Tentacles

Tentacles are Cracken's execution layer. Install one on infrastructure you control to bring real security tools, terminals, browsers, and Vessels close to the systems you are authorized to assess while the operation remains orchestrated from Cracken.

Prerequisites

• A Cracken realm where you can manage Tentacles.
• A dedicated assessment host that can reach Cracken and the authorized targets.
• Permission to run the selected deployment method and expose any ports required by the engagement.
• Docker, Docker Compose, or Podman when you choose the recommended sandboxed deployment.

At a glance

• Execute where the target is reachable — place a Tentacle in the right network segment, cloud, lab, or customer environment.
• Use real security tooling — run command-line tools, interactive terminals, browser automation, and manual browser takeover.
• Keep execution under your control — choose a sandboxed container, a native LOTL binary, or an account-gated Covert deployment.
• Control the network path — use the host route, a customer proxy, or WireGuard egress.
• Bring evidence back to the operation — logs, files, and results return to the shared operation record.

Choose a deployment method

Method	Use when	What you get
Sandbox	The default for most assessment hosts.	A repeatable Docker or Podman deployment isolated from the host, with Compose and one-off run options.
LOTL	Containers are unavailable on a dedicated assessment host.	A checksum-verified native executable for an administrator-managed OS service with verified updates.
Covert	The engagement requires the lowest available host footprint.	An account-gated deployment for specialized engagements; contact sales@cracken.ai to enable it.

The sandboxed method is recommended because security tooling can make network connections, open browser sessions, and change files inside its execution environment. LOTL runs directly on the host with no container isolation, so use it only on infrastructure dedicated to the engagement.

Install a Tentacle

1. Open your realm and select Tentacles.
2. Click New Tentacle.
3. If the host is yours alone, turn on Only me — see Keep a Tentacle to yourself.
4. Choose Sandbox, LOTL, or an enabled deployment method.
5. For a sandboxed install, choose the generated Script, Docker Compose, Docker run, or Podman path.
6. If the engagement requires custom ports or routed egress, open Advanced configuration and apply the settings before copying the command.
7. Run the generated sandbox artifact on the dedicated assessment host.
8. For LOTL, download the platform executable, then have your account administrator supply its credential, environment, service registration, and lifecycle procedure.
9. Return to Cracken and wait for the completed deployment to show Ready.

Generated commands and artifacts contain an enrollment credential that authorizes a new Tentacle. Store them as secrets and do not paste them into chats, logs, tickets, or operation output. Generating another command does not revoke an earlier one. If a command is exposed, stop using it and ask your administrator or Cracken support to revoke the associated credential; if it has already connected, delete that Tentacle from Cracken to revoke its active key.

The LOTL control downloads a checksum-verified executable for an advanced, operator-managed setup. It does not provide the credential environment or register the binary as a service. Your account administrator owns those values, service registration, and lifecycle commands. The download by itself does not connect a Tentacle. Run it only on a dedicated host: native execution has no container isolation. Use Sandbox when Docker or Podman is available. Cracken verifies releases before installation and when applying future updates.

Install with an AI agent

You can ask a tool-capable coding agent running on the assessment host to follow the public install flow. Paste this prompt into the agent:

Install a Cracken Tentacle on this host with the best sandbox and runtime for it.
Read https://docs.cracken.ai/tentacles, briefly explain how it works and why,
then install it and confirm the Tentacle reaches Ready.

Keep a Tentacle to yourself

A Tentacle is shared with its realm by default: everyone who can open the realm sees it, can run work on it, and can open its terminal. When the host is your own machine, turn on Only me and it stays yours.

• Choose it during installation. Turn on Only me before you copy the generated command or download the artifact. The choice travels inside that command's credential, so changing the switch replaces the command on screen — copy the current one.
• Nobody else sees it at all. For everyone else — workspace Owners and Admins included — the Tentacle is simply absent from the realm's Tentacle list. You see it with an Only me badge.

Leave Only me off when the Tentacle is meant for the team. A scheduled automation runs with nobody behind it, so it can only use shared Tentacles: keep at least one shared Tentacle in a realm where automations run.

Configure network egress

The Advanced configuration section supports a customer-provided proxy or WireGuard connection for supported install methods. Apply the settings before running the command; changing them generates a replacement command but does not revoke commands generated earlier.

See Tentacle Deployment and Networking for the generated command shapes, runtime environment reference, direct, proxy, and WireGuard options, and deployment-safety guidance.

