Configuration

FlashIngestor is configured through a combination of command-line arguments and a YAML configuration file (config.yaml). This page describes all available configuration options organized by category.

Note

If config.yaml is not present in the current directory or the path specified via --config, FlashIngestor will use built-in defaults (hardcoded in config/fallback.go).

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Command-Line Arguments

Basic Settings

Flag	Type	Default	Description
--dc	string	(auto-discovered)	Domain controller to use for LDAP queries. If not specified, FlashIngestor will attempt to discover it via SRV/A DNS lookups.
--dns	string	(system default)	Custom DNS resolver IP address. Required when system DNS doesn't know about the AD domain.
--dns-tcp	bool	false	Use DNS over TCP instead of UDP. Useful when proxying traffic over SOCKS when UDP is not supported.
--outdir	string	./output	Directory to store results (intermediate msgpack files and final JSON).
--log	string	(none)	Path to log file. If specified, logs will be written to both the file and the TUI.
--config	string	config.yaml	Path to YAML configuration file.
-w, --remote-workers	int	50	Number of concurrent workers for remote collection. Increase for better throughput in large environments.
--computer-timeout	duration	10s	Timeout per computer for remote collection (all methods combined).
--method-timeout	duration	4s	Timeout per individual remote collection method.
-v, --verbose	count	0	Increase verbosity level. Use -v for verbose, -vv for debug (maximum).
--pprof	bool	false	Enable pprof profiling server on http://localhost:6060 for performance analysis.
--version	bool	false	Show version information and exit.

Timeout Constants

FlashIngestor uses the following hardcoded timeouts for various network operations (defined in config/config.go):

Operation	Timeout	Description
LDAP Connection	30s	Timeout for establishing LDAP connections
Port Check	2s	Generic timeout for port availability checks
NetBIOS	2s	Timeout for NetBIOS operations
HTTP	3s	Timeout for HTTP requests (CA enrollment endpoint checks)
DCE/RPC EPM	2s	Timeout for DCE/RPC endpoint mapper
Kerberos	2s	Timeout for Kerberos operations
SMB	2s	Timeout for SMB operations
DNS Dial	5s	Timeout for connecting to DNS server
DNS Lookup	10s	Timeout for DNS resolution

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LDAP Connection

These flags control the LDAP connection behavior during the ingestion step.

Flag	Type	Default	Description
--scheme	string	ldaps	LDAP scheme: ldap (port 389) or ldaps (port 636).
--timeout	duration	30s	LDAP connection timeout. Increase if working with a slow DC or network environment.
--verify	bool	false	Verify LDAP TLS certificate (for LDAPS). Generally not needed for auditing purposes.
--start-tls	bool	false	Negotiate StartTLS on plain LDAP connection (port 389) before authenticating.

Tip

If connecting via LDAPS (636) fails, FlashIngestor will automatically fall back to plain LDAP (389) when ingestion.ldaps_to_ldap_fallback is enabled in config.yaml (default: true).

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Authentication (Ingestion)

These flags control authentication for the LDAP ingestion step. At minimum, you must provide --user and one authentication method.

Flag	Type	Description
-u, --user	string	Required. Username with domain in one of these formats: • UPN: user@domain.com • NetBIOS: DOMAIN\user or DOMAIN/user • Simple: user (domain inferred) • Anonymous: @domain.com (with empty password)
-p, --password	string	Password for authentication. Use with -k for Kerberos or without for NTLM.
-H, --nt-hash	string	NT hash for pass-the-hash authentication (NTLM or Kerberos).
--aes-key	string	AES128 or AES256 key for pass-the-key (Kerberos only). Requires -k.
--ccache	string	Path to Kerberos credential cache (TGT) file. Requires -k. Alternative: set KRB5CCNAME environment variable.
--pfx	string	Path to PFX/PKCS#12 certificate file for certificate-based authentication.
--pfx-password	string	Password for PFX file (if encrypted).
--cert	string	Path to PEM certificate file for certificate-based authentication.
--key	string	Path to PEM private key file for certificate-based authentication.
-k, --kerberos	bool	Force Kerberos authentication instead of NTLM.

Warning

When using Kerberos or certificates for ingestion, only DCs of the same domain as the user will be enumerated. Cross-domain ingestion requires NTLM (password/hash).

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Authentication (Remote Collection)

These flags provide separate credentials for remote collection. If not specified, FlashIngestor will use the same credentials as ingestion.

Flag	Type	Description
--remote-user	string	Username for remote collection (same format as --user).
--remote-password	string	Password for remote collection.
--remote-nthash	string	NT hash for remote collection.
--remote-aeskey	string	AES key for remote collection. Requires --remote-kerberos.
--remote-ccache	string	Path to credential cache for remote collection. Requires --remote-kerberos.
--remote-pfx	string	Path to PFX file for remote collection.
--remote-pfx-password	string	Password for PFX file.
--remote-cert	string	Path to PEM certificate for remote collection.
--remote-key	string	Path to PEM key for remote collection.
--remote-kerberos	bool	Force Kerberos for remote collection.

Use Cases:

• Local admin for remote collection: --remote-user Administrator@. (effectiveness depends on FilterAdministratorToken/LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy registry settings)
• Different privileges: Running remote collection with a privileged user, but ingestion with a low-privilege user.

Warning

When using Kerberos or certificates for remote collection, only computers in the same domain as the user will be authenticated. Cross-domain remote collection requires NTLM (password/hash).

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Configuration File (config.yaml)

The configuration file is divided into three main sections: ingestion, remote_collection, and conversion.

