Setup

From install to protected.

Six steps, about two minutes. Every command works the same on Windows, macOS and Linux.

This guide uses the CLI, so it assumes a pip install. Extras are optional but recommended.

pip install "guardiantus-av[full] @ git+https://github.com/aquaxs1/Guardiantus-AV.git"

Just want the dashboard with no terminal involved? Grab the desktop app instead and skip to step 5.

Confirms the engine loaded and tells you what still needs doing.

guardiantus status

Quick scan covers Downloads, Desktop, Documents, temp and autostart.

guardiantus quick

Add --no-quarantine to only report, or scan a specific folder:

guardiantus scan ~/Downloads

New and changed files get checked the moment they land.

guardiantus protect start

Choose which folders to watch:

guardiantus config set realtime.watch_paths '["/home/you/Downloads"]'

Starts on 127.0.0.1:8787 and opens your browser with a session token.

guardiantus dashboard

Lists outdated programs across every package manager you have.

guardiantus update programs

Apply one of them:

guardiantus update programs --apply apt:firefox

Verify it actually works

Two harmless self-test files. Neither is malware — they exist so you can prove each layer is live.

printf 'GUARDIANTUS-AV-SIGNATURE-SELFTEST-FILE-DO-NOT-REMOVE\n' > probe.txt
guardiantus check probe.txt

Expect Guardiantus.SelfTest.HashProbe.

printf 'GUARDIANTUS-AV-YARA-SELFTEST-MARKER\n' > probe2.txt
guardiantus check probe2.txt

Expect Guardiantus.SelfTest.YaraProbe.

The industry-standard EICAR test file is detected too, as EICAR-Test-File. It is harmless by design and exists purely to test scanners.

Command	What it does
`guardiantus status`	Protection status and next actions
`guardiantus quick`	Scan the high-risk locations
`guardiantus full`	Scan every mounted drive
`guardiantus scan PATH`	Scan a file or folder
`guardiantus check FILE`	Instant verdict, no history entry
`guardiantus protect start`	Turn on real-time protection
`guardiantus quarantine list`	See what is in the vault
`guardiantus quarantine restore ID`	Put a file back, byte-for-byte, and stop flagging it
`guardiantus update signatures`	Refresh the signature database
`guardiantus update programs`	Find outdated software
`guardiantus schedule list`	See scheduled tasks
`guardiantus events`	Read the activity log
`guardiantus config show`	Print the full configuration

Exit codes are 0 clean, 1 threat found, 2 error.

guardiantus --json scan ./upload | jq '.threats[].name'

Or schedule a nightly scan:

guardiantus schedule enable quick-scan

Too many false positives? Raise the threshold. Missing things? Lower it.

guardiantus config set scanning.heuristic_threshold 80
guardiantus config set scanning.excluded_paths '["/mnt/backups"]'
guardiantus config path

The Threat Lab runs the real detection layers in your browser — and explains every verdict.