The Sleuth Kit
The Sleuth Kit is a library and collection of command-line tools for analysing disk images and file systems.
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
- List files (including deleted ones) in a disk image
- Extract a file by inode
Key features
- File-system analysis tools (fls, icat, mmls)
- Timeline creation
- Supports common file systems
Installation
Install from your distribution (`sudo apt install sleuthkit`).
Beginner usage guide
Use mmls to find partitions, fls to list files and icat to extract file content by its inode number.
Example commands
Run these only against your own lab or authorised targets. Placeholder addresses such as 192.0.2.x are documentation ranges.
List files in an image
fls -r -p disk.img-r recurses and -p prints full paths; deleted entries are marked with an asterisk.
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.