--- title: "Strix, HackingBuddyGPT, PentestGPT API setup and cost" canonical: https://uplinkswitch.ai/blog/pentest-agents-api-setup generated: 2026-10-22T17:23:49.413Z source: https://uplinkswitch.ai/blog/pentest-agents-api-setup base_url: https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1 --- # Run Strix, HackingBuddyGPT and PentestGPT on an API model: setup and cost The config that points Strix, HackingBuddyGPT, CAI and PentestGPT at an OpenAI-compatible base URL, which model id to use, and what one engagement costs. October 22, 2026·UplinkSwitch·[All posts](https://uplinkswitch.ai/blog) ## The problem the base URL solves The open-source pentest agents need a model API, and the stock keys are the wrong fit for security prompts. On r/cybersecurity in September 2026 ("Best LLM for security professionals", 100+ comments) the top comment says Anthropic gates security work behind its [Cyber Verification Program](https://www.anthropic.com/news/cyber-verification-program), announced 2026-10-06, and OpenAI does the same. Every setup guide for these tools still starts with an OpenAI key. Each agent below takes an OpenAI-compatible base URL. Set it to `https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1`, add an UplinkSwitch key, and name a model from the [uncensored AI for cybersecurity](https://uplinkswitch.ai/red-teaming) table. The Red Team ids are the uncensored build with a short security-analyst instruction sent ahead of your messages: deliverable first, real tool invocations, CVE, CWE and ATT&CK IDs, evidence separated from inference, proof-of-concept code with the fix. The instruction is not charged and the agent's own system prompt follows it and wins on conflicts. ## Prerequisites Three values. A key from the [console](https://uplinkswitch.ai/console) (prepaid credit from $10, no subscription). The base URL `https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1`, which is the OpenAI-compatible root; the chat path is `/chat/completions` under it. A model id: we use `glm-5.3-redteam` below, and the [SDK guide](https://uplinkswitch.ai/guides/sdks) shows the same three values in Python, TypeScript, Go and Rust. Smoke test before the agent, so a wrong path fails here and not twenty turns in: curl ``` curl https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1/chat/completions \ -H "authorization: Bearer sk-uplink-live-..." \ -H "content-type: application/json" \ -d '{"model":"glm-5.3-redteam","max_tokens":400,"messages":[{"role":"user","content":"List the Nuclei templates you would run first against a Jenkins 2.440 instance and why."}]}' ``` ## Strix setup [Strix](https://github.com/usestrix/strix) runs a team of agents against a target in a sandbox and routes model calls through litellm. Its README documents three variables: `STRIX_LLM` for the model in litellm format, `LLM_API_KEY`, and `LLM_API_BASE` for a custom endpoint (read 2026-10-22). The `openai/` prefix tells litellm to speak the OpenAI format. Strix · .env ``` STRIX_LLM="openai/glm-5.3-redteam" LLM_API_KEY="sk-uplink-live-..." LLM_API_BASE="https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1" ``` Strix sends long transcripts every turn, so the cached-input rate matters more here than on a chat frontend; the cost table below shows both. ## HackingBuddyGPT setup [HackingBuddyGPT](https://github.com/ipa-lab/hackingBuddyGPT) is the research harness from the ipa-lab group; its LinuxPrivesc use case connects to a host over SSH and lets the model work through a privilege-escalation exercise. The README documents `--llm.api_base` (OpenRouter by default), `--llm.model` in litellm format, `--llm.api_key` and `--llm.context_size` (read 2026-10-22). HackingBuddyGPT · flags ``` python src/hackingBuddyGPT/cli/wintermute.py LinuxPrivesc \ --llm.api_base="https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1" \ --llm.api_key="sk-uplink-live-..." \ --llm.model="openai/glm-5.3-redteam" \ --llm.context_size=100000 \ --conn.host=10.0.0.5 --conn.username=lowpriv --conn.password=... ``` Set `--llm.context_size` below the model's window so the harness trims the transcript before the API refuses it; Uplink Red Team (Flash) lists not listed. The same flags go in a `.env` file as `llm.api_base`, `llm.model` and `llm.api_key`. ## CAI setup [CAI](https://github.com/aliasrobotics/cai) (Cybersecurity AI, from Alias Robotics) is a framework