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Quick Start Guide

Get Kexa up and running quickly.

Prerequisites​

Complete Prerequisites first - you need cloud provider credentials ready.

Quickest Start with Samples​

The fastest way to get started with Kexa is using our pre-configured samples from the kexa-samples repository.

Steps:

  1. Clone the samples repository:

    git clone https://github.com/kexa-io/kexa-samples.git
    cd kexa-samples

  2. Navigate to a sample directory:

    # For HTTP-based deployment samples
    cd samples/http/

    # Or for Kubernetes deployment samples
    cd samples/kubernetes/

  3. Review and adjust configuration files (optional):

    Edit the configuration files according to your environment and needs.

  4. Start Kexa with Docker Compose:

    docker-compose up

The samples include pre-configured setups that serve as reference implementations for your own Kexa deployments. This is the quickest way to see Kexa in action!

Installation​

The fastest way to run Kexa locally:

Linux/macOS:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kexa-io/kexa/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Add Kexa to your PATH:

export PATH="${HOME}/.local/bin:${PATH}"

Windows (PowerShell):

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kexa-io/kexa/main/scripts/install.ps1" -OutFile install.ps1; ./install.ps1

Once installed, you can run kexa as a command anywhere.

Important: The binary still requires:

  • A config folder with configuration files (e.g., config/default.json)
  • A rules folder with YAML rule files
  • Proper environment variables for your cloud providers

See the kexa-samples repository for ready-to-use configuration examples.

Option 2: Build from Source​

If you prefer to build from source:

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/kexa-io/Kexa.git
    cd Kexa

  2. Install dependencies:

    bun install

  3. Run Kexa:

    bun run ./Kexa/main.ts

This includes sample config and rules folders to get started immediately.

Running Your First Scan​

  1. Set Environment Variables:

    # For Azure
    export A_AZURECLIENTID="your-client-id"
    export A_AZURETENANTID="your-tenant-id"
    export A_AZURECLIENTSECRET="your-client-secret"
    export A_SUBSCRIPTIONID="your-subscription-id"

  2. Create Minimal Config: See Configuration

  3. Run Your First Scan:

    kexa  # if using binary
    # or
    bun run Kexa/main.ts  # if running from source

JSON Export​

Export resources to JSON:

# Using binary
kexa -o
kexa --output

# Or from source
bun run Kexa/main.ts -o

This exports all gathered resources to ./output/resources/{timestamp}-resources.json

Export alerts to JSON:

# Using binary
kexa -a
kexa --alerts

# Or from source
bun run Kexa/main.ts -a

This exports all resources that raised an alert to ./output/alerts/{timestamp}-alerts.json grouped by rule.

Export both resources and alerts:

# Using binary
kexa -o -a

# Or from source
bun run Kexa/main.ts -o -a

Custom output directory:

# Using binary
OUTPUT=/custom/path kexa -o -a

# Or from source
OUTPUT=/custom/path bun run Kexa/main.ts -o -a

Use the OUTPUT environment variable to change the output directory (default: ./output).

CLI Options​

  • -o, --output - Export resources to JSON
  • -a, --alerts - Export alerts to JSON
  • --help - Display help with examples

Docker One-Liner​

For Azure (replace with your credentials):

mkdir config && echo '{"azure":[{"name":"Quick Start", "prefix": "A", "rules":["azureBenchmarkRules"]}]}' > config/default.json && \
docker run -v $(pwd)/config:/app/config \
-e A_AZURECLIENTID="your-client-id" \
-e A_AZURETENANTID="your-tenant-id" \
-e A_AZURECLIENTSECRET="your-client-secret" \
-e A_SUBSCRIPTIONID="your-subscription-id" \
innovtech/kexa

What Happens Next?​

After your scan completes Viewing Results