Agent skill · Trail of Bits
CodeQL Scan skill for Claude Code, Codex and Cursor
Officialname: codeql★ 7.8k (repo)pushed 2026-10-24CC-BY-SA-4.0SKILL.md on GitHubchecked 2026-11-07
What it does, in the publisher's words
Scans a codebase for security vulnerabilities using CodeQL's interprocedural data flow and taint tracking analysis. Triggers on "run codeql", "codeql scan", "build codeql database", "SAST scan", "taint analysis", "dataflow analysis", or "find vulnerabilities in this repo". Covers Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go, Java/Kotlin, C/C++, C#, Ruby, and Swift.
The description field of the SKILL.md. The agent reads only this at startup and decides from it when to load the full skill.
Install CodeQL Scan
The skills CLI copies the skill into the folder of each agent you pick (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Windsurf...). Add -g for all projects. Needs Node.js 22.20+. docs
npx skills add trailofbits/skills --skill codeql
This repo is a plugin marketplace. Inside Claude Code, add it and install the plugin that holds the skill (audit-context-building, building-secure-contracts, burpsuite-project-parser, chrome-mcp-troubleshooting...), or copy only this skill into ~/.claude/skills. docs
/plugin marketplace add trailofbits/skills /plugin install <plugin>@trailofbits # or only this skill: npx skills add trailofbits/skills --skill codeql -a claude-code
Download the skill folder, zip it, then Customize > Skills > + > Create skill > Upload a skill. Code execution must be on (Settings > Capabilities). docs
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/trailofbits/skills.git /tmp/codeql-src cp -r /tmp/codeql-src/plugins/static-analysis/skills/codeql ./codeql zip -r codeql.zip codeql
Codex reads skills from .agents/skills in the repo or ~/.agents/skills. Type $ in Codex to use one. docs
npx skills add trailofbits/skills --skill codeql -a codex
gh skill (GitHub CLI 2.90+, preview) installs it for Copilot in VS Code, the CLI and the cloud agent. Copilot also reads .github/skills and ~/.copilot/skills. docs
gh skill install trailofbits/skills codeql
Cursor reads .cursor/skills, .agents/skills and ~/.cursor/skills (and .claude/skills). It does not install loose skills from a GitHub URL, so copy it in. docs
npx skills add trailofbits/skills --skill codeql -a cursor
Installs from the GitHub repo; --path picks this skill out of the repo. Default scope is user (all projects). docs
gemini skills install https://github.com/trailofbits/skills.git --path plugins/static-analysis/skills/codeql
OpenCode reads .opencode/skills, ~/.config/opencode/skills and the Claude and .agents folders. docs
npx skills add trailofbits/skills --skill codeql -a opencode
Windsurf (now Devin Desktop) reads .devin/skills, .windsurf/skills and ~/.codeium/windsurf/skills. docs
npx skills add trailofbits/skills --skill codeql -a windsurf
Works with
Claude Code, Claude.ai and Claude Desktop, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Windsurf and other agents that read the open Agent Skills format.
- Pre-approves these tools (allowed-tools, experimental in the spec): Bash Read Write Edit Glob Grep AskUserQuestion TaskCreate TaskList TaskUpdate TaskGet.
- Bundles 15 shell/Python scripts the agent can run, so it needs Python on the machine. In the Claude apps, code execution must be on.
What's in the SKILL.md
- Essential Principles
- Each Bash call is a fresh shell
- Output Directory
- Database Discovery
- Quick Start
- Rationalizations to Reject
- Workflow Selection
- Building unattended
- Auto-Detection Logic
- Database Selection Prompt
- General Decision Prompt
- Reference Index
- Success Criteria
Bundled files
- agents/openai.yaml
- assets/trail-of-bits-mark.svg
- references/build-fixes.md
- references/diagnostic-query-templates.md
- references/extension-yaml-format.md
- references/important-only-suite.md
- references/language-details.md
- references/macos-arm64e-workaround.md
- references/performance-tuning.md
- references/quality-assessment.md
- references/ruleset-catalog.md
- references/run-all-suite.md
- references/sarif-processing.md
- references/threat-models.md
- scripts/build_log.sh
- scripts/check_db_quality.py
- scripts/find_databases.sh
- scripts/generate_suite.sh
- scripts/pyproject.toml
- scripts/test_build_log.py
- + 13 more
Loaded only when the instructions point to them.
Facts
- Skill name
- codeql
- Publisher
- Trail of Bits (official)
- Repo
- trailofbits/skills
- License
- CC-BY-SA-4.0
- SKILL.md size
- 1,959 words, 281 lines
- Bundled files
- 33, 15 scripts (shell, Python), 15 docs
- Repo stars
- 7.8k (as of 2026-10-24)
- SKILL.md checked
- 2026-11-07
More skills from trailofbits/skills
- Agentic Actions Auditor: Audits GitHub Actions workflows that run AI agents for prompt-injection and privilege risks.
- Constant-Time Analysis: Finds timing side channels in cryptographic code, such as branches on secret values.
- Differential Security Review: Security review of a diff that weighs blast radius, call sites and test coverage of changed code.
- Modern Python Tooling: Sets up Python projects with uv, ruff and ty, or migrates from pip, Poetry and mypy.
- Property-Based Testing: Writes and debugs property-based tests with Hypothesis, fast-check, proptest and similar tools.
- Semgrep Rule Creator: Writes custom Semgrep rules to catch specific bug or vulnerability patterns.
- Sharp Edges: Flags error-prone APIs, risky defaults and footgun designs that invite security mistakes.
Related security & auth skills
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- Security Threat Model · OpenAI
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- Security Review (Sentry) · Sentry
- Firebase Security Rules Auditor · Firebase (Google)
- Better Auth Best Practices · Better Auth
- Create Auth (Better Auth) · Better Auth
- Clerk Next.js Patterns · Clerk
FAQ
What does the codeql skill do?+
Builds a CodeQL database and runs data-flow and taint analysis to find vulnerabilities. In its own SKILL.md, Trail of Bits describes it as: "Scans a codebase for security vulnerabilities using CodeQL's interprocedural data flow and taint tracking analysis. Triggers on "run codeql", "codeql scan", "build codeql database", "SAST scan", "taint analysis", "dataflow analysis", or "find vulnerabilities in this repo"."
How do I install the codeql skill?+
Run npx skills add trailofbits/skills --skill codeql and pick your agents, or use the tab for your agent above. In Claude Code the skill ends up in ~/.claude/skills/codeql/SKILL.md; in Codex and Cursor in .agents/skills/codeql/.
Does CodeQL Scan work in Codex, Cursor and Copilot, or only Claude?+
It's a standard SKILL.md, so any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use it: Claude Code, the Claude apps, Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Windsurf and more.
Who maintains CodeQL Scan?+
Trail of Bits, the company or project behind it, in the trailofbits/skills repo on GitHub, last pushed 2026-10-24. License: CC-BY-SA-4.0.
Read a skill's SKILL.md and scripts before you install it: skills aren't verified by any agent vendor. Claude skills marketplace · How to install skills · MCP servers