of agents with a CLI. The README documents `CAI_MODEL` and the provider keys, and says the open-source line is frozen at 0.5.10 with the repository archived. The base URL variable, `OPENAI_BASE_URL`, is in its `docs/models.md` (read 2026-10-22). CAI · .env ``` CAI_MODEL="openai/glm-5.3-redteam" OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-uplink-live-..." OPENAI_BASE_URL="https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1" ``` ## PentestGPT API key and base URL [PentestGPT](https://github.com/GreyDGL/PentestGPT) changed shape in 2026. Its autonomous mode runs on Claude Code or Codex, so the key it needs is theirs. Claude Code takes a base URL and a token, the same two variables the [Claude Code page](https://uplinkswitch.ai/claude-code) documents, and then bills the Claude models on your UplinkSwitch key. PentestGPT · Claude Code environment ``` export ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1" export ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN="sk-uplink-live-..." ``` The Red Team builds speak the OpenAI format, not the Anthropic one, so they do not run under Claude Code. The legacy interactive mode, `pentestgpt-legacy`, documents `--base-url` only in its local-server example (read 2026-10-22); the invocation below follows that example and we have not run it end to end against a hosted endpoint. For the Red Team builds, Strix or HackingBuddyGPT is the documented path. pentestgpt-legacy ``` pentestgpt-legacy --base-url https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1 --reasoning-model glm-5.3-redteam ``` ## Which model id for which agent [Uplink Red Team (Pro)](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-redteam) is the default: the security-analyst instruction is on the route, so the agent's step comes back with the IDs and the command, at $1.50 in and $6.00 out per million tokens. [Uplink Red Team (Flash)](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/deepseek-v4.1-flash-redteam) carries the same instruction on our faster build, with thinking on by default, for runs that read long logs or a whole repository. [GLM-5.3 Flash Cybersecurity](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-flash-cybersecurity) is the budget pick at $0.525 in and $1.75 out, with a 1024K tokens window, for loops that send thousands of turns. [GLM-5.3 Uncensored](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-uncensored) and the other builds on the [uncensored LLM API](https://uplinkswitch.ai/uncensored) take your prompt as is, for an agent whose own system prompt already says how to work. | Model | Context | Input | Cached input | Output | Daily check | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Uplink Red Team (Pro)](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-redteam) | not listed | $1.50 | $0.425 | $6.00 | [Same fingerprint since Oct 22](https://uplinkswitch.ai/proof#glm-5.3-redteam) | | [Uplink Red Team (Flash)](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/deepseek-v4.1-flash-redteam) | not listed | $0.90 | $0.1543 | $3.00 | [Same fingerprint since Oct 22](https://uplinkswitch.ai/proof#deepseek-v4.1-flash-redteam) | | [GLM-5.3 Flash Cybersecurity](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-flash-cybersecurity) | 1024K tokens | $0.525 | input rate | $1.75 | [Same fingerprint since Oct 22](https://uplinkswitch.ai/proof#glm-5.3-flash-cybersecurity) | | [GLM-5.3 Uncensored](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-uncensored) | not listed | $0.291 | $0.0825 | $0.873 | [Same fingerprint since Oct 12](https://uplinkswitch.ai/proof#glm-5.3-uncensored) | | [DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Abliterated](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/deepseek-v4.1-flash-abliterated) | not listed | $0.875 | $0.15 | $1.75 | [No answer at the last check](https://uplinkswitch.ai/proof#deepseek-v4.1-flash-abliterated) | Per million tokens, USD, from the live catalog at render. The daily check column links to the real-model check for that id. ## What one engagement costs An agent resends the transcript on every turn, so input dominates. Take 300 turns at 8,000 input and 500 output tokens each: 2,400,000 input and 150,000 output tokens. The second column bills 70% of the input at the cached rate, which is what a repeated prefix earns on the builds that list one. | Model | At the