Quickstart
Please refer to the Installation page to set up either the standalone binary or the Docker image of the HoundDog.ai's code scanner.
Standalone Binary
To scan a file or directory using the standalone binary:
hounddog scan [path] [options]To see all available command-line options:
hounddog scan --helpDocker Image
To scan the current directory:
docker run --pull=always -it --rm -v <path>:/data hounddogai/hounddog hounddog scan [options]Let's break down the command above:
| Argument / Option | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
docker run | Yes | Start a new Docker container. |
--pull=always | No | Always pull the latest version of the Docker image. |
| -it | No | Create an interactive session and attach a pseudo-TTY to enable colored output and proper rendering based on your terminal window size. Important: When running the scanner in a non-interactive environment (e.g., build pipelines), you must only use the -t flag. |
--rm | No | Clean up the container after it exits. |
-v <path>:/data | Yes | Mount the host directory <path> to the container’s /data directory, the default hardcoded path in HoundDog.ai's scanner Docker image for accessing host files during scans. |
hounddogai/hounddog | Yes | Name of the HoundDog.ai scanner image, hosted on Docker Hub. |
hounddog scan | Yes | Entrypoint command that scans the code mounted in the container's /data directory . |
Use --help to display all available command-line options for hounddog scan:
docker run --rm -t hounddogai/scanner hounddog scan --helpDemonstration
To demonstrate the capabilities of the scanner, HoundDog.ai provides a test web application with deliberate security flaws. First, clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/hounddogai/hounddog-test-healthcare-appThen scan it with the --output-format=markdown option to generate a Markdown report:
# If you are using the standalone binary:hounddog scan hounddog-test-healthcare-app --output-format=markdown# If you are using the Docker image:docker run -it --rm -v hounddog-test-healthcare-app:/data hounddogai/hounddog hounddog scan --output-format=markdownOpen the generated file hounddog-test-healthcare-app/hounddog-{timestamp}.md on your browser. We recommend using Google Chrome and the Markdown Viewer extension, with mermaid and toc settings enabled. See Markdown Report for more details.