Arachni was a Ruby-based web application security scanner framework. It automated vulnerability detection for XSS, SQL injection, code injection, file inclusion, and other common web vulnerabilities. The project was archived in 2021 and is no longer maintained.
Last release: v1.6.1.3 (2021). The original developers replaced Arachni with Ecsypno Codename SCNR, a commercial product.
What Arachni did
Arachni crawled web applications, identified inputs, and fuzzed them with attack payloads covering categories listed in the OWASP Top 10. The scanner ran as a command-line tool, web UI, or via REST API for integration with other tools.
Written in Ruby, it used a browser cluster to render JavaScript-heavy applications and detect client-side vulnerabilities. The plugin architecture allowed custom checks and export formats.
Why Arachni was archived
Active development stopped in 2021. The maintainers launched Ecsypno Codename SCNR as the commercial successor and stopped updating the open-source version.
No security patches, dependency updates, or compatibility fixes have been released since v1.6.1.3. Running Arachni on modern web applications risks missing vulnerabilities or failing to complete scans due to outdated browser engines.
Alternatives to Arachni
For open-source DAST tools, OWASP ZAP offers active scanning, manual testing, and API automation. It detects OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and integrates into CI/CD pipelines through Docker, CLI, and GitHub Actions.
Nuclei provides fast, template-based vulnerability scanning. The community maintains 7000+ templates for known vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and CVEs. Nuclei works well in pipelines for targeted checks.
For commercial web application scanning with automated crawling and JavaScript support, Burp Suite Professional and Invicti offer comprehensive solutions with active development.
Browse other DAST tools for current web application security scanning options, or check our free DAST tools guide for open-source alternatives that cost nothing to run.
Note: Project archived. Last release was v1.6.1.3 in 2021. No longer maintained or recommended for new projects. Replaced by Ecsypno Codename SCNR.
