Quickstart

This guide walks you through the fastest path from zero to a deployed CTF challenge. By the end you will have a workspace, a generated challenge, and either a downloadable bundle or a live online deployment.

Prerequisites

• A valid email address or an SSO-compatible account if your organization uses OIDC
• A modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari)

Step 1 — Sign Up

1. Navigate to ctffactory.io and click Get Started.
2. Enter your email address and choose a password, or click Continue with SSO if your organization has configured OIDC.
3. Confirm your email address by clicking the link in the verification message.
4. You will land on the workspace creation screen.

[!TIP] If you were invited to an existing workspace by an admin, accept the invitation link in your email instead of creating a new workspace. You will be added to that workspace automatically.

Step 2 — Create a Workspace

1. On the New Workspace screen, enter a workspace name (for example, my-security-team).
2. Choose your plan. The free tier is selected by default and gives you access to Web, Crypto, Forensics, OSINT, Binary Exploitation, and Reverse Engineering categories with a monthly AI credit allowance.
3. Click Create Workspace. CTFFactory provisions your isolated tenant and redirects you to the dashboard.

[!NOTE] You can create additional workspaces later and invite team members under Workspace Settings → Members.

Step 3 — Generate Your First Challenge

1. From the dashboard, click Challenge Playground in the left navigation.
2. Click New Challenge.
3. Fill in the generation form:

1. Optionally, enter a natural-language prompt describing what you want — for example: "A beginner-friendly SQL injection challenge set in a login form."
2. Click Generate. The AI engine processes your request. Generation typically completes in 15–60 seconds depending on difficulty and category.

[!TIP] You do not need to write a prompt. Leaving it blank lets the AI choose a scenario based on the category and difficulty alone. A well-written prompt gives you more control over the theme and technical focus.

Step 4 — Review the Generated Challenge

Once generation completes, CTFFactory displays the challenge preview:

• Description — the player-facing scenario text
• Flag — the secret string (hidden by default; click the eye icon to reveal)
• Writeup — the step-by-step solution (if requested)
• Metadata — category, difficulty, estimated solve time

Read through the output carefully. If the challenge does not meet your expectations, click Regenerate to produce a new variation, or edit individual fields inline before saving.

Step 5 — Download or Deploy

You have two options for using your challenge:

Option A — Download as Bundle

1. Click Download Bundle.
2. CTFFactory produces a ZIP archive with organizer/ and player/ sub-folders.
3. Import the organizer/ CTFd export into any self-hosted CTFd instance, or share the player/ folder contents directly.

Option B — Deploy Online

1. Click Deploy Online.
2. CTFFactory provisions a managed CTFd instance and imports your challenge automatically.
3. You receive a public URL and an admin link. Share the public URL with players.

[!WARNING] Online deployments on the free tier are time-limited. Upgrade to a paid plan for longer deployment windows and custom domain support.

What's Next?

• Create a full CTF event with multiple challenges, participants, and a live scoreboard.
• Explore challenge categories and difficulty levels to understand what the AI can generate.
• Set up API keys to automate challenge generation from your CI/CD pipeline.