How do I run a CTF?
"Is it really a CTF if you don't solve the infrastructure problem in the 24 hours before the competition?"
Before you start
Consider a few of the following before starting a CTF.
- How many people will play in my CTF?
- What type of challenges do I want to write?
- How do you want to host your challenges?
- What is my budget?
Open Source Frameworks
CTFd
CTFd makes it easy to spin up an instance able to support a CTF at any time. Starting a local server is as easy as:
docker run -p 8000:8000 -it ctfd/ctfd # (1)
- For more information on Docker, read the docs!
kCTF
kCTF is a framework written by Google built on Kubernetes. It has built in load balancing at the platform level.
rCTF
Written by the redPWN CTF team, rCTF has a separate CI/CD module for supporting challenge deployment as well.
curl https://get.rctf.redpwn.net | sh
Paid CTF Hosting
CTFd Enterprise
- Three-tiered pricing service with hosting services and on-call support.
- Supports professional workshops generally reserved for industry security teams exercises.