StepSecurity Dev Machine Guard

Scan your dev machine for AI agents, MCP servers, IDE extensions, and suspicious packages — in seconds.

Why Dev Machine Guard?

Developer machines are the new attack surface. They hold high-value assets — GitHub tokens, cloud credentials, SSH keys — and routinely execute untrusted code through dependencies and AI-powered tools. Recent supply chain attacks have shown that malicious VS Code extensions can steal credentials, rogue MCP servers can access your codebase, and compromised npm packages can exfiltrate secrets.

EDR and traditional MDM solutions monitor device posture and compliance, but they have zero visibility into the developer tooling layer:

Capability	EDR / MDM	Dev Machine Guard
IDE extension audit		Yes
AI agent & tool inventory		Yes
MCP server config audit		Yes
Package scanning (Node.js, Homebrew, Python, system)		Yes
Cross-platform (macOS, Windows, Linux)	Yes	Yes
Device posture & compliance	Yes
Malware / virus detection	Yes

Dev Machine Guard is complementary to EDR/MDM — not a replacement. Deploy it alongside your existing tools via MDM (Jamf, Kandji, Intune) or run it standalone.

Quick Start

Install from release (recommended)

Download the latest binary for your platform from GitHub Releases:

macOS:

# Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
curl -sSL https://github.com/step-security/dev-machine-guard/releases/latest/download/stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard_darwin_arm64 -o stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard
chmod +x stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

# Intel Mac
curl -sSL https://github.com/step-security/dev-machine-guard/releases/latest/download/stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard_darwin_amd64 -o stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard
chmod +x stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

# Run the scan
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

Windows:

# x64
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/step-security/dev-machine-guard/releases/latest/download/stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard_windows_amd64.exe" -OutFile "stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard.exe"

# ARM64
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/step-security/dev-machine-guard/releases/latest/download/stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard_windows_arm64.exe" -OutFile "stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard.exe"

# Run the scan
.\stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard.exe

Linux:

# x64
curl -sSL https://github.com/step-security/dev-machine-guard/releases/latest/download/stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard_linux_amd64 -o stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard
chmod +x stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

# ARM64
curl -sSL https://github.com/step-security/dev-machine-guard/releases/latest/download/stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard_linux_arm64 -o stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard
chmod +x stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

# Run the scan
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

Pre-built .deb and .rpm packages are also available on the releases page.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/step-security/dev-machine-guard.git
cd dev-machine-guard
make build
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

Requires Go 1.24+. The binary has zero external dependencies.

Usage

stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard [COMMAND] [OPTIONS]

Commands

Command	Description
(none)	Run a scan (community mode, pretty output)
configure	Interactively set all settings (enterprise, scan, output)
configure show	Show current configuration (API key masked)
install	Install scheduled scanning — launchd (macOS), systemd (Linux), schtasks (Windows)
uninstall	Remove scheduled scanning configuration
send-telemetry	Upload scan results to the StepSecurity dashboard (enterprise)

Output Formats

Flag	Description
--pretty	Pretty terminal output (default)
--json	JSON output to stdout
--html FILE	Self-contained HTML report saved to FILE

Options

Flag	Description
--search-dirs DIR [DIR...]	Search DIRs instead of $HOME (replaces default; repeatable)
--enable-npm-scan	Enable Node.js package scanning
--disable-npm-scan	Disable Node.js package scanning
--enable-brew-scan	Enable Homebrew package scanning
--disable-brew-scan	Disable Homebrew package scanning
--enable-python-scan	Enable Python package scanning
--disable-python-scan	Disable Python package scanning
--include-bundled-plugins	Include bundled/platform IDE plugins in output
--log-level=LEVEL	Log level: error | warn | info | debug
--verbose	Shortcut for --log-level=debug
--color=WHEN	Color mode: auto | always | never (default: auto)
-v, --version	Show version
-h, --help	Show help

Examples

# Pretty terminal output (default)
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

# JSON output
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --json
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --json | python3 -m json.tool   # formatted
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --json > scan.json               # to file

# HTML report
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --html report.html

# Verbose scan with npm packages — shows progress spinners and timing
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --verbose --enable-npm-scan

# Scan specific directories instead of $HOME
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --search-dirs /Volumes/code
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --search-dirs /tmp /opt          # multiple dirs

# Pipe JSON through jq to extract just AI tools
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --json | jq '.ai_agents_and_tools'

# Count IDE extensions
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --json | jq '.summary.ide_extensions_count'

# Check for MCP configs (exit 1 if any found — useful in CI)
count=$(./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --json | jq '.summary.mcp_configs_count')
[ "$count" -gt 0 ] && echo "MCP servers detected!" && exit 1

