social-engineer-toolkit README

The project's README from github.com/trustedsec/social-engineer-toolkit. As one markdown file: README.md.

The Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET)

The Social-Engineer Toolkit is an open-source penetration testing framework for authorized social-engineering assessments. SET provides guided attack vectors for security teams that need to test user awareness, validate controls, and run consent-based red-team exercises.

SET is a TrustedSec project written by David Kennedy (ReL1K) / @HackingDave.

Responsible Use

SET is only for authorized testing where explicit permission and scope have been established. Do not use SET against systems, accounts, networks, or people without consent. Review the license in readme/LICENSE before using or distributing SET.

Supported Platforms

SET 8.1.3 targets Python 3.11 through Python 3.13.

Installation

Kali Linux / WSL

sudo apt update
sudo apt install set -y

From Source

git clone https://github.com/trustedsec/social-engineer-toolkit/ setoolkit/
cd setoolkit
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install -e .

For the legacy system-wide layout, run the installer with elevated privileges:

sudo python3 setup.py

The legacy installer copies SET to /usr/local/share/setoolkit, writes /etc/setoolkit/set.config, and creates /usr/local/bin/setoolkit.

Usage

Launch the interactive console:

sudo setoolkit

From a source checkout, you can also run:

sudo ./setoolkit

The full user manual is available at readme/User_Manual.pdf.

Development

python -m pip install -e .
python -m pip install pytest
python -m compileall -q .
pytest -q

Security Reports

Please report vulnerabilities through the process in SECURITY.md. Do not open public issues for exploitable vulnerabilities.

Bugs and Enhancements

For non-sensitive bug reports or enhancement requests, open an issue at https://github.com/trustedsec/social-engineer-toolkit/issues with SET version, platform, Python version, and reproduction steps.

social-engineer-toolkit (trustedsec/social-engineer-toolkit)

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Social-engineer-toolkit
What is this?The Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET) is an open-source penetration testing framework for authorized social-engineering assessments, giving security teams guided attack vectors to test user awareness and validate controls.
Is this a GUI app or a terminal console?It's an interactive command-line console you launch and navigate through menus, not a GUI application.
How do I install and run it?On Kali Linux/WSL you can install via the distro package, or install from source; the legacy installer copies SET to /usr/local/share/setoolkit and creates a /usr/local/bin/setoolkit binary you run to launch the interactive console.
What Python version and OS do I need?SET 8.1.3 targets Python 3.11 through 3.13, and runs on Linux, experimentally on macOS, or on Windows via WSL/WSL2 with Kali or another supported Linux environment.
Does it run well on macOS or Windows directly?macOS support is explicitly experimental, and Windows isn't supported natively — you need WSL/WSL2 running Kali or another supported Linux distro.
Are there legal or ethical restrictions on using it?SET is only meant for authorized testing with explicit permission and defined scope — using it against systems, accounts, networks, or people without consent is against the stated policy.
Where can I find full usage documentation?A complete user manual is included in the repo at readme/UserManual.pdf.
What are similar projects?CVE-2026-41940-PoC, evilginx2, Claude-Red, Decepticon, redamon, thc-hydra, PowerSploit, strix
Which topics is it in?pentesting-tools, ethical-hacking, pentest, exploit, hacking-tool, offensive-security, red-team, penetration-testing, hacking, cybersecurity, security-tools, security
Creator
trustedsec
Size
175.7 MB
Stars
15.4K
Updated
CommitJun 04
Age
13y
Commits · 90 Days