input rate | With 70% cached | | --- | --- | --- | | [Uplink Red Team (Pro)](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-redteam) | $4.50 | $2.694 | | [Uplink Red Team (Flash)](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/deepseek-v4.1-flash-redteam) | $2.61 | $1.3572 | | [GLM-5.3 Flash Cybersecurity](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-flash-cybersecurity) | $1.5225 | no cached rate | | [GLM-5.3 Uncensored](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-uncensored) | $0.8294 | $0.479 | | [DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Abliterated](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/deepseek-v4.1-flash-abliterated) | $2.3625 | $1.1445 | 300 turns × (8,000 in + 500 out), live prices. Give the agent its own key with a monthly spend limit from the console, so a loop that never ends stops at the number you set. Requests that fail are not charged, and each top-up locks its rates for 30 days. ## Mistakes that cost a run - The base URL ends in `/v1`. Strix, HackingBuddyGPT and CAI append `/chat/completions` themselves; a URL that already has it returns 404 on every turn. - The litellm prefix: `openai/glm-5.3-redteam`, not the bare id, in Strix, HackingBuddyGPT and CAI. The bare id goes to the OpenAI SDK and curl. - Ids are exact and lowercase. `GET https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1/models` lists every id the key can call, all 267 of them. - Keep the key out of the repository: `.env` in `.gitignore`, or the shell environment. A leaked key spends your balance until you revoke it in the console. - Run the agents against systems you are authorized to test. ## Questions **Does PentestGPT need an OpenAI API key?** Its autonomous mode runs on Claude Code or Codex, so it needs whichever of those is installed, not an OpenAI key. Point Claude Code at an UplinkSwitch key with the two variables above and PentestGPT bills Claude here. The legacy mode documents --base-url for a local server. **Can I use PentestGPT with a different model?** Through Claude Code, any Claude model on this key. For the Red Team builds, which speak the OpenAI format, Strix, HackingBuddyGPT and CAI take the base URL directly with glm-5.3-redteam. **What model does Strix use?** Whatever STRIX\_LLM names, in litellm format. The README's examples use OpenAI and Anthropic ids; openai/glm-5.3-redteam with LLM\_API\_BASE set to https://api.uplinkswitch.com/v1 runs it on the Red Team build. **Is CAI still maintained?** The README says the open-source line is frozen at 0.5.10 and the repository is archived. It still runs, and its model and base URL settings are the ones above. HackingBuddyGPT and Strix are active. **How much does an AI pentest run cost in tokens?** 300 agent turns at 8,000 input and 500 output tokens each is 2,550,000 tokens. On GLM-5.3 Uncensored that is $0.8294 at the input rate and $0.479 with 70% of the input cached. The table above has every build. **Can agentic AI be used for penetration testing?** Yes. The four agents here run reconnaissance, testing and reporting loops on a model API, on systems you are authorized to test. The model decides the next step; the harness runs the tool and feeds the output back. The base URL decides who bills the tokens. Related: [best LLM for cybersecurity](https://uplinkswitch.ai/blog/best-llm-for-cybersecurity) and [WhiteRabbitNeo alternatives by API](https://uplinkswitch.ai/blog/whiterabbitneo-alternative). [Get a key](https://uplinkswitch.ai/console): prepaid from $10, no subscription, 30-day price lock. ## Related - [Uncensored AI for cybersecurity](https://uplinkswitch.ai/red-teaming) - [Best LLM for cybersecurity](https://uplinkswitch.ai/blog/best-llm-for-cybersecurity) - [WhiteRabbitNeo alternatives by API](https://uplinkswitch.ai/blog/whiterabbitneo-alternative) - [Uncensored and abliterated models on one key](https://uplinkswitch.ai/uncensored) - [Uplink Red Team (Pro)](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-redteam) - [Uplink Red Team (Flash)](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/deepseek-v4.1-flash-redteam) - [GLM-5.3 Flash Cybersecurity](https://uplinkswitch.ai/models/glm-5.3-flash-cybersecurity) - [SDK setup](https://uplinkswitch.ai/guides/sdks) - [Claude Code setup](https://uplinkswitch.ai/guides/claude-code) - [Daily real-model check](https://uplinkswitch.ai/proof)