install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install chainsaw

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#chainsaw

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/ch/chainsaw/package.nix · source: api.github.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install apache-chainsaw

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · apache-chainsaw · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

Rapidly Search and Hunt through Windows Forensic Artefacts

Project links

Commands and aliases

chainsaw

history

Project history and usage

Chainsaw is a WithSecure Labs command-line tool for rapid Windows forensic triage. It searches event logs and other Windows artefacts, applies Sigma and custom detection rules, and emits investigator-friendly output formats.

Project history

WithSecure Countercept created Chainsaw for incident-response cases where endpoint telemetry or a SIEM was not available, so analysts needed fast standalone processing of Windows artefacts. The public GitHub repository was created in August 2021 and v1.0.0 was released later that month.

The project evolved from an all-in-one threat-hunting bundle toward a tool that expects users to keep Sigma rules and sample event logs separately. The README notes that Chainsaw v2 stopped including Sigma Rules and EVTX-Attack-Samples as submodules so users could track those projects independently.

Adoption history

Chainsaw is distributed through GitHub releases, Nix, and the Homebrew formula named chainsaw. That packaging path matters because the tool is useful as a portable first-response binary on analyst workstations and ephemeral response systems.

GitHub release metadata shows active maintenance from v1.0.0 in 2021 through v2 releases in 2026.

How it is used

Typical use is to run chainsaw against Windows event-log collections, optionally supplying a Sigma rules directory and a mapping file such as mappings/sigma-event-logs-all.yml. The README documents output formats including table, CSV, and JSON, plus timeline generation from Shimcache enriched with Amcache data.

Why package nerds care

Chainsaw is notable in package-manager culture because it packages modern Rust DFIR tooling for a workflow that often used heavier SIEM stacks such as Splunk or ELK. It also shows the Sigma ecosystem becoming something local CLIs can consume directly.

Timeline

2021: GitHub repository created by WithSecureLabs.
2021: v1.0.0 published on GitHub releases.
2023: v2 line documented removal of bundled Sigma and EVTX sample submodules.
2026: v2.16.0 published on GitHub releases.

Related projects

SigmaHQ/sigma provides the Sigma detection rules Chainsaw can run.
omerbenamram/evtx is the Rust EVTX parser wrapped by Chainsaw.
sbousseaden/EVTX-ATTACK-SAMPLES is used in the README example dataset workflow.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for chainsaw. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`chainsaw`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version2.16.0

manager updated2026-05-09

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv2.16.0

https://github.com/WithSecureLabs/chainsaw

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:chainsaw
Version	2.16.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/chainsaw
Homepage	https://github.com/WithSecureLabs/chainsaw
Repository	https://github.com/WithSecureLabs/chainsaw
Upstream docs	https://github.com/WithSecureLabs/chainsaw#readme
License	GPL-3.0-only
Source archive	https://github.com/WithSecureLabs/chainsaw/archive/refs/tags/v2.16.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-05-09T11:59:50Z
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	chainsaw
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

chainsaw

nix profile install nixpkgs#chainsaw

normalized package name match
Matched by: Chainsaw

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/ch/chainsaw/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

zypper95%

apache-chainsaw 2.1.0-5.8

Apache Chainsaw

https://logging.apache.org/chainsaw

sudo zypper install apache-chainsaw

License: Apache-2.0
Category: Development/Libraries/Java
Architecture: noarch
Source Package: apache-chainsaw
15 dependencies
4 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Chainsaw

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: apache-chainsaw from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/chainsaw.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install chainsaw with Homebrew, Nix, zypper