projectdiscovery/nuclei
Nuclei is a fast, customizable vulnerability scanner powered by the global security community and built on a simple YAML-based DSL, enabling collaboration to tackle trending vulnerabilities on the internet. It helps you find vulnerabilities in your applications, APIs, networks, DNS, and cloud configurations.
Star History
Momentum
+789
STARS · LAST 30 DAYS
26
PER DAY
#47
MOST-STARRED Go
| Window | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars gained | +182 | +789 | +2.3K |
| Per day | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Forks gained | +19 | +78 | +195 |
nuclei gained 789 stars in the last 30 days, about 26 a day, and now has 31.6K. It is about 6 years old and has averaged roughly 5.3K stars a year. It ranks #47 among Go repositories and #312 across all languages on GitHubRepo.
Trending Record
2
DAYS ON TRENDING
#1150
BEST RANK
Sep 27, 2026
FIRST APPEARANCE
Active
STATUS TODAY
nuclei has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #1150. Below is the 30-day activity profile:
💡 Overview
nuclei is an open-source project written in Go: Nuclei is a fast, customizable vulnerability scanner powered by the global security community and built on a simple YAML-based DSL, enabling collaboration to tackle trending vulnerabilities on the internet. It helps you find vulnerabilities in your applications, APIs, networks, DNS, and cloud configurations.
Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in attack-surface, cve-scanner, dast. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.
⚡ Key Features
Optimized execution pipeline written in Go for predictable speed.
Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.
Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.
Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.
Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.
📥 Installation
$ go install github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei@latest⚙ System Requirements
Platforms
- • macOS
- • Linux
- • Windows
Runtime & Dependencies
Go >= 1.21 runtime environment
Architecture
x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)
🧠 How It Works
nuclei coordinates its core functionality through a modular Go pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.
🎯 Production Use Cases
Autonomous AI Agents
Orchestrate intelligent workflows and tool-calling routines with nuclei.
Model Inference & Prompting
Integrate fast, local or cloud-hosted generative AI models directly into production code.
Context Memory & RAG
Augment language models with dynamic vector retrieval and structured project memory.
Developer Productivity
Automate repetitive engineering tasks, code generation, and test creation using AI agents.
🚀 Getting Started
Install nuclei using your package manager: `go install github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei@latest`
Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for nuclei.
Import nuclei into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.
Execute your test suite or run `nuclei --help` to verify successful setup.
👍 Strengths
⚠️ Considerations
⇄ Alternatives & Direct Competitors
👥 Who Should Use This
Developers and engineering teams building with Go, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.
🏆 Nearby in the Rankings
projectdiscovery/nuclei is currently ranked #312 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:
| Rank | Repository | Language | Stars | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #307 | conductor-oss/conductor | Java | ★ 32.2K | Compare ↗ |
| #308 | kubernetes/minikube | Go | ★ 32.2K | Compare ↗ |
| #309 | filamentphp/filament | PHP | ★ 32.1K | Compare ↗ |
| #310 | atuinsh/atuin | Rust | ★ 31.8K | Compare ↗ |
| #311 | iced-rs/iced | Rust | ★ 31.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #312 | projectdiscovery/nuclei This Project | Go | ★ 31.6K | |
| #313 | iOfficeAI/OfficeCLI | C# | ★ 31.3K | Compare ↗ |
| #314 | getzep/graphiti | Python | ★ 31.2K | Compare ↗ |
| #315 | symfony/symfony | PHP | ★ 31.2K | Compare ↗ |
| #316 | vercel/turborepo | Rust | ★ 31.1K | Compare ↗ |
| #317 | garrytan/gbrain | TypeScript | ★ 30.4K | Compare ↗ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does nuclei do? +
Nuclei is a fast, customizable vulnerability scanner powered by the global security community and built on a simple YAML-based DSL, enabling collaboration to tackle trending vulnerabilities on the internet. It helps you find vulnerabilities in your applications, APIs, networks, DNS, and cloud configurations.
What language is nuclei written in? +
The primary language is Go. Topics include: attack-surface, cve-scanner, dast, hacktoberfest, nuclei-engine.
Is nuclei actively maintained? +
Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 26, 2026 with 106 open issues being tracked.
How many stars does nuclei have? +
nuclei has 31,551 stars and 3,897 forks on GitHub.
How does nuclei rank among GitHub repositories? +
With 31,551 stars, projectdiscovery/nuclei is ranked #312 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #47 among Go projects.
What license is nuclei distributed under? +
The repository reports a MIT license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.
