# hak5/bashbunny-payloads: the community payload library for the Bash Bunny

> The official payload repository for the Hak5 Bash Bunny collects community DuckyScript and Bash payloads in one tree. It solves discovery, not trust: nothing here is verified, and the README says so.

**hak5/bashbunny-payloads** — The Official Bash Bunny Payload Repository

- Repository: https://github.com/hak5/bashbunny-payloads
- Website: https://bashbunny.com
- Stars: 2,968 · Forks: 1,479
- Language: PowerShell
- License: not declared
- Published: 2026-09-24 · Updated: 2026-09-24 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/hak5-bashbunny-payloads

## What the Bash Bunny payload library is for

The Bash Bunny is a USB device that presents itself to a host as combinations of trusted peripherals: gigabit Ethernet, serial, flash storage and a keyboard. The README describes the goal plainly: by emulating those devices the Bunny "tricks computers into divulging data, exfiltrating documents, installing backdoors and many more exploits." The hardware is the weapon; this repository is the ammunition.

It is a payload library, not a framework and not a tool. Payloads are text files written in DuckyScript and Bash, and the README says community members are encouraged to open pull requests to change or add them. That makes the repository a distribution point for other people's scripts. The audience is narrow: pentesters, red teamers, and hardware-security hobbyists who already own a Bash Bunny and want to skip the blank-page stage. If you do not have the device, nothing here runs.

## How a payload moves from the repository to the target

The data flow is deliberately low-tech. The README states that staying current with the latest attacks "is just a matter of downloading files from git," after which you load them onto the Bash Bunny "just as you would any ordinary flash drive." There is no package manager, no build step described in the README, and no signing layer.

The repository layout backs that up. The top level holds payloads/, languages/, docs/, a config.txt and a shell script named bunny-connecter.sh. Payloads are organised by directory, and the language directory suggests DuckyScript keywords are defined in text form rather than compiled into the firmware. The README also points at PayloadStudio, a browser-based, entirely client-side editor with syntax highlighting, auto-completion and live error-checking, as the recommended way to write and check DuckyScript before it ever touches hardware. That is the closest thing to a validation step in the documented workflow, and it happens in your browser, not on the device.

## Getting the library and loading a first payload

The README gives no install steps for the repository itself; it says to download files from git. The clone URL below is the repository's own address, and after running it the directory listing should show payloads/, languages/, docs/, config.txt and bunny-connecter.sh.

```bash
git clone https://github.com/hak5/bashbunny-payloads.git
```

From there the documented workflow is file copying. The README says you load payloads onto the Bash Bunny as you would any ordinary flash drive. The repository does not document a mount path, so use whatever mount point your system assigns to the device, then copy the payload directory across. The repository does not document a verification command or a dry-run mode, so the first real test is the device itself: select the payload with the hardware switch and watch the RGB LED, which the README describes as the selection and monitoring indicator. If you want to edit or check DuckyScript before loading it, the README points to PayloadStudio at payloadstudio.hak5.org, which runs entirely client-side.

## The trust problem the README admits to

The most important sentence in the README is the disclaimer: payloads are written in DuckyScript and Bash specifically for the Bash Bunny, and "Hak5 does NOT guarantee payload functionality." This is a community library with a vendor's name on it. Anyone can submit a pull request. The README does not describe a review process, a signing mechanism, or a test suite that payloads must pass.

That matters more here than in an ordinary software library, because a payload runs keystrokes and shell commands against a target machine. A payload that is subtly wrong can lock an account, corrupt a test machine, or behave differently against a patched OS than it did when it was written. The repository also has no licence file listed at the top level, so the terms under which you may reuse or redistribute payloads are not stated in the README. For a lab or a sanctioned engagement that is manageable. For anything resembling production deployment it is a reason to read every line first.

## Where the Bash Bunny approach stops being the right one

The Bash Bunny's strength is that it is a full Linux machine in a USB form factor, and the README leans on that: a quad-core CPU, an SSD, doubled RAM, a serial console for root access, MicroSD for exfiltration, and Bluetooth for remote or geofenced triggering. That is a lot of capability, and it is also a lot of surface area. A payload that only needs to type a string does not need any of it.

