://user:pass@host:port

Behavior: Proxies are loaded into a ProxyPool with ban duration from pipeline.proxy_settings.ban_duration_secsValidation:

File must exist and be readable
Invalid proxy formats are logged as warnings but don’t halt execution

Source: cli.rs:56-58, cli.rs:196-203Example:

ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --proxies socks5-list.txt
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt -p /proxies/http.txt

—outfile

--outfile

string

Alias: -oRequired: NoDefault: results/ (specified in config)Description: Output directory for saving hits and resultsBehavior:

Sets pipeline.output_settings.output_directory to the specified path
Automatically enables pipeline.output_settings.save_to_file = true

Directory Creation: Directory is created automatically if it doesn’t exist when hits are savedSource: cli.rs:60-62, cli.rs:162-165Example:

ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --outfile ./results/
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt -o /output/2024-01-15/

—skip

--skip

u32

Alias: NoneRequired: NoDefault: 0Description: Skip the first N lines from the wordlistUse Case: Resume interrupted runs by skipping already-processed linesBehavior:

Wordlist is loaded fully into memory
First skip lines are discarded via .skip(skip) iterator
Remaining lines are processed

Validation:

Must be a positive integer
If skip >= total lines, no processing occurs (empty data pool)

Override Behavior: Sets pipeline.runner_settings.skip at cli.rs:156-158Source: cli.rs:64-67, cli.rs:176-190Example:

# Skip first 5000 lines
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --skip 5000

Combined with —take:

# Process lines 1000-1999
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --skip 1000 --take 1000

—take

--take

u32

Alias: NoneRequired: NoDefault: 0 (process all lines)Description: Process only N lines from the wordlist (after skip)Use Case: Test configs on a subset of dataBehavior:

Value of 0 means process all remaining lines (no limit)
Non-zero value limits processing via .take(take) iterator
Applied after --skip

Validation:

Must be a non-negative integer
Value of 0 is valid and means “take all”

Override Behavior: Sets pipeline.runner_settings.take at cli.rs:159-161Source: cli.rs:69-72, cli.rs:176-190Example:

# Process only first 100 lines
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --take 100

# Process all lines (explicit)
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --take 0

—debug

--debug

boolean

Alias: -dRequired: NoDefault: falseDescription: Enable debug mode for verbose outputBehavior:

Each block execution result is printed to stderr
Proxy information is printed for each hit
Useful for troubleshooting config issues

Flag Type: This is a boolean flag (no value required)Source: cli.rs:74-76, cli.rs:211, cli.rs:257-261Output Format:

[HIT] user@example.com:pass | token=abc
  proxy: socks5://127.0.0.1:9050

Example:

ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt --debug
ironbullet -c config.rfx -w data.txt -d

—help

--help

boolean

Alias: -hRequired: NoDescription: Display help message and exitBehavior:

Prints usage information to stderr via print_help() at cli.rs:100-116
Exits with code 0 immediately
No other processing occurs

Flag Type: Boolean flag (no value required)Source: cli.rs:77-80Example:

ironbullet --help
ironbullet -h

Output:

ironbullet — pipelined request automation

USAGE:
  ironbullet --config <path> --wordlist <path> [options]

OPTIONS:
  -c, --config <path>     Config file (.rfx, .svb, .opk, .loli, .json)
  -w, --wordlist <path>   Wordlist / combo file
  -t, --threads <n>       Thread count (overrides config)
  -p, --proxies <path>    Proxy list file
  -o, --outfile <dir>     Output directory for hits (default: results/)
      --skip <n>          Skip first N data lines
      --take <n>          Process only N data lines (0 = all)
  -d, --debug             Print each block result to stderr
  -h, --help              Show this help

Argument Parsing Rules

Order Independence

Flags can appear in any order:

# All valid
ironbullet --config test.rfx --wordlist data.txt --threads 50
ironbullet --threads 50 --config test.rfx --wordlist data.txt
ironbullet -w data.txt -t 50 -c test.rfx

Value Requirements

Flags that require values must have a following argument:

# Valid
ironbullet --config test.rfx
ironbullet -c test.rfx

# Invalid - missing value
ironbullet --config --wordlist data.txt
# Error: --config requires a path

Boolean Flags

Boolean flags (--debug, --help) don’t take values:

# Valid
ironbullet -c test.rfx -w data.txt --debug
ironbullet --help

# Invalid - don't provide values
ironbullet --debug true  # 'true' will be treated as unknown argument

Unknown Arguments

Any unrecognized flag causes an error:

$ ironbullet --config test.rfx --wordlist data.txt --unknown-flag
error: unknown argument: --unknown-flag
run with --help for usage

Source: cli.rs:81-83

Data Types

String Arguments

Flags: --config, --wordlist, --proxies, --outfile

Stored as Option<String> during parsing
Required flags are unwrapped with .ok_or("error") at cli.rs:89-90
No additional validation during parsing (file existence checked later)

