thor-scan

Goal: produce a safe, reproducible THOR command line and minimal preflight checks.

Rules

• Prefer THOR v10 stable unless the user explicitly wants v11 TechPreview features.
• Always start with environment detection: OS, THOR path, license presence, and whether thor-util exists.
• Identify if user has full THOR or THOR Lite (different binaries, different capabilities).
• Avoid "magic flags". Explain why each non-trivial flag is used.
• Default to focusing on forensic / lab workflows; if it's live endpoint scanning, keep it conservative.

Preflight checklist

1. List the THOR install directory first (ls or dir). This immediately tells you:
   • Which THOR version you have (binary names contain "lite" for THOR Lite)
   • What binaries and tools are available
   • What license files exist
2. Verify the correct binary exists:
   • Full THOR: thor64.exe (Windows), thor-linux-64 (Linux), thor-macosx (macOS)
   • THOR Lite: thor64-lite.exe (Windows), thor-lite-linux-64 (Linux), thor-lite-macos (macOS)
3. If recommending --lab mode, check license type first:
   • grep -i forensiclab *.lic - if found, --lab is available
   • If not found (or THOR Lite), use alternative: -a Filescan --intense --norescontrol --cross-platform
4. Check thor-util presence for update/diagnostics/report tasks.
5. Identify scan target type:
   • live path, mounted image, memory dump, extracted dumps, SSHFS-mounted remote
6. Choose scan mode and output location; keep outputs deterministic.
7. If THOR Lite: note that lab mode and Sigma are unavailable. See THOR Lite limitations.

Important flag rules

• Never use --lab --intense together - --lab already includes intense mode
• Check license before recommending --lab - requires Forensic Lab license
• THOR Lite has no --lab - always use the alternative flag combination

Use these references when needed

• Environment detection: reference/env-detection.md
• Scan modes overview: reference/scan-modes.md
• Forensic lab mode: reference/lab-mode.md
• Performance and threading: reference/performance.md
• Output and reports: reference/output-and-reporting.md
• Signature selectors/filters: reference/signature-filtering.md
• THOR Lite limitations: ../thor-lite/reference/limitations.md

Example templates

• examples/windows-live-scan.md
• examples/linux-mounted-image.md
• examples/macos-scan.md
• examples/memory-dump.md
• examples/sshfs-remote-scan.md - for appliances and unsupported architectures

Output format

• First line: one recommended command (single-line).
• Then: short explanation of key flags.
• Then: "If it fails" section with 2-3 likely causes and next commands to run.