Quick Start Guide¶

Get SentriKat running and protecting your organization in under 10 minutes.

Step 1: Get a License¶

Before deploying, you need a SentriKat license:

Once you have a license, log into portal.sentrikat.com using OTP (email code) to manage it.

Step 2: Download SentriKat¶

1. Go to portal.sentrikat.com
2. Log in with your email (you'll receive a one-time code)
3. Navigate to Downloads
4. Download the latest version

Step 3: Deploy SentriKat¶

# Extract the downloaded bundle and load the bundled Docker image
tar -xzf sentrikat-*.tar.gz
cd sentrikat-*/
docker load -i sentrikat-image-*.tar.gz

# Copy and configure environment
cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Set SECRET_KEY, ENCRYPTION_KEY, DB_PASSWORD, etc. — see .env.example

# Start with Docker Compose
docker compose up -d

Migrations run automatically at boot. Wait 30 seconds, then open http://localhost:5000

Step 4: Complete the Setup Wizard¶

On first launch, SentriKat will guide you through:

1. Create Admin Account - Set your admin username and password
2. Organization Setup - Name your organization
3. Catalog Seed & Initial Sync - The product catalog is seeded and the first CISA KEV sync runs automatically

Step 5: Activate Your License¶

For full details on licensing, see Licensing & Activation.

Step 6: Add Your First Products¶

Option A: Manual Entry¶

1. Go to Admin → Products
2. Click Add Product
3. Enter:
4. Vendor: Microsoft
5. Product: Windows Server
6. Version: 2019
7. Click Save

Option B: CSV Import¶

1. Create a CSV file:

   vendor,product,version
   Microsoft,Windows Server,2019
   Microsoft,Windows Server,2022
   Apache,HTTP Server,2.4.51
   

2. Go to Products → Import
3. Upload the CSV
4. Review and confirm

Option C: Deploy an Agent¶

The easiest path needs no key handling at all: SentriKat bakes a unique per-host key into the download.

1. Go to Integrations → Agent Deploy → Deploy on a machine
2. Click your OS to download the agent script
3. Run it on the machine:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\sentrikat-agent-windows.ps1 -Install -AllowHttp

sudo bash ./sentrikat-agent-linux.sh --install --allow-http

For fleets (Ansible / Intune / GPO / PDQ) use an install token instead: Integrations → Agent Deploy → Create Install Token — see Agents.

Step 7: Verify KEV Sync¶

The first CISA KEV sync runs automatically when you finish the setup wizard, and stays in sync daily after that. To trigger a manual sync at any time:

1. Click the Sync button in the top bar (or go to Settings → System → Sync & Updates)
2. Wait for sync to complete (~30 seconds)

Or via API:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/sync \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"

Step 8: Review Matches¶

After sync, check your dashboard:

1. Go to Dashboard
2. View the Priority Matrix showing vulnerabilities by severity
3. Click on any CVE to see details

Step 9: Configure Alerts (Pro)¶

If you have a Pro license:

1. Go to Settings → Alerts
2. Configure email settings:
3. SMTP Server
4. From Address
5. Recipients
6. Enable Critical CVE Alerts

What's Next?¶

Common Tasks¶

Acknowledge a Vulnerability¶

When you've patched or accepted a vulnerability:

1. Find the vulnerability in the list
2. Click the Acknowledge button
3. (Optional) Add a note

Export Data¶

1. Go to Dashboard
2. Apply any filters
3. Click Export → CSV or PDF

Share a View¶

1. Configure your dashboard filters
2. Click Share
3. Copy the share link
4. Send to stakeholders (no login required)

Need Help?¶

• Full Documentation
• Email Support
• Customer Portal