Skip to content

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:

  1. Go to sentrikat.com and click Request Demo
  2. Fill in your details - our team will review and create your license
  3. You'll receive an email with your license key and portal access
  1. Go to portal.sentrikat.com/checkout
  2. Choose your subscription (1-3 years), agent capacity, and optional add-ons
  3. Complete payment via Stripe
  4. Your PRO license is created automatically

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

Security

Use a strong password for your admin account!

Step 5: Activate Your License

The fastest way — no copy-pasting license files.

  1. In SentriKat, go to Administration > License
  2. Find your Activation Code (SK-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX) in the Customer Portal or your purchase confirmation email
  3. Enter the code in the Online Activation section and click Activate
  4. Done! SentriKat contacts the portal and receives a signed license automatically

That's it!

No files to copy, no environment variables to set. Your license is hardware-locked to this installation automatically.

For servers without internet access to portal.sentrikat.com:

  1. In SentriKat, go to Administration > License and copy your Installation ID (SK-INST-xxxxxxxx)
  2. On any browser, go to portal.sentrikat.com/downloads
  3. Paste your Installation ID and click Activate
  4. Copy the signed license key and paste it in SentriKat, or add to your .env:
    SENTRIKAT_LICENSE=eyJsaWNlbnNl...your-signed-license...
    
  5. Restart: docker compose restart

For full details on licensing, see Licensing & Activation.

Step 6: Add Your First Products

Option A: Manual Entry

  1. Go to AdminProducts
  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 AdminImport
  3. Upload the CSV
  4. Review and confirm

Option C: Deploy an Agent

Where does YOUR_API_KEY come from?

Generate an agent API key in SentriKat under Integrations → Agent Keys, then use it in the commands below.

# Download from the SentriKat UI (Integrations → Agent Keys → Download agent),
# or logged in: http://localhost:5000/api/agents/script/windows
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://localhost:5000/api/agents/script/windows" -OutFile "sentrikat-agent.ps1"

# Install
.\sentrikat-agent.ps1 -Install -ServerUrl "http://localhost:5000" -ApiKey "YOUR_API_KEY"
# Download from the SentriKat UI (Integrations → Agent Keys → Download agent)
curl -o sentrikat-agent.sh http://localhost:5000/api/agents/script/linux

# Install
chmod +x sentrikat-agent.sh
./sentrikat-agent.sh --install --server http://localhost:5000 --api-key YOUR_API_KEY

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. Go to AdminSettings
  2. Click Sync Now under CISA KEV
  3. 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 SettingsAlerts
  2. Configure email settings:
  3. SMTP Server
  4. From Address
  5. Recipients
  6. Enable Critical CVE Alerts

What's Next?

  • Set Up Organizations


    Create separate organizations for different teams or clients.

    Organizations

  • Deploy More Agents


    Automate inventory collection across your infrastructure.

    Agent Deployment

  • Configure Webhooks


    Send alerts to Slack, Teams, or Discord.

    Webhooks

  • Explore the API


    Integrate SentriKat with your existing tools.

    API Reference

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 ExportCSV 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?