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Creating Challenges From Scratch - Admin

Abstract

This article will cover how to create a custom challenge in Cloud CTF. If you have not yet created a Cloud CTF environment, please see the article titled Creating a Cloud CTF Environment and the section titled Launching Your Cloud CTF Environment.

Open the Add a Challenge Window

  1. First, please navigate to the challenges page by making sure that Challenges has been selected at the top of the page.

  2. Next, click on the Add a Challenge button, denoted by a plus icon, then select Add a Challenge From Scratch to open the Add a Challenge window.

    The Add a Challenge from Scratch option can be found after clicking Add a Challenge on the top right, and will be the second option.

Edit General Challenge Information

Note

In addition to having single-answer challenges, you also have the option of creating challenges with multiple choices. Please see our article titled Multiple Choice Challenges for more information.

  1. Once you have opened the Add a Challenge window, please make sure the Challenge Information section, as denoted by a flag icon, has been selected.

    The flag icon is on the top left of the window, as the first option of five icons.

  2. Next, give the challenge a name, description, and point value.

    The name, description, and point value sections are shown in the window.

  3. You will now need to add a flag for the challenge. For a single-answer challenge, click on Text flag: Add a flag and select either String or Regex (regular expression) as the flag type.

    • If the flag is a String type, the player has to match the string exactly, to include the same capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

    • If the flag is a Regex, you may enter a regular expression that will be used to match the players' input. Regular expressions allow for more flexibility in the players' flag entry, but they are more complicated to create if you are not familiar with them. To learn more about regular expressions used for Regex flags, please see https://regex101.com.

Note

CTF Admins can add multiple correct answers for a single challenge by clicking on Add a Flag for each possible answer they wish to add. Points will be awarded to the player if the flag they enter matches any of the flags provided in the challenge. You can remove a flag by clicking on the trash bin icon located to the right of the flag.

The Flag Type dropdown list contains Regex and String flag types in that order. The delete option is to the right of the Flag field.

Adding Artifacts to Your Challenge

  1. To add an artifact (file/web link) to your challenge, please make sure you have clicked on the Artifacts and Hints section, denoted by a paperclip icon.

    The Artifacts and Hints icon can be found on the left side of the window, below the Challenge Information flag icon.

  2. Click on Add an Artifact and then, in the Add an Artifact pop-up window, select your artifact type. This can be either a file or a web link. Next, please supply a name for the artifact and then add a file or web link to the challenge. After you are finished, click on the Confirm button to add the artifact to your challenge.

    The Add an Artifact icon is located below the Artifacts header. Once clicked, a pop-up window containing information about the artifact will appear.

How to Edit or Remove an Artifact

  1. To edit or remove an artifact, please click on the artifact's name.

    The artifact name can be found under the header named Artifacts.

  2. Once you have opened the Edit an Artifact window, you can upload a new file, change the web link, or permanently remove the artifact by clicking on the Delete button.

    The Confirm option is located in the bottom right of the window, and the Delete option is located at the bottom left of the window.

Adding Hints to a Challenge

  1. In the Artifacts and Hints section, Hints can be added to challenges by clicking on Add a Hint.

    The Add a Hint button is under the Hints header in the Add a Challenge window.

  2. In the Add a Hint pop-up window, provide a hint message and assigning a hint cost value. After you have provided the hint details, please click on the Confirm button.

    Note

    The hint cost value will be deducted from a team's overall point score if they have sufficient points and decide to purchase the hint.

    The Confirm button is at the bottom right of the Add a Hint window.

How to Edit or Remove a Hint

  1. To edit or remove a hint for a specific challenge, please click on the hint, which will open the Edit a Hint pop-up window.

    The added hint can be found under the Hints header.

  2. Next, you can modify the hint information and click on the Confirm button, or click on the Delete button to completely remove the hint.

    The Confirm option is located at the bottom right of the window, and the Delete option is located at the bottom left of the window.

Setting Challenge Categories and Limiting Attempts

  1. Challenges are separated into various categories in Cloud CTF, which lends to organized navigation while viewing the challenges page. Some of these categories include items such as Crypto, Networking, Web, and more. CTF Admins can select an existing category or create new categories when creating or editing a challenge. This can be accomplished by first clicking on the Advanced Settings section of the Add a Challenge window, denoted with a gear icon.

    The Advanced Settings icon can be found on the left side of the screen as the third option, below the Artifacts and Hints icon.

  2. In the advanced settings of a challenge, you will be able to select from existing categories or create a new category by typing in your custom category. For more information on creating new categories, please see the article titled Category Management. This section also allows you to set max attempts for a challenge and lock the challenge behind the solving of another challenge in the CTF.

Adding Challenge Tags

  1. Adding tags to challenges in Cloud CTF can help Admins find challenges related to a specific topic or niche when searching through the challenge library. If you intend on creating and saving multiple challenges for the Cloud CTF Challenge Library feature, we recommend that you assign accurate tags that will assist you in locating it at a later date. To get started, please click on the Tags section, denoted by a tag icon.

    The Tags icon is located on the left side of the screen as the fourth choice, after the Advanced Settings icon.

  2. Next, click on the Tags input field to add a tag to the challenge. You may create your own tags by typing them in the text field, or search for a tag from the dropdown list provided.

    A dropdown menu containing a list of tags is located below the Add a Challenge window.

Adding Notes and Solutions

  1. Notes and solutions are fields that can only be seen by CTF Admins in the Admins section of a CTF. Notes can provide additional information about a challenge that may help other admins choose what challenges they want to use, while solutions can provide a detailed explanation of how players should solve the challenge. To add notes and solutions to a challenge, navigate to the Notes and Solutions section, denoted by a document icon.

    The Notes and Solutions icon is the last in the list of five sections in the Add a Challenge window.

  2. After adding in any notes and solutions to the respective sections, you can continue to the Create/Confirm Your Challenge section.

Create/Confirm Your Challenge

Once you have finished customizing your challenge, please click on the Confirm button as shown in the image below to add your challenge to the challenges page.

The Confirm button is located at the bottom right of the window.

How to Save a Challenge to the Challenge Library

To save your custom challenges to the challenge library, please see the article titled Saving Custom Challenges to the Challenge Library for more information.

How to Edit a Challenge

CTF Admins can edit and modify all challenges available in Cloud CTF. To learn more about editing custom challenges, library challenges, or custom challenges that have already been saved to the challenge library, please see the article titled Editing Challenges for more information.

More on Challenge Management

If you are interested in learning more about managing challenges in Cloud CTF, please see the article titled Cloud CTF Challenge Management for more details. Our Challenge Management article links to topics such as creating and saving custom challenges, adding challenge hints and flags, understanding challenge statistics, and other advanced challenge management features.

Have a Question? Contact Support

If you experience any issues starting or viewing Cloud CTF in your web browser, please refer to the article titled Can't Launch Cloud CTF for helpful tips on resolving the matter.

We're here to help you. If you still have questions after reviewing the information above, please feel free to submit a ticket with our Support Team and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.