Brakeman
Brakeman is a static-analysis security scanner for Ruby on Rails applications that finds vulnerabilities without running the app.
Legal & ethical use. Use this tool only on systems, networks and data that you own or have explicit written permission to test. Unauthorised access or scanning can break computer-misuse laws (for example Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and equivalents elsewhere). Practise in your own lab or in authorised environments such as CTFs.
What it is used for
- Scan a Rails project in CI
- Find SQL injection and XSS patterns in Rails code
Key features
- Rails-aware checks
- Confidence ratings
- Multiple report formats
Installation
Install with `gem install brakeman`.
Beginner usage guide
Run it from the Rails root and triage warnings by confidence.
Example commands
Run these only against your own lab or authorised targets. Placeholder addresses such as 192.0.2.x are documentation ranges.
Scan the current Rails app
brakemanPrints warnings with confidence levels.
References
Source verification
Last reviewed: 2026-10-27
Links checked over HTTP: 2026-10-27 07:51 UTC — official: 200, docs: 200, repo: 200
Commands were written from the official documentation and have not been executed on this site; test them in your lab.