# Disable colors for piping or logging
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --color=never 2>&1 | tee scan.log

# Enterprise: configure all settings interactively
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard configure

# Enterprise: view saved configuration (API key masked)
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard configure show

# Enterprise: install scheduled scanning (launchd / systemd / schtasks)
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard install

# Enterprise: one-time telemetry upload
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard send-telemetry

# Enterprise: remove scheduled scanning
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard uninstall

Configuration

Run configure to set up enterprise credentials and default search directories:

./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard configure

This interactively prompts for all configurable settings:

Setting	Description	Default
Customer ID	Your StepSecurity customer identifier	(not set)
API Endpoint	StepSecurity backend URL	(not set)
API Key	Authentication key for telemetry uploads	(not set)
Scan Frequency	How often scheduled scans run (hours)	(not set)
Search Directories	Comma-separated list of directories to scan	$HOME
Enable NPM Scan	Node.js package scanning	auto
Enable Brew Scan	Homebrew package scanning	auto
Enable Python Scan	Python package scanning	auto
Color Mode	Terminal color output	auto
Output Format	Default output format	pretty
HTML Output File	Default path for HTML reports	(not set)
Log Level	Logging verbosity	error

View current settings:

./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard configure show

Configuration (~/.stepsecurity/config.json):

  Customer ID:             my-company
  API Endpoint:            https://api.stepsecurity.io
  API Key:                 ***a1b2
  Scan Frequency:          4 hours
  Search Directories:      $HOME, /Volumes/code
  Enable NPM Scan:         auto
  Enable Brew Scan:        auto
  Enable Python Scan:      auto
  Color Mode:              auto
  Output Format:           pretty
  Log Level:               error

Configuration is saved to ~/.stepsecurity/config.json with 0600 permissions (owner read/write only).

CLI flags always override config file values — this matches the shell script behavior. For example, if your config has output_format: json, running ./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --pretty uses pretty output. To clear a value during configuration, enter a single dash (-).

Logging and Verbose Mode

By default in community mode, progress messages (spinners, step details) are suppressed — you only see the final output. This keeps stdout clean for piping.

# Default: quiet — clean output, no progress spinners
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --json > scan.json

# Verbose: show progress spinners and step timing
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --verbose

# Fine-grained control: set log level
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --log-level=info

# Save log level in config so it persists across runs
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard configure

In enterprise mode (send-telemetry, install), progress is always shown regardless of the log level — the output is captured as execution logs and sent to the backend for debugging.

What It Detects

See SCAN_COVERAGE.md for the full catalog of supported detections.

Category	Examples
IDEs & Desktop Apps	VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, Zed, Claude, Copilot, JetBrains suite (13 IDEs), Eclipse, Android Studio
AI CLI Tools	Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Kiro, GitHub Copilot CLI, Aider, OpenCode, Cursor Agent
AI Agents	Claude Cowork, OpenClaw, ClawdBot, GPT-Engineer
AI Frameworks	Ollama, LM Studio, LocalAI, Text Generation WebUI
MCP Server Configs	Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, Zed, Open Interpreter, Codex
IDE Extensions	VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, JetBrains, Eclipse, Xcode, Android Studio
Node.js Packages	npm, yarn, pnpm, bun (opt-in)
Homebrew Packages	Formulae and casks with rich metadata (opt-in)
Python Packages	pip, poetry, pipenv, uv, conda, rye (opt-in)
System Packages	rpm, dpkg, pacman, apk, snap, flatpak (Linux)

Output Formats

Pretty Terminal Output (default)

./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard

JSON Output

./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --json

See examples/sample-output.json for the full schema, or Reading Scan Results for the schema reference.

HTML Report

./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard --html report.html

Community vs Enterprise

Feature	Community (Free)	Enterprise
AI agent & tool inventory	Yes	Yes
IDE extension scanning	Yes	Yes
MCP server config audit	Yes	Yes
Pretty / JSON / HTML output	Yes	Yes
Package scanning (Node.js, Homebrew, Python)	Opt-in	Default on
System package scanning (Linux)	Yes	Yes
Interactive configuration	Yes	Yes
Centralized dashboard		Yes
Policy enforcement & alerting		Yes
Scheduled scans (launchd / systemd / schtasks)		Yes
Historical trends & reporting		Yes

Enterprise mode requires a StepSecurity subscription. Start a 14-day free trial by installing the StepSecurity GitHub App.

