💿Installation Guide

Note: The machine you install Ax on is called the Ax Controller. The Controller manages all aspects of Ax, including account setup, building your Packer image, spinning up and SSHing into instances, creating new images from existing instances, deleting instances and images, managing distributed scanning, and much more!

Operating Systems Supported

OS	Supported	Easy Install	Tested
Ubuntu	Yes	Yes	Ubuntu 22.04
Kali	Yes	Yes	Kali 2024.2
Debian	Yes	Yes	Debian 12
Windows	Yes	Yes	WSL w/ Ubuntu
MacOS	Yes	Yes	MacOS 14
Arch Linux	Yes	No	Yes

Docker Install

This will create a docker container, initiate ax configure and ax build and then drop you out of the docker container. After a Packer image is successfully created, you will likely have to re-exec into your docker container.

docker exec -it $(docker run -d -it --platform linux/amd64 ubuntu:20.04) sh -c "apt update && apt install git -y && git clone https://github.com/attacksurge/ax/ ~/.axiom/ && cd && .axiom/interact/axiom-configure --run"

Easy Install

As a standard user with root privileges, run this command on any supported OS. The script will prompt for sudo when root when required.

bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/attacksurge/ax/master/interact/axiom-configure) --run

Git Clone

In most cases, the easy install should work, however, if you do want to install using git clone, this guide is your friend!

Ensure that ~/.axiom/ does not exist

rm -rf ~/.axiom/

Clone the Ax repository

git clone https://github.com/attacksurge/ax.git ~/.axiom/

Run ax configure script

~/.axiom/interact/axiom-configure

Manual

To install Ax on an OS that is not on our supported list, all you have to do is ensure that you have all the right dependencies and then run ax account-setup.

Clone the Ax repository

git clone https://github.com/attacksurge/ax.git ~/.axiom/

Dependencies

• Cloud providers API key

• SSH Keypair (without password)

• git

• curl

• ruby

• jq - 1.6 or higher

• packer - Tested with v1.5.6

• the cloud providers CLI (doctl, linode, ibmcloud, az, aws)

• Interlace - https://github.com/codingo/Interlace (created by codingo and sml555)

• rsync

• add ~/.axiom/interact to your path

Troubleshooting Guide

If you're experiencing an error, especially one that started recently, please follow these steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Run ax update: Ensure that you've successfully run ax update before reporting any issues. This step often resolves problems by bringing your installation up to date.

2. Checklist:

   • Build an Image: Have you successfully built an image with ax build? Check all available images with ax images ls to confirm.

   • Cloud Provider CLI: Ensure that the cloud provider's CLI is properly installed and authenticated by running ax account-setup.

   • Reinstall Dependencies: Run ax configure --run to reinstall all necessary dependencies.

   • Rebuild Image: If the issue persists, try building a new image by running ax build --run.

3. Last Resort:

   • If the problem still isn't resolved, as a last resort, delete Ax by running rm -rf ~/.axiom and then reinstall it from scratch. This often fixes issues that occurred during the initial installation.

FAQ

How can I upgrade from Axiom Classic to the Ax Framework?

Refer to Existing Users for a detailed overview of how to upgrade.

I can't SSH in to my instances, I get permission denied/wrong password?

Be default, Ax creates an SSH key named axiom_rsa in ~/.ssh/axiom_rsa. The reference to the SSH key is stored in ~/.axiom/axiom.json. You can change the sshkey value to another SSH key as long as its stored in ~/.ssh/. You may need need to rebuild (ax build --run) with your new SSH key to use it.

I spin up X instances but only Y provision, whats wrong?

Check that you havent exceeded your instance limit. After a few billing cycles you can generally increase your instance limit via opening a support ticket with the associated cloud provider

Will distributing my scans make me a better hacker?

Probably not. The Ax Framework isn't about improving your fundamental skills or intuition; it's about enhancing your efficiency and speed. Distributing your scans will undoubtedly allow you to cover more ground in less time, but the core principles of finding vulnerabilities remain unchanged. If you struggle to identify bugs without Ax, simply adding more computational power won't necessarily lead to the discovery of higher-quality bugs. Ax accelerates the process, but it doesn't replace critical thinking, creativity, and in-depth understanding. It's a tool that enhances what you already know and can do—not a shortcut to expertise.