Enterprise Edition

Unattended installation of Burp Suite Enterprise Edition

  • Last updated: March 27, 2024

  • Read time: 6 Minutes

You can install Burp Suite Enterprise Edition via the installation wizard or you can perform an unattended / silent installation via the command line.

When installing silently, the required input passes in a varfile. This is much more efficient when installing on multiple machines. The easiest way to prepare the varfile is to perform a manual installation on a single machine. This generates a varfile that already contains the required parameters. You can reuse this file to perform future unattended installations.

Note

You only need one license for each instance of Burp Suite Enterprise Edition. Dedicated scanning machines connected to your Enterprise server do not need their own license.

If you want to deploy additional Burp Suite Enterprise Edition servers (for example, for testing in staging or development), you must purchase a separate license for each one. Data is not shared between servers, and each is a separate instance.

If you have any questions about your licensing requirements, please contact our customer support team at hello@portswigger.net.

This page contains the following sections:

Note

Once the unattended installation is complete, you need to manually create the admin user. If you use an external database, you also need to manually configure the database. The sections below include instructions for these steps.

Performing an unattended installation with Linux

This section explains how to perform an unattended installation with Linux.

Perform an unattended installation of the Enterprise server

To perform an unattended installation of the Enterprise server, you need to add some values that are not stored by the installer into the response.varfile. You can then pass the edited file to the installer from the command line.

Generate a response.varfile for Enterprise server deployment

Perform a manual installation using the same options that you want to use for your unattended installations. This generates the response.varfile in the .install4j subdirectory of your installation directory.

Note

If you have already deployed an Enterprise server, you can just copy the existing response.varfile.

The default installation directory is /opt/burpsuite_enterprise/.install4j.

Example response.varfile

The following is an example of a response.varfile.

# install4j response file for Burp Suite Enterprise Edition 2022.11-11262 beuser=burpsuite beuserandgroup=burpsuite\:burpsuite dataDirectory=/var/lib/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition dbType=postgres escapedDataDir=/var/lib/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition escapedInstallationDir=/opt/burpsuite_enterprise jreHome=/opt/burpsuite_enterprise/jre logsDirectory=/var/log/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition platformScriptSuffix=sh sys.adminRights$Boolean=true sys.adminRightsUiRootUnix$Boolean=true sys.component.agent$Boolean=false sys.component.db$Boolean=false sys.component.enterprise$Boolean=true sys.component.web$Boolean=true sys.installationDir=/opt/burpsuite_enterprise sys.languageId=en sys.programGroupDisabled$Boolean=true webserver_port$Integer=8443

Note

Earlier versions of Burp Suite Enterprise Edition required you to enter additional parameters regarding the database and admin user into the varfile. This is no longer necessary, as this information is now entered during the initial setup process.

Perform an unattended Enterprise server deployment using the response.varfile

Use Terminal to enter the following command:

sudo sh burpsuite_enterprise_linux_v2022_5.sh -q -varfile response.varfile

  • -q runs the installer in unattended mode.
  • -varfile enables you to specify a response file.

Configure the application

Once the Enterprise server is installed, you need to create an admin user. If you're using an external database, you also need to configure the database. To configure these details:

  1. To access the configuration page, visit https://localhost:<port> in your browser. Replace <port> with the port specified in the varfile.
  2. Follow the instructions to configure the application.

Performing an unattended installation for scanning machines

To perform an unattended installation for a scanning machine, you can simply copy a response.varfile from an existing scanning machine installation and pass it to the installer from the command line.

Generate a response.varfile for scanning machine deployment

Perform a manual installation using the same options that you want to use for your unattended installations. This generates the response.varfile in the .install4j subdirectory of your installation directory.

Note

If you have already deployed a scanning machine, you can just copy the existing response.varfile.

The default installation directory is /opt/burpsuite_enterprise/.install4j.

Example response.varfile

The following is an example of a response.varfile.

# install4j response file for Burp Suite Enterprise Edition 2022.11-11262 beuser=burpsuite beuserandgroup=burpsuite\:burpsuite dataDirectory=/var/lib/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition dbType=postgres enterprise_server_address=x.x.x.x escapedDataDir=/var/lib/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition escapedInstallationDir=/opt/burpsuite_enterprise jreHome=/opt/burpsuite_enterprise/jre logsDirectory=/var/log/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition platformScriptSuffix=sh sys.adminRights$Boolean=true sys.adminRightsUiRootUnix$Boolean=true sys.component.agent$Boolean=true sys.component.db$Boolean=false sys.component.enterprise$Boolean=false sys.component.web$Boolean=false sys.installationDir=/opt/burpsuite_enterprise sys.languageId=en sys.programGroupDisabled$Boolean=true

Perform an unattended scanning machine deployment using the response.varfile

Use Terminal to enter the following command:

sudo sh burpsuite_enterprise_linux_v2022_5.sh -q -varfile response.varfile

  • -q runs the installer in unattended mode.
  • -varfile allows you to specify a response file.

The scanning machine fingerprint is sent to standard output (stdout).

Performing an unattended installation with Windows

This section explains how to perform an unattended installation with Windows.

