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Scout
v2.3.0Structured OSINT research on people, companies, and organizations. Use when the user wants a provenance-backed brief, entity resolution across public sources...
⭐ 1· 310·2 current·2 all-time
byIndigo Karasu@indigokarasu
MIT-0
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LicenseMIT-0 · Free to use, modify, and redistribute. No attribution required.
Security Scan
OpenClaw
Suspicious
medium confidencePurpose & Capability
Name, description, and runtime instructions consistently describe an OSINT research skill (tiered source waterfall, provenance, minimization, journaling, and emitting structured Signal files). Requested permissions (local data and journal storage) are appropriate for a research skill.
Instruction Scope
SKILL.md instructs the agent to emit Signal files into another skill's intake path (~/openclaw/db/ocas-elephas/intake/...), and to register a nightly cron self-update job via scout.init. The skill.json filesystem declares read/write only for data and journals, not the Elephas intake or cron configuration. Writing signals into another skill's directory and registering cron jobs are side effects that extend scope and should be explicitly declared and consented to.
Install Mechanism
This is an instruction-only skill with no install spec or code files (lowest install risk). However SKILL.md/README mention self-update and include an 'install' call (openclaw skill install https://github.com/indigokarasu/scout) and claim scout.init will register a cron job — behaviors that imply install-time or privileged actions but have no implementation bundled here. That mismatch should be clarified.
Credentials
No environment variables or credentials are required up-front. Tier 3 paid sources are explicitly gated behind recorded PermissionGrant and config flags, which is proportionate. No unrelated credentials are requested.
Persistence & Privilege
Skill.json grants local data/journal read-write and storage layout shows local retention. The README and SKILL.md additionally claim automatic daily self-update (cron) and ongoing signal emission to Elephas. Automatic self-updates and cron registration increase persistence and attack surface yet are not reflected in an install script here — this is a privilege mismatch worth clarifying before enabling.
What to consider before installing
What to check before installing or enabling this skill:
- Confirm origin: the SKILL.md points to a GitHub repo (indigokarasu/scout). Review that repository yourself to verify the code and to confirm how (or whether) the cron self-update and scout.init behaviors are implemented. An instruction-only bundle here cannot actually register cron jobs itself unless the platform or a fetched repo does so.
- Ask the author to clarify declared filesystem permissions: SKILL.md says Scout will write Signal files to ~/openclaw/db/ocas-elephas/intake/, but skill.json only lists read/write for ~/openclaw/data/ocas-scout/ and ~/openclaw/journals/ocas-scout/. If the skill will place files in Elephas' intake directory, that write access should be declared and you should consent to cross-skill writes.
- Be cautious about persistence/self-update: the skill claims to register a nightly self-update cron job. Decide if you want an auto-updating skill (it changes behavior over time). If you allow updates, verify the update source (the GitHub repo and release mechanism) and whether updates are signed/verified.
- Data handling and privacy: Scout will store research results and journals locally and emit Signal files (which may contain PII) to an intake directory. Confirm retention settings (default retention: 90 days) and where backups or exports go. Ensure you understand and approve these local writes before use.
- Tier 3 paid sources: do not enable paid-source escalation without explicit policy and credential handling controls. The skill claims Tier 3 requires a PermissionGrant; verify the implementation enforces that hard stop.
- If you cannot inspect the upstream repo, treat this as higher risk: avoid enabling self-update and cross-skill writes until provenance and implementation details are verified.
If the author can confirm and correct the declared filesystem permissions and explain exactly how/where cron registration and self-updates occur (and you inspect the upstream code), the remaining concerns are addressable.Like a lobster shell, security has layers — review code before you run it.
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License
MIT-0
Free to use, modify, and redistribute. No attribution required.
