Nerva Documentation

Fast service fingerprinting CLI for 54+ protocols — built by Praetorian

Quick Links

• Protocol List — All 54 supported protocols
• CLI Reference — Complete command-line usage
• Library Usage — Using Nerva as a Go library
• Plugin Development — How to add new protocols
• SCTP Support — Diameter fingerprinting on Linux
• Integration Guide — Using with Naabu, Nmap, and pipelines

Overview

Nerva rapidly detects and identifies services running on open network ports. It supports:

• 54 protocol plugins across TCP, UDP, and SCTP
• Rich metadata extraction — versions, configurations, banners
• Multiple output formats — JSON, CSV, human-readable
• Fast mode — scan default ports only for rapid reconnaissance
• Go library — import directly into your applications

Installation

go install github.com/praetorian-inc/nerva/cmd/nerva@latest

Quick Start

# Single target
nerva -t example.com:22

# JSON output
nerva -t example.com:22 --json

# Pipe from port scanner
naabu -host example.com -silent | nerva

Resources

• GitHub Repository
• CHANGELOG
• CONTRIBUTING