Files

SKILL.mdagentsreferencesscripts

Install

Install the containing plugin

/plugin install shared-skills@llm-skills

Invoke this skill after installation

/shared-skills:binwalk

Download binwalk-skill.zip

This skill is bundled inside shared-skills. Install the plugin once, then Claude Code can use any of its included skills. Browse the full plugin repository at github.com/alisonaquinas/llm-shared-skills.

SKILL.md

name: binwalk description: Scan files for embedded filesystems and data signatures. Use when the agent needs to inspect, analyze, or extract information from binary files or data structures.

Binwalk

Scan files for embedded filesystems and data signatures

Prerequisite Check

Run this before proposing firmware or binary scanning:

command -v binwalk >/dev/null 2>&1 || binwalk --version

If binwalk is missing, surface that first and fall back to file, strings, or xxd for reduced-coverage inspection until the tool is installed.

Quick Start

Verify binwalk is available: binwalk --version or man binwalk
Establish the command surface: man binwalk or binwalk --help
Start with a read-only probe: binwalk file

Intent Router

Load only the reference file needed for the active request.

references/install-and-setup.md — Installing binwalk on macOS, Linux, Windows
references/cheatsheet.md — Common options, output formats, usage patterns
references/advanced-usage.md — Advanced patterns, performance optimization
references/troubleshooting.md — Common errors, exit codes, platform differences

Core Workflow

Verify binwalk is available: binwalk --version
Start with safe, read-only operation: binwalk [options] file
Validate output on test data before processing at scale
Document exact command and flags for reproducibility

Quick Command Reference

binwalk --version                       # Check version
binwalk --help                          # Show help
binwalk file                            # Basic usage
binwalk file | head                     # Limit output
man binwalk                             # Full manual

# Safe first pass on an unknown image
binwalk firmware.bin

# Reduced-coverage fallback when binwalk is unavailable
file firmware.bin
strings -n 8 firmware.bin | head
xxd -g 1 firmware.bin | head

Safety Notes

Area	Guardrail
Untrusted input	Validate files from untrusted sources before processing.
Large files	May consume memory on large files. Test with smaller samples first.
Output handling	Pipe output safely. Binary output may corrupt terminal.
Symlinks	Tool may follow or skip symlinks. Check man page for behavior.

Recovery note: if binwalk is unavailable, say explicitly that fallback tools can help identify signatures or readable strings, but they do not replace binwalk's embedded-file and offset analysis.

Source Policy

Treat the installed binwalk behavior and man binwalk as runtime truth.
Use upstream documentation for semantics.

Resource Index

scripts/install.sh — Install binwalk on macOS or Linux.
scripts/install.ps1 — Install binwalk on Windows or any platform via PowerShell.