Dirb Cheat Sheet

Classic web content scanner using wordlists to discover hidden directories and files.

Scanning & Enumerationdirectory-bruteforcelegacywebUpdated 2026-06-02

Overview

Dirb performs HTTP(S) content brute forcing with built-in and custom wordlists. Slower than Go/Rust alternatives but ubiquitous on Kali and useful when you need a simple, predictable scanner without complex filters.

Authorized testing only. Generates sequential requests visible in logs. Use on in-scope web targets only.

Install

sudo apt install -y dirb

dirb

Essential commands

Default wordlist

dirb https://target.example.com

Custom wordlist

dirb https://target.example.com /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txt

Extensions

dirb https://target.example.com wordlist.txt -X .php,.html,.txt

Save output

dirb https://target.example.com -o dirb_results.txt

Common workflows

Authenticated scan —

dirb https://target.example.com /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/common.txt -c "sessionid=VALUE"

Proxy and ignore responses —

dirb https://target.example.com -p 127.0.0.1:8080

dirb https://target.example.com -N 404

Case-insensitive and non-recursive —

dirb https://target.example.com -i -r

Multiple targets from file —

dirb https://target.example.com -w -o report.txt

Flags reference

`-w`	Don't stop on warnings
`-o`	Output file
`-X`	Extensions (.asp,.php)
`-c`	Cookie string
`-p`	Proxy host:port
`-u`	User-Agent
`-H`	Extra header
`-N`	Ignore HTTP code
`-i`	Case-insensitive
`-r`	Non-recursive
`-z`	Millisecond delay
`-S`	Silent (no extra colors)

Tips

Wordlists live in /usr/share/wordlists/dirb/—pair common.txt with big.txt for depth.
No built-in recursive mode like feroxbuster—script recursion or switch tools.
For wildcard 404 sites, dirb struggles; use ffuf with size filters.
Still valuable for quick checks on CTF and lab boxes.