Integer Arguments

Flags: --threads, --skip, --take

Parsed using .parse::<u32>()
Errors return descriptive message: format!("invalid {}: {}", flag, val)
Valid range: 0 to 4,294,967,295 (u32 max)

Source: cli.rs:54, cli.rs:67, cli.rs:72

Boolean Flags

Flags: --debug, --help

Stored as bool (not Option<bool>)
Default value is false
Presence of flag sets to true
No argument value consumed

Source: cli.rs:38, cli.rs:75

CliArgs Structure

All parsed arguments are stored in the CliArgs struct:

pub struct CliArgs {
    pub config: String,          // Required
    pub wordlist: String,        // Required
    pub threads: Option<u32>,    // Optional - overrides config
    pub proxies: Option<String>, // Optional - path to proxy list
    pub outfile: Option<String>, // Optional - output directory
    pub skip: Option<u32>,       // Optional - default 0
    pub take: Option<u32>,       // Optional - default 0 (all)
    pub debug: bool,             // Optional - default false
}

Source: cli.rs:19-28

Validation & Error Handling

Argument Parsing Errors

Parsing errors are returned as Result<CliArgs, String> with descriptive messages:

Error Condition	Error Message	Exit Code
Missing required flag	`"--config is required"`	`1`
Missing required flag	`"--wordlist is required"`	`1`
Missing value	`"--config requires a path"`	`1`
Invalid number	`"invalid thread count: {val}"`	`1`
Unknown flag	`"unknown argument: {arg}"`	`1`

Source: cli.rs:45, cli.rs:49, cli.rs:54, cli.rs:82, main.rs:213-217

Runtime Errors

Runtime errors during config loading or execution:

Error Condition	Error Format	Exit Code
Config load failure	`"failed to load {path}: {error}"`	`1`
Config read failure	`"failed to read {path}: {error}"`	`1`
Wordlist load failure	`"failed to load wordlist: {error}"`	`1`
Proxy load failure	`"failed to load proxies: {error}"`	`1`

Source: cli.rs:122, cli.rs:129, cli.rs:173, cli.rs:198, main.rs:222-225

Import Warnings

When loading non-native config formats (.svb, .opk, .loli), the import system may emit warnings:

[warn] SilverBullet keycheck 'BAN' mapped to 'RETRY'
[warn] Block 'ParseJson' uses legacy syntax

These are printed to stderr but don’t halt execution. Source: cli.rs:132-136

Security Issues

The config import system may detect security issues in imported configs:

[MEDIUM] Unsafe Regex — Pattern contains catastrophic backtracking risk
[HIGH] Command Injection — Block executes shell commands with user input

These are logged but don’t prevent execution. Review them carefully. Source: cli.rs:137-141

Platform Differences

Windows

Executable: ironbullet.exe
Console attachment: Automatic via AttachConsole(ATTACH_PARENT_PROCESS)
Required for CLI output when compiled with windows_subsystem = "windows"

Source: main.rs:188-195

Linux/macOS

Executable: ironbullet
No special console handling required
Direct stdout/stderr output

Source: main.rs:197-198

Pipeline API

CLI Reference

Plugin API

Overview

Argument Parser

Flag Reference

—config

—wordlist

—threads

—proxies

—outfile

—skip

—take

—debug

—help

Argument Parsing Rules

Order Independence

Value Requirements

Boolean Flags

Unknown Arguments

Data Types

String Arguments

Integer Arguments

Boolean Flags

CliArgs Structure

Validation & Error Handling

Argument Parsing Errors

Runtime Errors

Import Warnings

Security Issues

Platform Differences

Windows

Linux/macOS

See Also

Pipeline API

CLI Reference

Plugin API

​Overview

​Argument Parser

​Flag Reference

​—config

​—wordlist

​—threads

​—proxies

​—outfile

​—skip

​—take

​—debug

​—help

​Argument Parsing Rules

​Order Independence

​Value Requirements

​Boolean Flags

​Unknown Arguments

​Data Types

​String Arguments

​Integer Arguments

​Boolean Flags

​CliArgs Structure

​Validation & Error Handling

​Argument Parsing Errors

​Runtime Errors

​Import Warnings

​Security Issues

​Platform Differences

​Windows

​Linux/macOS

​See Also

Overview

Argument Parser

Flag Reference

—config

—wordlist

—threads

—proxies

—outfile

—skip

—take

—debug

—help

Argument Parsing Rules

Order Independence

Value Requirements

Boolean Flags

Unknown Arguments

Data Types

String Arguments

Integer Arguments

Boolean Flags

CliArgs Structure

Validation & Error Handling

Argument Parsing Errors

Runtime Errors

Import Warnings

Security Issues

Platform Differences

Windows

Linux/macOS

See Also