DEV Community: Mohammad Shahbaaz Ahmed

🚀 PentestGPT on Kali Linux — Fully Automated AI-Powered Pentesting Setup

Mohammad Shahbaaz Ahmed — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:47:06 +0000

AI is rapidly changing how we approach cybersecurity.

Tools like PentestGPT bring AI into penetration testing workflows — but setting them up on Kali Linux is far from straightforward.

So I built a solution.

💡 The Problem

Installing PentestGPT on Kali Linux can be frustrating due to:

❌ Docker installation issues
❌ Broken APT repositories (<!doctype html> errors)
❌ Docker permission problems
❌ Environment inconsistencies
❌ Complex setup steps (Makefile, configs, containers)

For something that should take minutes… it often takes hours.

⚙️ The Solution — PentestGPT Kali Installer

I created a fully automated installer that sets up PentestGPT in a clean, reproducible way using Docker.

🚀 What it does

This installer handles everything:

✔ Fixes broken Kali APT repositories
✔ Installs Docker & Docker Compose
✔ Configures user permissions (docker group)
✔ Clones PentestGPT repository
✔ Prepares environment configuration
✔ Ensures compatibility with Kali Linux
✔ Provides a clean deployment workflow

⚡ One-Line Installation

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shahbaaz-devsec/pentestgpt-kali-installer/main/scripts/pentestgpt_kali_installer.sh | bash

📦 Manual Installation

bash git clone https://github.com/shahbaaz-devsec/pentestgpt-kali-installer.git cd pentestgpt-kali-installer chmod +x scripts/pentestgpt_kali_installer.sh ./scripts/pentestgpt_kali_installer.sh

▶️ After Installation (Important)

bash newgrp docker cd ~/PentestGPT make config make connect

Inside the container:

bash claude login pentestgpt -t test.local

🧠 What is PentestGPT?

PentestGPT is an AI-powered penetration testing assistant that helps with:

Reconnaissance
Vulnerability analysis
Attack planning
Command generation
Report assistance

It acts like a thinking layer on top of traditional tools.

🔥 Example Workflow

bash pentestgpt -t example.com

You can then:

Analyze targets
Generate attack paths
Get command suggestions
Iterate faster during engagements

🛠 Real Issues This Fixes

This project was built from real problems:

Kali repo corruption breaking installs
Docker not starting or misconfigured
Permission issues (permission denied /var/run/docker.sock)
Missing dependencies
Broken or inconsistent environments

👉 The installer fixes these automatically.

📁 Project Structure

`text
scripts/
└── pentestgpt_kali_installer.sh

docs/
├── 01-installation.md
├── 02-usage.md
├── 03-architecture.md
├── 04-troubleshooting.md
└── 05-clean-reset.md
`

🧠 What I Learned

This project wasn’t just about automation.

It involved:

Building reproducible security environments
Handling real-world Linux failures
Working with Docker-based deployments
Improving developer experience in security tooling
Thinking like a DevSecOps engineer

⚠️ Important Notes

Must be run as a normal user (not root)
Requires Docker support
Needs internet access
Minimum 2 CPU cores recommended

🔐 Disclaimer

Use only on systems you own or have explicit permission to test.

📦 Repository

👉 https://github.com/shahbaaz-devsec/pentestgpt-kali-installer

🚀 What’s Next

I'm building a series of AI + cybersecurity tools including:

ShellGPT automation (CLI AI workflows)
PentestGPT deployment systems
DevSecOps-focused tooling

🧠 Final Thought

AI won't replace penetration testers.

But those who use AI effectively will outperform those who don’t.

🏷 Tags

cybersecurity #pentesting #kaliLinux #devsecops #docker #ai #infosec #redteam

🚀ShellGPT on Kali Linux — Fully Automated Installer (No Headaches)

Mohammad Shahbaaz Ahmed — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:36:07 +0000

Running ChatGPT directly in your terminal sounds amazing… until you try to set it up on Kali Linux.

I recently built a ShellGPT Kali Installer to solve exactly that problem — turning a messy setup process into a clean, reproducible workflow.

💡 The Problem

If you've tried installing ShellGPT (shell-gpt) on Kali Linux, you’ve probably hit issues like:

❌ Broken APT repositories (<!doctype html> errors)
❌ Python / pip / venv conflicts
❌ sgpt: command not found
❌ PATH misconfiguration
❌ API key confusion (OpenAI vs OpenRouter)
❌ Inconsistent environments across machines

Instead of fixing these one by one every time…

👉 I decided to automate everything.

⚙️ The Solution — ShellGPT Kali Installer

This project provides a fully automated installer that sets up ShellGPT correctly on Kali Linux.

🚀 What it does

The installer handles:

✔ APT repository cleanup and repair
✔ Dependency installation (Python, pip, venv, git, curl)
✔ Virtual environment setup
✔ ShellGPT installation
✔ Global sgpt CLI command
✔ PATH configuration (bash + zsh)
✔ API configuration guidance
✔ Clean and reproducible setup

⚡ One-Line Installation

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shahbaaz-devsec/shellgpt-kali-installer/main/scripts/shellgpt_kali_installer.sh | bash

📦 Manual Installation

bash git clone https://github.com/shahbaaz-devsec/shellgpt-kali-installer.git cd shellgpt-kali-installer chmod +x scripts/shellgpt_kali_installer.sh ./scripts/shellgpt_kali_installer.sh

▶️ After Installation

bash export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH" sgpt --help

Test it:

bash sgpt "what is privilege escalation"

🔑 API Setup (Important)

ShellGPT requires an API key.

OpenAI

bash export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_openai_api_key"

OpenRouter (recommended alternative)

bash export OPENAI_API_KEY="your_openrouter_api_key" export OPENAI_API_BASE="https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"

🧠 Example Usage

`bash

General questions

sgpt "explain DNS"

Generate shell commands

sgpt --shell "list open ports"

Generate code

sgpt --code "python port scanner"

Explain commands

sgpt --describe-shell "nmap -sV 127.0.0.1"
`

🛠 Real Issues This Fixes

This project was built after encountering real-world problems:

Kali repo corruption
Broken Python environments
Missing PATH exports
API quota confusion
Installation inconsistencies

Instead of patching each issue manually, the installer solves them at the root level.

📁 Project Structure

`text
scripts/
└── shellgpt_kali_installer.sh

docs/
├── 01-installation.md
├── 02-usage.md
├── 03-openrouter-setup.md
├── 04-troubleshooting.md
└── 05-clean-reset.md
`

🎯 What I Learned

Building this wasn’t just about installing a tool.

It was about:

Designing reproducible environments
Handling real-world Linux edge cases
Improving developer experience (DX)
Writing documentation that actually helps
Thinking like a DevSecOps engineer

🔐 Disclaimer

ShellGPT can generate shell commands.

👉 Always review commands before running them.
👉 Use only in authorized environments.

📦 Repository

👉 https://github.com/shahbaaz-devsec/shellgpt-kali-installer

🚀 What’s Next

I’m currently building:

👉 PentestGPT Kali Installer (AI-powered pentesting automation)

🏷 Tags

kaliLinux #devsecops #cybersecurity #linux #ai #automation #python #cli #infosec