Enterprise Setup

# 1. Configure credentials (interactive)
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard configure

# 2. Install scheduled scanning (launchd on macOS, systemd on Linux, schtasks on Windows)
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard install

# 3. Or run a one-time telemetry upload
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard send-telemetry

# 4. Uninstall scheduled scanning
./stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard uninstall

Open-source commitment: StepSecurity enterprise customers use the exact same binary from this repository. There is no separate closed-source version — all scanning capabilities are developed and maintained here in the open. Enterprise mode adds centralized infrastructure (dashboard, policy engine, alerting) on top of the same open-source scanning engine.

How It Works

Dev Machine Guard is a single compiled binary that scans your developer environment. Here's what it does and — importantly — what it does not do:

What it collects:

• Installed IDEs, AI tools, and their versions
• IDE extension/plugin names, publishers, and versions (VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Antigravity, JetBrains, Eclipse, Xcode, Android Studio)
• MCP server configuration (server names and commands only)
• Node.js, Homebrew, Python, and system package listings (opt-in)

Detection uses platform-specific methods: /Applications/ and Info.plist on macOS, %LOCALAPPDATA%/%PROGRAMFILES% and Windows Registry on Windows, /opt//usr/share/.desktop files on Linux, and $PATH lookups on all platforms.

What it does NOT collect:

• Source code, file contents, or project data
• Secrets, credentials, API keys, or tokens
• Browsing history or personal files
• Any data from your IDE workspaces

In community mode, all data stays on your machine. Nothing is sent anywhere.

In enterprise mode, scan data is sent to the StepSecurity backend for centralized visibility. The source code is fully open — you can audit exactly what is collected and transmitted.

Building from Source

# Build
make build

# Run unit tests (with race detector)
make test

# Run integration smoke tests
make smoke

# Run linter
make lint

# Clean build artifacts
make clean

Project Structure

cmd/stepsecurity-dev-machine-guard/   # Binary entry point
internal/
├── buildinfo/     # Version and build metadata
├── cli/           # Argument parser
├── config/        # Configuration file management and configure command
├── detector/      # All scanners (IDE, AI CLI, agents, frameworks, MCP, extensions, Node.js) — cross-platform
├── device/        # Device info (hostname, serial, OS version)
├── executor/      # OS abstraction interface (enables mocked unit tests)
├── launchd/       # macOS launchd install/uninstall
├── lock/          # PID-file instance locking
├── model/         # JSON struct types
├── output/        # Formatters (JSON, pretty, HTML)
├── progress/      # Progress spinner and logging
├── scan/          # Community mode orchestrator
├── schtasks/      # Windows Task Scheduler install/uninstall
├── systemd/       # Linux systemd user timer install/uninstall
└── telemetry/     # Enterprise mode orchestrator and S3 upload

How It Compares

Dev Machine Guard is not a replacement for dependency scanners, vulnerability databases, or endpoint security tools. It covers a different layer — the developer tooling surface — that these tools were never designed to inspect.

Tool Category	What It Does Well	What It Misses
npm audit / yarn audit	Flags known CVEs in declared dependencies	Has no visibility into IDEs, AI tools, MCP servers, or IDE extensions
OWASP Dep-Check / Snyk / Socket	Deep dependency vulnerability and supply-chain risk analysis	Does not scan the broader developer tooling layer (AI agents, IDE extensions, MCP configs)
EDR / MDM (CrowdStrike, Jamf, Intune)	Device posture, compliance, and malware detection	Zero visibility into developer-specific tooling like IDE extensions, MCP servers, or AI agent configurations

Dev Machine Guard fills the gap by inventorying what is actually running in your developer environment. Deploy it alongside your existing security stack for complete coverage.

Known Limitations

• Package scanning (Node.js, Homebrew, Python) is opt-in in community mode and results are basic (package manager detection and package/project lists). Full dependency tree analysis is available in enterprise mode.
• MCP config auditing shows which tools have MCP configs (source, vendor, and config path) but does not display config file contents in community mode. Enterprise mode sends filtered config data (server names and commands only, no secrets) to the dashboard.
• System package scanning (rpm, dpkg, pacman, apk, snap, flatpak) is Linux-only.

Roadmap

Check out the GitHub Issues for planned features and improvements. Feedback and suggestions are welcome — open an issue to start a conversation.

JSON Schema

See examples/sample-output.json for a complete sample of the JSON output, or Reading Scan Results for the full schema reference.

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Whether it's adding detection for a new AI tool, improving documentation, or reporting bugs.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Quick contribution ideas:

• Add a new AI tool or IDE to the detection list
• Improve documentation
• Report bugs or request features via issues

Resources

• Changelog
• Scan Coverage — full catalog of detections
• Release Process — how releases are signed and verified
• Versioning — why the version starts at 1.8.1
• Security Policy — reporting vulnerabilities
• Code of Conduct

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.

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