CLI Reference

Basic Usage

strix --target <target> [options]

Options

--target, -t

string

required

Target to test. Accepts URLs, repositories, local directories, domains, or IP addresses. Can be specified multiple times.

--mount

string

Bind-mount a local directory into the sandbox (read-only) instead of copying it in file-by-file. Use this for large repositories that are too big to stream into the container. Can be specified multiple times.Strix copies local --target directories into the sandbox one file at a time, which stalls on very large trees. When a local target exceeds the copy limit (see STRIX_MAX_LOCAL_COPY_MB, default 1024 MB) Strix exits early and asks you to re-run with --mount.

The mount is read-only to protect your source from accidental modification. This is not a hard security boundary: a root process inside the container can remount it writable, so treat --mount as “scan my own code”, not as isolation from untrusted code.

The size pre-flight only covers local directory targets. Remote repositories (cloned at scan time) are not size-checked.

--instruction

string

Custom instructions for the scan. Use for credentials, focus areas, or specific testing approaches.

--instruction-file

string

Path to a file containing detailed instructions.

--scan-mode, -m

string

default:"deep"

Scan depth: quick, standard, or deep.

--scope-mode

string

default:"auto"

Code scope mode: auto (enable PR diff-scope in CI/headless runs), diff (force changed-files scope), or full (disable diff-scope).

--diff-base

string

Target branch or commit to compare against (e.g., origin/main). Defaults to the repository’s default branch.

--non-interactive, -n

boolean

Run in headless mode without TUI. Ideal for CI/CD.

--config

string

Path to a custom config file (JSON) to use instead of ~/.strix/cli-config.json.

--max-budget-usd

number

Maximum LLM spend in USD for the whole scan, counted cumulatively across the root agent and every child agent. The budget is checked after each model response; once the running cost reaches the threshold, the scan stops cleanly with a stopped status (not a failure) and the sandbox is torn down.Must be greater than 0. Omit the flag for no limit.Limitations

The check fires after a response is returned, so the final spend can slightly overshoot the limit by any calls already in flight when the threshold is crossed (most relevant with several child agents running concurrently).
Cost is a best-effort estimate derived from token usage and model pricing; providers that do not expose priced usage may under-count.
For LiteLLM-routed models, Strix enables streaming success callbacks to capture provider-reported cost. Message content remains excluded, but third-party LiteLLM callbacks configured in the same process can receive other streaming metadata such as model names, request IDs, and token counts.

Examples

# Basic scan
strix --target https://example.com

# Authenticated testing
strix --target https://app.com --instruction "Use credentials: user:pass"

# Focused testing
strix --target api.example.com --instruction "Focus on IDOR and auth bypass"

# CI/CD mode
strix -n --target ./ --scan-mode quick

# Force diff-scope against a specific base ref
strix -n --target ./ --scan-mode quick --scope-mode diff --diff-base origin/main

# Multi-target white-box testing
strix -t https://github.com/org/app -t https://staging.example.com

# Large local repository — bind-mount instead of copying it in
strix --mount ./huge-monorepo

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Scan completed, no vulnerabilities found
2	Vulnerabilities found (headless mode only)

​Basic Usage

​Options

​Examples

​Exit Codes

Basic Usage

Options

Examples

Exit Codes