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Misc42k · #4714

competition-file-parser-chain

Lets your agent analyze files uploaded or imported into a system. It can extract file content, convert formats, and understand how data reaches other programs.

What it does

This tool helps understand how a file you upload to a system is processed step-by-step. It tracks the file from when it enters, through extractions, conversions, and parsing, to the final outcome.

When to use it

  • ✓When you want to know how a file was handled after upload.
  • ✓To understand if a file was extracted or converted correctly.
  • ✓When investigating why a specific file caused a system issue.

Example of what to ask your AI

“How was the file 'document.zip' processed after I uploaded it?”

Want more? Open the sections below.

How to use

The easiest way: copy the message below and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any AI. It reads the skill and follows the instructions.

Skill link

https://github.com/zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill/blob/main/CTF-Sandbox-Orchestrator/competition-file-parser-chain/SKILL.md

Ready-to-paste message

Use this skill to help me: https://github.com/zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill/blob/main/CTF-Sandbox-Orchestrator/competition-file-parser-chain/SKILL.md Read the SKILL.md file at that link and follow its instructions for my task.
How it works

The tool records each step of file processing: where it was temporarily saved, if it was extracted from an archive, if it was converted to another format, and which program analyzed its content. This creates a 'map' of the file's journey.

Installation

Easiest way: copy the skill link and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor asking it to follow the instructions.

In the terminal (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor), in your project folder:

npx skills add zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill --skill competition-file-parser-chain

Or download just the file:

curl -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill/main/CTF-Sandbox-Orchestrator/competition-file-parser-chain/SKILL.md -o SKILL.md
Technical content (original SKILL.md)

Original text by the author, straight from GitHub.

Competition File Parser Chain

Use this skill only as a downstream specialization after $ctf-sandbox-orchestrator is already active and has established sandbox assumptions, node ownership, and evidence priorities. If that has not happened yet, return to $ctf-sandbox-orchestrator first.

Use this skill when the hard part is following a file from ingress through every parser, extractor, converter, or deserializer boundary that matters.

Reply in Simplified Chinese unless the user explicitly requests English.

Quick Start

  1. Preserve the original upload and every derived artifact separately.
  2. Map the chain in order: ingress, temp storage, archive extraction, format conversion, parser call, deserialization, and final consumer.
  3. Record filenames, MIME guesses, extensions, temp paths, and parser choices before mutating anything.
  4. Separate client-visible validation from backend parser behavior.
  5. Reproduce the smallest file-processing chain that yields the decisive branch or artifact.

Workflow

1. Map File Ingress And Derivation

  • Record request shape, multipart names, content type, filename, temp paths, upload staging, and storage keys.
  • Note every derived artifact: extracted archive member, converted preview, generated thumbnail, temp document, or deserialized object.
  • Keep original file and each derivative labeled separately.

2. Trace Parser And Conversion Boundaries

  • Show which parser, converter, extractor, or deserializer runs at each step.
  • Record parser-specific decisions driven by extension, MIME, magic bytes, schema, archive member names, or embedded metadata.
  • Distinguish parsing success, preview success, conversion success, and business-logic acceptance.

3. Reduce To The Decisive File Chain

  • Compress the result to the smallest sequence: upload -> derived artifact -> parser boundary -> resulting effect.
  • State clearly whether the decisive weakness lives in archive handling, MIME inference, file conversion, path resolution, or deserialization.
  • If the chain becomes mostly a generic async worker problem after enqueue, hand off to the tighter queue or worker skill.

Read This Reference

  • Load references/file-parser-chain.md for the ingress checklist, parser checklist, and evidence packaging.

What To Preserve

  • Original uploads, derived files, temp paths, storage keys, parser names, and conversion steps
  • The exact boundary where backend behavior diverges from user-visible validation
  • One minimal replayable file-processing sequence that reaches the decisive effect
FAQ

What is 'deserialization'?

It's a process where data that was transformed into a format for storage or transmission (like text) is converted back into a format the program can use directly.

What are 'magic bytes'?

These are sequences of bytes at the beginning of a file that help the system identify the file type, even if the extension (like '.jpg') is wrong or missing.

Why separate user-visible validation from backend behavior?

To understand if a problem occurs because the user saw an incorrect error message or if the real issue lies in the system's internal processing that the user doesn't see.

Details

Original description by the author

Internal downstream skill for ctf-sandbox-orchestrator. CTF-sandbox workflow for file uploads, imports, previews, archive extraction, format conversion, parser invocation, and deserialization chains. Use when the user asks to inspect an upload or import path, trace archive extraction, preview or converter behavior, explain how a file reaches a parser or deserializer, or connect one uploaded artifa

repo: zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill

Popularity

GitHub stars
42k
Ranking position
#4714
License
MIT
Updated
9/22/2026

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