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Agent skill

Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence

by mukul975 in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills

Detects T1547.001 startup folder persistence by monitoring Windows startup directories for suspicious file creation, cross-referencing Autoruns entries, and running a Python watchdog script for…

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedSecurity

Install Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence

skills CLI
$ npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence .claude/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence
GitHub stars
34k
Token cost
~676 tokens
SKILL.md length
226 words
Files
4 (incl. scripts, references)
Skills in repo
644
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
Apache-2.0

At a glance

Detects T1547.001 startup folder persistence by monitoring Windows startup directories for suspicious file creation, cross-referencing Autoruns entries, and running a Python watchdog script for…

  • Works in 7 steps: Enumerate all files in user and system… → Analyze file types, creation timestamps,… → Flag suspicious file extensions (.bat,… → …
  • Hunting for malware
  • SKILL.md covers Overview, When to Use, Prerequisites and Steps, plus 1 more section
  • Runs Python scripts from its folder

What it does

Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills. Detects T1547.001 startup folder persistence by monitoring Windows startup directories for suspicious file creation, cross-referencing Autoruns entries, and running a Python watchdog script for real-time filesystem monitoring. Use when hunting for malware or implants that survive reboot via startup-folder placement, or when validating autoruns/EDR findings against known-good startup baselines.

Its SKILL.md is about 680 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 5 other files, including scripts and reference files (for example `references/api-reference.md` and `scripts/agent.py`).

It sits in Security, covering Security operations. It works with Python. The repository describes itself as: 817 structured cybersecurity skills for AI agents · Mapped to 6 frameworks: MITRE ATT&CK, NIST CSF 2.0, MITRE ATLAS, D3FEND, NIST AI RMF & MITRE F3 (Fight Fraud) · agentskills.io…. The licence is Apache-2.0.

When your agent uses it

  • Hunting for malware
  • Implants that survive reboot via startup-folder placement
  • Validating autoruns/EDR findings against known-good startup baselines

Example prompts

  • “Use the hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence skill to detect T1547.001 startup folder persistence by monitoring Windows startup directories for…”
  • “/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence”

Requirements

  • Python 3

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Enumerate all files in user and system startup directories
  2. Analyze file types, creation timestamps, and digital signatures
  3. Flag suspicious file extensions (.bat, .vbs, .ps1, .lnk, .exe)
  4. Check for recently created files (< 7 days) as potential implants
  5. Monitor startup folders in real-time using watchdog FileSystemEventHandler
  6. Correlate with known legitimate startup entries
  7. Generate threat hunting report with T1547.001 MITRE mapping

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 54a7988. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Ships 1 file in scripts/ (Python), which the agent can run.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence loads about 676 tokens when it runs, and up to ~1.4k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 109 tokens; SKILL.md has 226 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~109
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~676
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~1.4k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); the scripts in this folder are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills at commit 54a7988, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© mukul975). 226 words, ~676 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 3 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence
description
Detects T1547.001 startup folder persistence by monitoring Windows startup directories for suspicious file creation, cross-referencing Autoruns entries, and running a Python watchdog script for real-time filesystem monitoring. Use when hunting for malware or implants that survive reboot via startup-folder placement, or when validating autoruns/EDR findings against known-good startup baselines.
domain
cybersecurity
subdomain
threat-hunting
tags
threat-hunting, T1547.001, startup-folder, persistence, autoruns, watchdog, filesystem-monitoring
version
1.0
author
mahipal
license
Apache-2.0
d3fend_techniques
Executable Denylisting, Execution Isolation, File Metadata Consistency Validation, Content Format Conversion, File Content Analysis
nist_csf
DE.CM-01, DE.AE-02, DE.AE-07, ID.RA-05
mitre_attack
T1046, T1057, T1082, T1083, T1547

Hunting for Startup Folder Persistence

Overview

Attackers use Windows startup folders for persistence (MITRE ATT&CK T1547.001 — Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder). Files placed in %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup or C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup execute automatically at user logon. This skill scans startup directories for suspicious files, monitors for real-time changes using Python watchdog, and analyzes file metadata to detect persistence implants.

When to Use

  • When investigating security incidents that require hunting for startup folder persistence
  • When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
  • When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
  • When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.9+ with watchdog, pefile (optional for PE analysis)
  • Access to Windows startup folders (user and all-users)
  • Windows Event Logs for Event ID 4663 correlation (optional)

Steps

  1. Enumerate all files in user and system startup directories
  2. Analyze file types, creation timestamps, and digital signatures
  3. Flag suspicious file extensions (.bat, .vbs, .ps1, .lnk, .exe)
  4. Check for recently created files (< 7 days) as potential implants
  5. Monitor startup folders in real-time using watchdog FileSystemEventHandler
  6. Correlate with known legitimate startup entries
  7. Generate threat hunting report with T1547.001 MITRE mapping

Expected Output

  • JSON report listing all startup folder contents with risk scores, file metadata, and suspicious indicators
  • Real-time monitoring alerts for new file creation in startup directories

© mukul975, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 3 other files (scripts, references) in skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence of mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • LICENSE
  • references/api-reference.md
  • scripts/agent.py

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 54a7988

Compare with similar skills

Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence this skillmukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills34k—~676Automated safety check: PassApache-2.0
Security Alert Triageelastic/agent-skills5921 repos~3.5kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
Kubernetes Network Security Auditkubeshark/kubeshark12k—~7.3kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
C To AstNarwhal-Lab/MagicSkills316—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Security Detection Rule Managementelastic/agent-skills5921 repos~3.9kAutomated safety check: NotesApache-2.0
Security AuditTheDecipherist/claude-code-mastery551—~1.3kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT

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Works with

Categories

Questions about Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence

What does Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence do?

Detects T1547.001 startup folder persistence by monitoring Windows startup directories for suspicious file creation, cross-referencing Autoruns entries, and running a Python watchdog script for…. Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence is an agent skill from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills.001 startup folder persistence by monitoring Windows startup directories for suspicious file creation, cross-referencing Autoruns entries, and running a Python watchdog script for real-time filesystem monitoring.

When should I use Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence?

Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence fits situations like: hunting for malware; implants that survive reboot via startup-folder placement; validating autoruns/EDR findings against known-good startup baselines.

How do I install Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .claude/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills) into .agents/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence, .gemini/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence, .github/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence and .opencode/skills/hunting-for-startup-folder-persistence in your project.

What does Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence needs Python for the scripts in its folder. Our summary lists: Python 3.

Does Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. The check reads SKILL.md only: the scripts in the folder are not scanned, so read them before running anything.

What licence does Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence use?

Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence use?

About 676 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.7k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 722 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence: Security Alert Triage (elastic/agent-skills, 592 stars), Kubernetes Network Security Audit (kubeshark/kubeshark, 12k stars), C To Ast (Narwhal-Lab/MagicSkills, 316 stars) and Security Detection Rule Management (elastic/agent-skills, 592 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Hunting For Startup Folder Persistence?

mukul975 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills, which has 34,116 GitHub stars. The repository holds 644 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 31, 2026.

Source: mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.