Perform an unattended installation of the Enterprise server

To perform an unattended installation of the Enterprise server, you need to add some values that are not stored by the installer into the response.varfile. You can then pass the edited file to the installer from the command line.

Generate a response.varfile for Enterprise server deployment

Perform a manual installation using the same options that you want to use for your unattended installations. This generates the response.varfile in the .install4j subdirectory of your installation directory.

Note

If you have already deployed an Enterprise server, you can just copy the existing response.varfile.

The default installation directory is C:\Program Files\burpsuite_enterprise\.install4j.

The following is an example of a response.varfile.

# install4j response file for Burp Suite Enterprise Edition 2022.11-11262 dataDirectory=C\:\\ProgramData\\BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition dbType=mssql escapedDataDir=C\:/ProgramData/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition escapedInstallationDir=C\:/Program Files/burpsuite_enterprise jreHome=C\:\\Program Files\\burpsuite_enterprise\\jre logsDirectory=C\:\\ProgramData\\BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition platformScriptSuffix=bat sys.adminRights$Boolean=true sys.component.agent$Boolean=false sys.component.db$Boolean=false sys.component.enterprise$Boolean=true sys.component.web$Boolean=true sys.installationDir=C\:\\Program Files\\burpsuite_enterprise sys.languageId=en sys.programGroupAllUsers$Boolean=true sys.programGroupDisabled$Boolean=false sys.programGroupName=Burp Suite Enterprise Edition webserver_port$Integer=8443

Note

Earlier versions of Burp Suite Enterprise Edition required you to enter additional parameters regarding the database and admin user into the varfile. This is no longer necessary, as this information is now entered during the initial setup process.

Perform an unattended Enterprise server deployment using the response.varfile

Use the command prompt as an administrator to enter the following command:

"burpsuite_enterprise_windows-x64_v2022_5.exe" -q -c -varfile response.varfile

  • -c runs the installer in command line mode.
  • -q runs the installer in unattended mode.
  • -varfile enables you to specify a response file.

Configure the application

Once the Enterprise server is installed, you need to create an admin user. If you're using an external database, you also need to configure the database. To configure these details:

  1. To access the configuration page, visit https://localhost:<port> in your browser. Replace <port> with the port specified in the varfile.
  2. Follow the instructions to configure the application.

Performing an unattended installation for scanning machines

To perform an unattended installation for a scanning machine, you can simply copy a response.varfile from an existing scanning machine installation and pass it to the installer from the command line.

Generate a response.varfile for scanning machine deployment

Perform a manual installation using the same options that you want to use for your unattended installations. This generates the response.varfile in the .install4j subdirectory of your installation directory.

Note

If you have already deployed a scanning machine, you can just copy the existing response.varfile.

The default installation directory is C:\Program Files\burpsuite_enterprise\.install4j.

Example response.varfile

The following is an example of a response.varfile.

# install4j response file for Burp Suite Enterprise Edition 2022.11-11262 dataDirectory=C\:\\ProgramData\\BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition dbType=mssql enterprise_server_address=x.x.x.x escapedDataDir=C\:/ProgramData/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition escapedInstallationDir=C\:/Program Files/burpsuite_enterprise jreHome=C\:\\Program Files\\burpsuite_enterprise\\jre logsDirectory=C\:\\ProgramData\\BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition platformScriptSuffix=bat sys.adminRights$Boolean=true sys.component.agent$Boolean=true sys.component.db$Boolean=false sys.component.enterprise$Boolean=false sys.component.web$Boolean=false sys.installationDir=C\:\\Program Files\\burpsuite_enterprise sys.languageId=en sys.programGroupAllUsers$Boolean=true sys.programGroupDisabled$Boolean=false sys.programGroupName=Burp Suite Enterprise Edition

Perform an unattended scanning machine deployment using the response.varfile

Use the command prompt as an administrator to enter the following command:

"burpsuite_enterprise_windows-x64_v2022_5.exe" -q -c -varfile response.varfile

  • -c runs the installer in command line mode.
  • -q runs the installer in unattended mode.
  • -varfile allows you to specify a response file.

The scanning machine fingerprint is sent to standard output (stdout).

Varfile field guide

This section describes the most relevant varfile fields.

Specifying the script type

  • For Linux, use platformScriptSuffix=sh.
  • For Windows, use platformScriptSuffix=bat.

Installing components

The following varfile fields install components:

  • sys.component.agent$Boolean=true - Set to true to install the scanning component.
  • sys.component.db$Boolean=true - Set to true to install the built-in database. Set to false if you are using your own database.
  • sys.component.enterprise$Boolean=true - Set to true to install the Burp Enterprise Server.
  • sys.component.web$Boolean=true - Set to true to install the Burp Enterprise Server.

Database settings

If you use the built-in database, you must specify the database backup directory:

databaseBackupsDirectory=/var/lib/BurpSuiteEnterpriseEdition

If you use your own external database, set the webserver_port field to 8443:

webserver_port$Integer=8443

To change this value after installation, edit the network settings. For more information refer to Configuring your environment network and firewall settings.

Database type fields

  • Built-in database: h2.
  • MariaDB: mariadb.
  • Microsoft SQL Server: mssql.
  • MySQL: mysql.
  • Oracle: oracle.
  • PostgreSQL: postgres.

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