Burp Project Parser

Search and extract data from Burp Suite project files using the burpsuite-project-file-parser extension.

When to Use

• Searching response headers or bodies with regex patterns
• Extracting security audit findings from Burp projects
• Dumping proxy history or site map data
• Analyzing HTTP traffic captured in a Burp project file

Prerequisites

This skill delegates parsing to Burp Suite Professional - it does not parse .burp files directly.

Required:

1. Burp Suite Professional - Must be installed (portswigger.net)
2. burpsuite-project-file-parser extension - Provides CLI functionality

Install the extension:

1. Download from github.com/BuffaloWill/burpsuite-project-file-parser
2. In Burp Suite: Extender → Extensions → Add
3. Select the downloaded JAR file

Quick Reference

Use the wrapper script:

{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh /path/to/project.burp [FLAGS]

The script uses environment variables for platform compatibility:

• BURP_JAVA: Path to Java executable
• BURP_JAR: Path to burpsuite_pro.jar

See Platform Configuration for setup instructions.

Sub-Component Filters (USE THESE)

ALWAYS use sub-component filters instead of full dumps. Full proxyHistory or siteMap can return gigabytes of data. Sub-component filters return only what you need.

Available Filters

Default Approach

Start with headers, not bodies:

# GOOD - headers only, safe to retrieve
{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh project.burp proxyHistory.request.headers | head -c 50000
{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh project.burp proxyHistory.response.headers | head -c 50000

# BAD - full records include bodies, can be gigabytes
{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh project.burp proxyHistory  # NEVER DO THIS

Only fetch bodies for specific URLs after reviewing headers, and ALWAYS truncate:

# 1. First, find interesting URLs from headers
{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh project.burp proxyHistory.response.headers | \
  jq -r 'select(.headers | test("text/html")) | .url' | head -n 20

# 2. Then search bodies with targeted regex - MUST truncate body to 1000 chars
{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh project.burp "responseBody='.*specific-pattern.*'" | \
  head -n 10 | jq -c '.body = (.body[:1000] + "...[TRUNCATED]")'

HARD RULE: Body content > 1000 chars must NEVER enter context. If the user needs full body content, they must view it in Burp Suite's UI.

Regex Search Operations

Search Response Headers

responseHeader='.*regex.*'

Searches all response headers. Output: {"url":"...", "header":"..."}

Example - find server signatures:

responseHeader='.*(nginx|Apache|Servlet).*' | head -c 50000

Search Response Bodies

responseBody='.*regex.*'

MANDATORY: Always truncate body content to 1000 chars max. Response bodies can be megabytes each.

# REQUIRED format - always truncate .body field
{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh project.burp "responseBody='.*<form.*action.*'" | \
  head -n 10 | jq -c '.body = (.body[:1000] + "...[TRUNCATED]")'

Never retrieve full body content. If you need to see more of a specific response, ask the user to open it in Burp Suite's UI.

Other Operations

Extract Audit Items

auditItems

Returns all security findings. Output includes: name, severity, confidence, host, port, protocol, url.

Note: Audit items are small (no bodies) - safe to retrieve with head -n 100.

Dump Proxy History (AVOID)

proxyHistory

NEVER use this directly. Use sub-component filters instead:

• proxyHistory.request.headers
• proxyHistory.response.headers

Dump Site Map (AVOID)

siteMap

NEVER use this directly. Use sub-component filters instead.

Output Limits (REQUIRED)

CRITICAL: Always check result size BEFORE retrieving data. A broad search can return thousands of records, each potentially megabytes. This will overflow the context window.

Step 1: Always Check Size First

Before any search, check BOTH record count AND byte size:

# Check record count AND total bytes - never skip this step
{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh project.burp proxyHistory | wc -cl
{baseDir}/scripts/burp-search.sh project.burp "res