> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/usestrix/strix/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Interactive Mode

> Using Strix's text-based user interface (TUI) for real-time penetration testing

By default, Strix runs in interactive mode with a text-based user interface (TUI) that provides real-time visibility into the penetration testing process.

## Overview

Interactive mode is the default when you run Strix without the `--non-interactive` flag:

```bash theme={null}
strix --target https://example.com
```

The TUI provides:

* **Real-time agent activity** - Watch AI agents work in real-time
* **Vulnerability notifications** - See vulnerabilities as they're discovered
* **Agent tree view** - Track parent and child agents
* **Live statistics** - Monitor progress and resource usage
* **Interactive chat** - Guide agents during the scan

## TUI Interface

### Layout

The TUI is divided into several sections:

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────┐
│                                                     │                  │
│                                                     │   Agents Tree    │
│                                                     │                  │
│              Chat / Agent Activity                  ├──────────────────┤
│                                                     │                  │
│                                                     │ Vulnerabilities  │
│                                                     │                  │
│                                                     ├──────────────────┤
│                                                     │                  │
│                                                     │   Statistics     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤                  │
│ > [Chat Input]                                      │                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────┘
```

### Agents Tree (Sidebar)

The left sidebar shows all active agents in a tree structure:

* **⚪ Running** - Agent is actively working
* **⏸ Waiting** - Agent is waiting for input or another agent
* **🟢 Completed** - Agent finished successfully
* **🔴 Failed** - Agent encountered an error
* **■ Stopped** - Agent was manually stopped

Agents with vulnerabilities show a count: `⚪ Web Scanner (3)`

### Vulnerabilities Panel (Sidebar)

Vulnerabilities are displayed with severity-colored indicators:

* **● Critical** - Red
* **● High** - Orange
* **● Medium** - Amber
* **● Low** - Green
* **● Info** - Blue

Click on any vulnerability to view full details.

### Chat Area (Main Panel)

The main panel shows:

* **Agent messages** - LLM reasoning and decision-making
* **Tool executions** - What tools agents are using
* **Streaming output** - Real-time content as it's generated
* **Status indicators** - Current agent state

### Statistics Panel (Sidebar Bottom)

Displays:

* Scan duration
* Active agents count
* Tools executed
* Vulnerabilities found
* Version number

## Keyboard Shortcuts

<ParamField path="Enter" type="key">
  Send a message to the selected agent
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Shift+Enter" type="key">
  Insert a newline in the chat input
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Tab" type="key">
  Switch between chat input and agents tree
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="↑ / ↓" type="key">
  Navigate the agents tree
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Esc" type="key">
  Stop the selected agent
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="F1" type="key">
  Show help screen
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="Ctrl+Q / Ctrl+C" type="key">
  Quit Strix (with confirmation)
</ParamField>

## Interacting with Agents

### Selecting an Agent

1. Press `Tab` to focus the agents tree
2. Use `↑` and `↓` arrows to select an agent
3. Press `Tab` again to return to chat input

The main panel updates to show the selected agent's activity.

### Sending Messages

You can guide agents by sending messages:

1. Select an agent from the tree
2. Type your message in the chat input
3. Press `Enter` to send

**Example messages:**

```
Focus on the authentication endpoints
```

```
Try using SQL injection on the search parameter
```

```
Check for IDOR vulnerabilities in /api/users
```

### Resuming Waiting Agents

When an agent status shows **⏸ Waiting**, it needs your input:

1. Select the waiting agent
2. Read its last message to understand what it needs
3. Send a response to resume the agent

### Stopping Agents

1. Select the agent you want to stop
2. Press `Esc`
3. Confirm the action when prompted

## Viewing Vulnerabilities

### In the Vulnerabilities Panel

1. Click on any vulnerability in the sidebar
2. A detailed modal opens showing:
   * Full description
   * CVSS score and breakdown
   * Technical analysis
   * Proof-of-concept code
   * Remediation steps

### Copying Vulnerability Reports

In the vulnerability detail modal:

1. Click the **Copy** button
2. The vulnerability is copied to clipboard in Markdown format
3. Paste into GitHub issues, Jira, or documentation

## Startup Sequence

### 1. Splash Screen

When you launch Strix, you'll see an animated splash screen:

```
 ███████╗████████╗██████╗ ██╗██╗  ██╗
 ██╔════╝╚══██╔══╝██╔══██╗██║╚██╗██╔╝
 ███████╗   ██║   ██████╔╝██║ ╚███╔╝
 ╚════██║   ██║   ██╔══██╗██║ ██╔██╗
 ███████║   ██║   ██║  ██║██║██╔╝ ██╗
 ╚══════╝   ╚═╝   ╚═╝  ╚═╝╚═╝╚═╝  ╚═╝