The repository's own structure hints at the cost. Payloads are organised per directory, loaded by copying files, and selected with a physical switch. There is no dependency resolution and no version pinning described, so a payload written against one firmware generation may not behave the same on another. The README also does not document rollback: if a payload leaves a target in a bad state, there is no stated undo. Treat every payload as one-way until you have read it and tested it in a disposable environment. If your use case is a repeatable, auditable input-injection test, a simpler single-purpose HID device with a fixed script will be easier to reason about than a Linux box running community code.

## PayloadStudio and the DIY alternative

The realistic alternative is not a competing repository. It is writing your own payloads. The README links to PayloadStudio, a web-based, entirely client-side development environment with syntax highlighting, auto-completion and live error-checking, and to the Hak5 documentation for a quick start guide and a first-payload walkthrough. That path costs you the time to learn DuckyScript, and in exchange you know exactly what every line does.

The difference in approach is where the code comes from. This repository gives you breadth: many payloads, contributed by many people, with no guarantee attached. Writing your own gives you depth on one payload, with a documented editor to catch syntax errors before they reach hardware. For a one-off engagement, borrowing a payload and reading it carefully is faster. For anything you will run repeatedly, the DIY route is the one that ages well, because you can explain it to the person who owns the target machine.

## Maintenance, licensing and upgrade cost

The repository is not archived, and the last push was on 2026-06-13. That is recent enough that the tree is still receiving changes, but the release history tells a different story: the newest release is v1.2, a snapshot of 1.2 payloads from 2017-05-08, with v1.1 and v1.0 before it in April and May 2017. Releases stopped nine years before the last commit. In practice you are tracking master, not a tagged version, and there is no changelog in the repository to tell you what moved between commits.

Upgrade cost is therefore low in effort and high in uncertainty. A git pull gets you new payloads, but nothing in the README describes compatibility guarantees between payloads and firmware versions, and nothing describes a rollback path. On licensing, the repository lists no licence at the top level, so you cannot tell from the README what you are permitted to do with the payloads. That is a question for whoever owns the legal risk on your engagement, not something to assume.

## Conclusion

Adopt this repository if you already own a Bash Bunny and want a starting point for DuckyScript and Bash payloads rather than writing every stage from scratch; read each payload before running it, because the README states Hak5 does not guarantee functionality and the repository carries no licence file. Do not adopt it if you need vetted, signed payloads or a supported product with a maintenance commitment. Verify first: whether a payload matches your firmware, what the payload does to the target, and what the repository's licensing actually permits for your use.

## FAQ

### Does hak5/bashbunny-payloads work on any Bash Bunny firmware version?

The README does not state a firmware compatibility matrix. It says payloads are written in DuckyScript and Bash specifically for the Bash Bunny and that Hak5 does not guarantee payload functionality, so compatibility has to be checked per payload rather than assumed.

### How do I install a payload from hak5/bashbunny-payloads onto the device?

The README says to download files from git and then load them onto the Bash Bunny as you would any ordinary flash drive. In practice that means cloning the repository and copying the payload directory onto the mounted device.

### Is there an editor for writing Bash Bunny payloads?

The README points to PayloadStudio, described as a web-based, entirely client-side development environment with syntax highlighting, auto-completion and live error-checking. It is the recommended place to write and check DuckyScript before loading it onto the device.

### What licence applies to the payloads in hak5/bashbunny-payloads?

No licence is listed among the repository's top-level entries, so the README does not state the terms for reuse or redistribution. Anyone relying on the payloads commercially should establish that separately.

## Sources

- [hak5/bashbunny-payloads on GitHub](https://github.com/hak5/bashbunny-payloads)
- [Issues](https://github.com/hak5/bashbunny-payloads/issues)
- [Project website](https://bashbunny.com)
- [README](https://github.com/hak5/bashbunny-payloads/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/hak5/bashbunny-payloads/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/hak5-bashbunny-payloads