Trail of Bits Trailmark Summary
Runs trailmark analyze --language auto --summary on a target directory.
When to Use
- Vivisect Phase 0 needs a quick structural overview before decomposition
- Galvanize Phase 1 needs detected languages and entry point count
- Quick orientation on an unfamiliar codebase before deeper analysis
When NOT to Use
- Full structural analysis with all passes needed (use
trailmark-structural) - Detailed code graph queries (use the main
trailmarkskill directly) - You need hotspot scores or taint data (use
trailmark-structural)
Rationalizations to Reject
| Rationalization | Why It's Wrong | Required Action |
|---|---|---|
| "I can read the code manually instead" | Manual reading misses parser-based language detection, dependency data, and entry point enumeration | Install and run trailmark |
| "Language detection doesn't matter" | Wrong language selection produces empty or partial analysis | Use Trailmark's parser-based detection or --language auto |
| "Partial output is good enough" | Missing any of the three required outputs (detected languages, entry points, dependencies) means incomplete analysis | Verify all three are present |
| "Tool isn't installed, I'll skip it" | This skill exists specifically to run trailmark | Report the installation gap instead of skipping |
Usage
The target directory is passed via the args parameter.
Execution
Step 1: Check that trailmark is available.
trailmark analyze --help 2>/dev/null || \
uv run trailmark analyze --help 2>/dev/null
If neither command works, report "trailmark is not installed"
and return. Do NOT run pip install, uv pip install,
git clone, or any install command. The user must install
trailmark themselves.
Step 2: Detect languages with Trailmark's parse API.
python3 - "{args}" <<'PY'
import json
import sys
from trailmark.parse import detect_languages
print(json.dumps(detect_languages(sys.argv[1])))
PY
If the import fails, rerun the same snippet with uv run python - "{args}".
If the result is [], report "Trailmark found no supported languages under
target" and return.
Step 3: Run the summary with auto-detection.
trailmark analyze --language auto --summary {args} 2>&1 || \
uv run trailmark analyze --language auto --summary {args} 2>&1
Step 4: Verify the output.
The output must include ALL THREE of:
- Detected languages from Step 2
Entrypoints:line from the summary outputDependencies:line from the summary output
If any are missing, report the gap. Do not fabricate output.
Return the detected language list plus the full Trailmark summary output.