Confirm readiness and placement

The Tentacle list shows the state that matters for operations:

• Preparing — the host is connected but setup is still finishing.
• Update pending — a verified update is waiting for active Tentacle work to finish.
• Updating — the Tentacle is applying a verified update. Wait for Ready before starting work.
• Update failure — the latest update did not complete. Review the Tentacle logs or ask your administrator for help.
• Ready — the Tentacle can accept operation work.
• Offline — Cracken cannot currently use the Tentacle.

Start work only after the selected Tentacle shows Ready. When several Tentacles are ready, select one explicitly when the network location, operating system, or installed toolset matters; otherwise Cracken can select an available Tentacle for the realm.

A Tentacle belongs to one realm at a time. Reassigning a ready Tentacle moves it to the target realm and ends its active execution sessions. After reassignment, open affected operations in the source realm and check their status. If an affected operation is still running, pause it from its operation controls. Before resuming an operation that shows Paused, make another Tentacle ready in the source realm. Cracken removes the Tentacle's deployment records from the source realm. After the Tentacle checks in, detected tools appear in the target realm only when the Tentacle is allowed to use the matching target-realm configuration. A configuration retained for another user's Only me Tentacle is not available to the reassigned Tentacle, so that tool remains unavailable. For a detected tool that supports automatic import and has no target-realm configuration, Cracken creates one with the tool's default edition and no credentials. Other detected tools require a target-realm configuration that the Tentacle is allowed to use. Credentials from the source realm do not transfer. Target-realm tool configurations with auto-install enabled are applied when the user who created the configuration can access that Tentacle. For an Only me Tentacle, that user must also own the Tentacle. Other tools do not appear automatically and require a configuration that the Tentacle is allowed to use. The source realm keeps its tool configuration; configurations with auto-install enabled apply to eligible Tentacles assigned there later.

What a Tentacle can do

Once ready, a Tentacle can:

• run command-line security tools against authorized targets
• launch isolated Bash, Python, and Browser Vessels
• provide an interactive terminal and manual browser takeover
• expose the host ports selected during installation
• receive specialized, installable Tentacle Tools
• return logs, files, artifacts, and results to the operation

This makes the Tentacle more than a remote runner: it is the controlled bridge between Cracken's operation intelligence and the real environment being assessed.

Update or remove a Tentacle

Do not manually restart, replace, or remove a Tentacle while it has active operation work. Verified automatic worker updates use the automatic update readiness rules and may close an idle Bash Vessel before updating. Keep the artifact and lifecycle information for the method you deploy:

• Script — save the update and uninstall commands printed when the installer finishes. The script-managed install owns those lifecycle instructions.
• Docker Compose — generated deployments apply verified worker updates automatically. Keep docker-compose.yaml for image or runtime updates: run docker compose pull && docker compose up -d from its directory. Remove the deployment with docker compose down --volumes.
• Docker run or Podman run — generated deployments apply verified worker updates automatically. Keep the generated command and container name for image or runtime updates: stop and remove the existing container, pull the current image, and rerun an authorized current command. To uninstall, stop and remove the named container.
• LOTL — your administrator owns the native service and its start, stop, and uninstall commands. The service applies verified updates automatically.

When retiring any connected deployment, delete its Tentacle entry in Cracken after stopping the runtime. Deletion revokes that Tentacle's active credential; generating a new install command does not.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
The install command fails	Confirm the selected runtime is running, the host has outbound access, and the command is current.
The Tentacle remains Preparing	Review the generated install logs and confirm the host can reach Cracken.
The Tentacle shows an Update failure notice	Review the service logs, confirm the service is running, and verify its update endpoint and path permissions. Retry after correcting the issue, and wait for Ready before starting new work. Ask your administrator for help if the state persists.
The Tentacle is Offline	Confirm the host and runtime are running, then use the recovery instructions from the installation flow.
Browser takeover is unavailable	Confirm the takeover port was included in Advanced configuration and is allowed by the host firewall.
The observed egress path is wrong	Stop testing, generate a replacement command with the approved proxy or WireGuard settings, and have the obsolete credential revoked before continuing.

Next steps

• Tentacle Deployment — use the generated install methods and configure direct, proxy, or WireGuard egress.
• Vessels — review the environments a Tentacle launches.
• Tentacle Tools — add specialized tooling to a Tentacle.
• Deployment — run Cracken inside your infrastructure.