Nuclei
Metrics as of , from the GitHub or GitLab API of each repository. Refreshed monthly.
What Nuclei is
Nuclei is a vulnerability scanner driven by templates written in YAML. Each template defines how requests are sent and how responses are processed. A community nuclei-templates library covers cases such as known CVEs, SQL injection, XSS, default credentials, subdomain takeover and exposed cloud storage. Custom templates are passed to a scan with the -t flag. Supported protocols include TCP, DNS, HTTP, SSL, WHOIS, JavaScript and Code. Scans take a single target, a file listing many targets, or a whole subnet. It is built primarily as a standalone CLI tool. It can run in CI/CD pipelines for vulnerability detection and regression testing. Integrations exist for Jira, Splunk, GitHub, Elastic and GitLab.
Written from the project's README, read .
- Category
- Security testing
- License
- MIT
- Language
- Go
- Changelog
- Releases on GitHub
Repository metrics
Status
activeLast commit within 90 days of the fetch date.Computed from the last commit date and the archive flag on the fetch date. See the status rules.
Alternatives
Listed security testing tools, same primary language first, then by GitHub stars. Each line gives one fact from the tool's documentation where it differs from Nuclei's, with its source. See also Nuclei alternatives.
Trivy: Scan targets: Container images, filesystems, remote Git repositories, virtual machine images, Kubernetes. source: README
Gitleaks: Scan targets: Secrets such as passwords, API keys and tokens in git repositories, files and stdin. source: README
ffuf: Scan targets: Web servers: content paths, virtual hosts, GET parameters and POST data. source: README
OSV-Scanner: Scan targets: Project dependencies, checked against the OSV database. source: README
sqlmap: Scan targets: Web application parameters: GET, POST, cookie, User-Agent and Referer values. source: Docs: Features
Promptfoo: Scan targets: LLM apps, through red teaming and vulnerability scanning. source: README
ZAP: Scan targets: Web applications. source: README
Nikto: Scan targets: Web servers: potentially dangerous files or programs, outdated server components. source: Docs: Overview & Description
Comparisons
How to install
go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3/cmd/nuclei@latestQuestions
Is Nuclei open source?
Yes. Nuclei is released under MIT, an OSI-approved license, as reported by the GitHub API on 2026-09-22.
Is Nuclei maintained?
On 2026-09-22, the last commit to the default branch was on 2026-09-22, so the listed status is active. Rule: Last commit within 90 days of the fetch date.
How many GitHub stars does Nuclei have?
31,431 stars on 2026-09-22, from the GitHub API. The number is refreshed at each monthly update.
What language is Nuclei written in?
The repository's primary language, as reported by the GitHub API, is Go.
How do I install Nuclei?
The README gives this command: go install -v github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei/v3/cmd/nuclei@latest
Sources
- GitHub REST API: repository, read
- GitHub REST API: commits, read
- GitHub REST API: latest release, read
- GitHub REST API: contributors, read
- README, read