Welcome to Strix!
Starting Strix Agent...
```

This displays for approximately 4.5 seconds while:

* Environment is validated
* LLM connection is tested
* Docker image is pulled (first run only)
* Agent configuration is prepared

### 2. Main Interface

After the splash screen, the full TUI interface loads and the scan begins automatically.

## Scan Completion

When the scan completes:

### In Interactive Mode

The TUI remains open so you can:

* Review the full scan history
* Examine vulnerabilities in detail
* Copy reports to clipboard
* Navigate the agent tree

Press `Ctrl+Q` to quit when you're ready.

### Completion Panel

When you quit, you'll see a summary panel:

```
╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ STRIX                                    ║
║ Penetration test completed               ║
║                                          ║
║ Target  https://example.com              ║
║                                          ║
║ Vulnerabilities  3 found                 ║
║ Duration         12m 34s                 ║
║ Tools executed   47                      ║
║                                          ║
║ Output  strix_runs/example_20260301_1234║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝

models.strix.ai  ·  discord.gg/strix-ai
```

## Terminal Requirements

### Minimum Requirements

* **Terminal emulator** with 256 color support
* **Minimum size**: 80x24 characters
* **Recommended size**: 120x40 characters or larger

### Supported Terminals

* **Linux**: GNOME Terminal, Konsole, Alacritty, kitty, Terminator
* **macOS**: Terminal.app, iTerm2, Alacritty, kitty
* **Windows**: Windows Terminal, WSL2 with any Linux terminal

### Font Recommendations

For best results, use a monospace font that supports Unicode box-drawing characters:

* Fira Code
* JetBrains Mono
* Cascadia Code
* SF Mono (macOS)
* Consolas (Windows)

## Advanced Features

### Multi-Agent Coordination

The agents tree shows parent-child relationships:

```
⚪ Strix Agent
  ├─ ⚪ Web Scanner (1)
  │   ├─ 🟢 Auth Tester
  │   └─ ⚪ API Fuzzer (2)
  └─ ⚪ Code Analyzer
      └─ 🟢 SAST Agent
```

This visualizes:

* Which agents spawned which sub-agents
* Agent hierarchy and specialization
* Which agents found vulnerabilities

### Real-Time Streaming

As agents think and work, you see:

* **Text segments** - Agent reasoning in natural language
* **Tool calls** - Functions being invoked with parameters
* **Completion markers** - When tools finish executing

### Live Statistics Updates

Statistics update every 350ms showing:

* How long the scan has been running
* How many agents are active
* Total tool executions
* Vulnerabilities discovered so far

## Troubleshooting

### TUI Not Displaying Correctly

**Problem**: Characters are garbled or boxes don't align

**Solutions**:

* Ensure your terminal supports 256 colors: `echo $TERM`
* Try setting: `export TERM=xterm-256color`
* Use a different terminal emulator
* Increase terminal font size

### Agent Stuck on "Initializing"

**Problem**: Agent shows status "Initializing" for a long time

**Solutions**:

* Wait - LLM initialization can take 30-60 seconds
* Check network connectivity to LLM provider
* Verify LLM API key is valid
* Check if Docker containers are running: `docker ps`

### Can't See Full Vulnerability Details

**Problem**: Vulnerability text is truncated

**Solutions**:

* Increase terminal window size
* Click vulnerability to open detail modal
* Use the Copy button to get full report
* Check output files in `strix_runs/` directory

### High CPU Usage

**Problem**: Terminal is consuming significant CPU

**Explanation**: The TUI refreshes frequently (2 times per second) to show real-time updates. This is normal during active scans.

**Solutions**:

* Reduce terminal window size
* Use `--non-interactive` mode instead
* Close other terminal tabs/windows

## Comparison with Non-Interactive Mode

| Feature               | Interactive Mode | Non-Interactive Mode |
| --------------------- | ---------------- | -------------------- |
| TUI Display           | Yes              | No                   |
| Real-time updates     | Yes              | Limited              |
| Agent interaction     | Yes              | No                   |
| Auto-exit             | No               | Yes                  |
| Exit code 2 for vulns | No               | Yes                  |
| CI/CD friendly        | No               | Yes                  |
| Human supervision     | Yes              | No                   |
| Resource usage        | Higher           | Lower                |

See [Non-Interactive Mode](/cli/non-interactive-mode) for automation use cases.

## See Also

* [Non-Interactive Mode](/cli/non-interactive-mode) - Headless operation
* [Examples](/cli/examples) - Usage examples
* [Vulnerability Format](/cli/vulnerability-format) - Report structure