# Install nikto with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix, pacman

Web server scanner. Version 2.6.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-31. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install nikto.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:nikto
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install nikto
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

- MacPorts (94%):

```sh
sudo port install nikto
```

  Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: www/nikto/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

### Linux

- apk (92%):

```sh
sudo apk add nikto
```

  Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: nikto from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

- Debian apt (92%):

```sh
sudo apt install nikto
```

  Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: nikto from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/non-free/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#nikto
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ni/nikto/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

- pacman (92%):

```sh
sudo pacman -S nikto
```

  Evidence: Arch Linux sync databases: nikto from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:nikto
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 2.6.1
- **Source summary:** Web server scanner
- **Homepage:** <https://cirt.net/nikto/>
- **Repository:** <https://github.com/sullo/nikto>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-31T20:11:14Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- nikto (alias)
- replay.pl (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 2.6.1
## Project history and usage

Nikto is a long-running open source web server scanner aimed at penetration testers, security professionals, and system administrators. Its enduring value is not exploit automation but broad, noisy coverage: identifying dangerous files, outdated server components, common HTTP/server misconfigurations, odd headers, authentication defaults, and other findings that are useful early in web reconnaissance.

### Project history

The project history published in the Nikto wiki says Nikto 1.00 Beta was released on December 27, 2001, followed shortly by a 1.01 bug-fix release. The same history describes the 2.0 release in November 2007 as the result of several years of improvements, with development continuing on GitHub afterward. The wiki also records David Lodge joining and taking project leadership in 2008 while Chris Sullo stepped away, and Sullo rejoining in 2009.

The GitHub repository and cirt.net page show the modern project still centered on the same Perl scanner lineage. The repository lists Nikto 2.6.0 as a release on February 11, 2026, and the project page describes a scanner with updateable scan items/plugins, multiple output formats, false-positive reduction, TLS fingerprinting checks, proxy support, and database/reporting integrations.

### Adoption history

Nikto became part of the standard open-source web assessment toolkit because it is easy to run, has a large body of checks, and is available through mainstream package managers. The project's own history says that within two years of the 2001 beta it had become the most popular freely available web vulnerability scanner; modern adoption is reflected by its GitHub repository visibility and Homebrew packaging.

On 2026-07-01, the Homebrew formula page listed Nikto 2.6.0 with 7,916 installs over 365 days. That is modest compared with language/build tools, but healthy for a focused security scanner that many users run only during audits or lab work.

### How it is used

Package nerds usually treat Nikto as a quick web-server coverage pass: install it, run `nikto -h https://target.example`, add ports with `-p`, feed host lists, tune check classes, and export text, JSON, XML, HTML, CSV, SQL, or database-backed reports. The official basic testing docs emphasize host/port scans, URL input, SSL handling, multiple ports, and host files.

In practice it is often paired with nmap and proxy tooling: nmap finds HTTP services, Nikto checks them for common files and server issues, then the output is fed into manual verification or reporting. Its value is breadth and repeatability, not stealth or perfect signal.

### Why package nerds care

Nikto is the archetypal packaged Perl web scanner: old, portable, easy to bottle, still useful, and familiar enough that security distributions and package managers keep it around. For av.db, its history matters because it is a source-backed example of a security CLI whose adoption comes from workflow habit and test coverage rather than a fast-moving ecosystem.

### Timeline

- {'date': '2001-12-27', 'event': 'Nikto 1.00 Beta released.'}
- {'date': '2007-11', 'event': 'Nikto 2.0 released after several years of improvements.'}
- {'date': '2008', 'event': 'David Lodge joined and assumed project leadership.'}
- {'date': '2009', 'event': 'Chris Sullo rejoined the project.'}
- {'date': '2026-02-11', 'event': 'Nikto 2.6.0 listed as a GitHub release.'}

### Sources

- <https://cirt.net/nikto/>
- <https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/nikto>
- <https://github.com/sullo/nikto>
- <https://github.com/sullo/nikto/wiki/Basic-Testing>
- <https://github.com/sullo/nikto/wiki/History-%26-Trivia>


## Security Notes

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal. generalized runtime or code generation signal.

- **Geiger risk:** yellow / medium
- broad file, network, media, or database tool signal
- generalized runtime or code generation signal


## Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.


## Configuration files

- Unix: ./nikto.conf, ~/nikto.conf, /etc/nikto.conf
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Debian apt - nikto - 1:2.1.5-3.1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: nikto from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/non-free/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | web server security scanner | http://cirt.net/nikto2
- Nix - nikto: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ni/nikto/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1
- Ubuntu apt - nikto - 1:2.1.5-3.1: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: nikto from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/multiverse/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | web server security scanner | http://cirt.net/nikto2
- apk - nikto - 2.6.0-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: nikto from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | A web application security scanner | https://www.cirt.net/Nikto2
- pacman - nikto - 2.6.0-2: normalized package name match | Arch Linux sync databases: nikto from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz | A web server scanner which performs comprehensive tests against web servers for multiple items | https://github.com/sullo/nikto
- MacPorts - nikto: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: www/nikto/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/nikto.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/nikto.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph