Tentacle Tools
Add specialized security tools to your Tentacles on top of the base Kali Linux toolkit. Browse the catalog, install tools on specific Tentacles, and track each tool's state per Tentacle — all from the Integration Center.
At a glance
- What it is — A catalog of specialized security tools you can install on top of a Tentacle's base Kali Linux toolkit, tracked per Tentacle.
- When to use it — Add a tool an assessment needs beyond the Kali baseline, keep tooling consistent fleet-wide, or let the agent install/uninstall a tool mid-operation.
- Inputs — A tool selection, an edition (if offered), required credentials, and a target set of Tentacles (specific, or all + auto-install).
- Outputs — Per-Tentacle installation state (Pending, Installing, Installed, Not eligible, Failed, Drift, Uninstalling) and, once installed, a usable tool on that Tentacle.
- Related objects — Tentacles, Playbooks, Operations
- Common actions — Install, retry a failed install, uninstall, auto-install on new Tentacles.
- API / tool links — UI only — no public API.
What Tentacle tools are
Tentacles ship with a standard Kali Linux environment. Tentacle tools let you add specialized security tools on top of that baseline. Each tool is packaged for installation on a Tentacle, and its state is tracked separately for every Tentacle it targets.
Tool catalog
The Tentacle Tools tab in the Integration Center is a browsable catalog. Each tool card shows:
- Name and icon — the tool's display name and logo.
- Description — what the tool does.
- Category — the type of security work it supports.
- License — the tool's license model (a label that comes from the tool definition, such as an open-source or commercial license).
- Website — a link to the tool's site.
- Install summary — for tools installed in your realm, how many Tentacles have it, plus counts of any failed, pending, or drifted installs.
Tools that aren't available yet carry a Coming soon badge and can't be installed.
Installing tools
On specific Tentacles
- Open Integration Center → Tentacle Tools.
- Select a tool from the catalog.
- Choose an edition if the tool offers more than one, and provide any required credentials.
- Choose which Tentacles to install it on.
- Confirm the installation.
Auto-install on new Tentacles
When you install a tool, you can choose the All tentacles + auto-install on new tentacles target. Cracken then installs the tool automatically on any new Tentacle that joins the realm, on a supported operating system, keeping tooling consistent across your fleet.
AI-driven installation during operations
The agent can install and uninstall Tentacle tools on its own during an operation. If a playbook needs a tool that isn't on the Tentacle, the agent requests installation, waits for it to finish, uses the tool, and can uninstall it afterward to keep the Tentacle clean. This lets playbooks declare their dependencies without manual pre-configuration.
Installation states
Each tool tracks an independent state per Tentacle:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Installation is queued but not yet running. |
| Installing | Installation is in progress. |
| Installed | The tool is installed and ready to use. |
| Not eligible | The Tentacle's operating system isn't supported by the tool. |
| Failed | Installation hit an error. |
| Drift | The tool was installed but is no longer detected on the Tentacle. |
| Uninstalling | The tool is being removed. |
Retry a failed install
If an install fails, open the tool's detail view and retry it for the affected Tentacle. The retry re-runs the installation on that Tentacle.
Tool configuration
Some tools need credentials — API keys, license keys, or similar — before they can run. A tool can offer one or more editions, and an edition can declare required credential fields. You supply those values in the install dialog when you install the tool, and you can update them later from the tool's detail view.
Uninstalling tools
To remove a tool from a Tentacle:
- Open the tool's detail view.
- Find the Tentacle in the deployment table.
- Uninstall it from that Tentacle.
The tool is removed from that Tentacle only. Other Tentacles with the same tool stay untouched.
Per-Tentacle state
Each Tentacle keeps its own state for every tool, so you can specialize Tentacles for different assessment types. The tool's detail view lists every Tentacle deployment in a table with these columns:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Tentacle | The Tentacle the tool targets. |
| Realm | The realm the deployment belongs to. |
| Status | The installation state for that Tentacle. |
| Last verified | When Cracken last confirmed the tool's presence. |
| Error | The failure reason, if the install failed. |
| Actions | Retry or uninstall for that Tentacle. |
You can install different tool sets on different Tentacles, and retry or uninstall on one Tentacle without affecting the others.
Next steps
- Tentacles — install Tentacles and connect them to a realm.
- Playbooks — declare the tools an assessment needs.
- Operations — where the agent installs and uses tools during a run.