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Ingestion Settings

Controls behavior during the LDAP ingestion step (Ctrl+L in the TUI).

ingestion:
  include_acls: true
  recurse_trusts: false
  recurse_feasible_only: true
  search_forest: false
  ldaps_to_ldap_fallback: true
  prompt_msgpack_overwrite: true
  append_forest_domains: true
  queries:
    - name: Configuration
      filter: "(objectClass=*)"
      page_size: 1000
      attributes:
        - "*"
        - nTSecurityDescriptor
    # ... more queries

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
include_acls	bool	true	Include nTSecurityDescriptor attribute in queries to collect ACLs. Critical for BloodHound ACL abuse paths. Set to false only for evasion or testing.
recurse_trusts	bool	false	Recursively ingest trusted domains using the same credentials. Only works with password or NT hash over NTLM.
recurse_feasible_only	bool	true	When recurse_trusts is enabled, only ingest trusts that are: 1. Inbound or bidirectional 2. Either involve the initial domain OR are transitive This prevents traversing outbound-only trusts and stops at nontransitive trust boundaries.
search_forest	bool	false	Ingest all domains in the same forest by reading the Configuration partition. Can be used with recurse_trusts (domains found via either method are only ingested once).
ldaps_to_ldap_fallback	bool	true	If LDAPS (636) connection fails, automatically retry with plain LDAP (389).
prompt_msgpack_overwrite	bool	true	Prompt for confirmation before overwriting existing msgpack files during ingestion or remote collection.
append_forest_domains	bool	true	Append newly discovered domain↔forest mappings to output/ldap/ForestDomains.json instead of overwriting.

LDAP Queries

The queries section defines LDAP searches executed during ingestion. Each query has:

Field	Type	Description
name	string	Query identifier (used for logging and output filenames).
filter	string	LDAP search filter. Must be valid LDAP syntax.
page_size	int	Number of results returned per paged query (LDAP paging). Typical values: 100-1000. Should not matter usually.
attributes	list	LDAP attributes to retrieve. Use "*" for all standard attributes, explicitly list operational attributes like nTSecurityDescriptor.

Default Queries:

Name	Filter	Purpose
Configuration	(objectClass=*)	Collects PKI objects (CAs, cert templates, issuance policies) from Configuration partition
Schema	`(	(name=ms-mcwd)(name=ms-lap))`
Domains	(objectClass=domain)	Domain partition roots
Trusts	(objectClass=trustedDomain)	Trust relationships
Containers	(&(!(objectClass=groupPolicyContainer))(objectClass=container))	Container objects (excluding GPOs)
OrganizationalUnits	(objectClass=organizationalUnit)	OUs
Users	`(	(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user))(objectClass=msDS-ManagedServiceAccount)(objectClass=msDS-GroupManagedServiceAccount))`
Computers	(&(sAMAccountType=805306369)(!(objectClass=msDS-GroupManagedServiceAccount))(!(objectClass=msDS-ManagedServiceAccount)))	Computer objects (excluding MSA/gMSAs)
Groups	(objectClass=group)	Security and distribution groups
GroupPolicies	(objectCategory=groupPolicyContainer)	GPO objects

Warning

Customizing Queries: You can modify filters and attributes, but be cautious:

• Removing required attributes may break BloodHound conversion
• Changing filter semantics may cause incomplete collection
• The default queries are tuned for BloodHound compatibility

Refer to Object-Model to see which attributes are needed for each object type.

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Remote Collection Settings

Controls behavior during the remote collection step (Ctrl+R in the TUI).

remote_collection:
  methods:
    - userrights
    - dcregistry
    - sessions
    - regsessions
    - loggedon
    - ntlmregistry
    - caregistry
    - certservices
    - webclient
    - localgroups
    - ldapservices
    - smbinfo
    - gpolocalgroup

  availability_checks:
    - windows_os
    - password_age
    # - smb_port_scan

Methods

Each method corresponds to a specific type of remote data collection. Toggle methods based on your objectives and environment constraints. For detailed information about each method, see SharpHound-x-FlashIngestor.

Availability Checks

Availability checks filter which computers undergo remote collection, reducing wasted time and noise.

Check	Description	When to Use
windows_os	Only collect from computers with operatingSystem attribute containing "Windows"	Environments with mixed OS (exclude Linux/macOS)
password_age	Only collect from computers with pwdLastSet or lastLogonTimestamp within last 60 days	Exclude stale/decommissioned computers
smb_port_scan	Only collect from computers with TCP port 445 open	Reduce failed connection attempts (adds latency per computer)

Default: windows_os and password_age enabled, smb_port_scan disabled (adds overhead).

Note

If no checks are specified, remote collection runs on all computers found during ingestion (subject to enabled methods). This could be a big bottleneck depending on the size of the environment, as most environments have many computer objects that don't actually represent active computers.

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Conversion Settings

Controls behavior during the conversion step (Ctrl+S in the TUI), which merges LDAP and remote data into BloodHound JSON.

conversion:
  merge_remote: true
  writer_bufsize: 33554432
  compress_output: true
  cleanup_after_compression: true

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
merge_remote	bool	true	Merge remote collection results from output/remote/ into ingested LDAP data. Set to false to convert LDAP-only data.
writer_bufsize	int	33554432 (32 MB)	Size of the memory buffer (in bytes) for writing BloodHound JSON files. May improve write performance.
compress_output	bool	true	Compress BloodHound JSON files into a ZIP archive after conversion.
cleanup_after_compression	bool	true	Delete individual JSON files after successful ZIP compression. Saves disk space after conversion ends.

Tip

Disk Space Management:

• Enable compress_output + cleanup_after_compression (default) to minimize disk usage
• Keep msgpack files (output/ldap/, output/remote/) if you need to re-run conversion with different settings
• After importing to BloodHound, you can safely delete msgpack files if not needed for analysis