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First Sensor

Sensors are lightweight agents deployed on machines near the infrastructure you want to scan. Each sensor checks in with the central API, receives scanner assignments, and pushes discovered assets back.


  1. Navigate to Sensors in the sidebar
  2. Click Register Sensor
  3. Enter a name (e.g., prod-web-01, dev-laptop, aws-scanner)
  4. Click Register

You’ll see a confirmation with two values:

  • Sensor ID — e.g., sen_f0cb18b0bc234e8d
  • API Key — e.g., sk_a1b2c3d4e5f6...

Save these immediately. The API key is shown only once.


Click Download JAR on the sensor card (after expanding it). Place the JAR on the target machine.

Click Install Script on the sensor card. Choose your platform (Linux or Windows). The generated script:

  • Downloads the sensor JAR
  • Creates sensor.yml with your credentials pre-filled
  • Sets up a systemd service (Linux) or Windows Service
  • Starts the sensor

Place the sensor JAR on the target machine and create sensor.yml:

apiUrl: https://cbom.yourcompany.com
sensorId: sen_f0cb18b0bc234e8d
apiKey: sk_a1b2c3d4e5f6...
heartbeatInterval: 30s

Run it:

Terminal window
java -jar cbom-sensor.jar --config=sensor.yml

Once the sensor starts, it checks in with the API. Within seconds you should see:

  • Sensor status changes to online in the Sensors page
  • Hostname and OS are populated automatically
  • Sensor logs appear in the expandable card

The sensor.yml file supports:

FieldRequiredDescription
apiUrlYesCBOM platform URL (e.g., https://cbom.yourcompany.com)
sensorIdYesSensor ID from registration
apiKeyYesAPI key from registration
heartbeatIntervalNoCheck-in interval. Supports: 30s, 1m, 5m, 1h. Default: 5m

The sensor does not need any scanner configuration in this file — scanners are assigned via the UI and pushed to the sensor on each check-in.


[Unit]
Description=CBOM Sensor
After=network.target
[Service]
Type=simple
User=cbom-sensor
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -jar /opt/cbom/cbom-sensor.jar --config=/opt/cbom/sensor.yml
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Use the generated install script, or configure with sc create:

Terminal window
sc.exe create CbomSensor binPath= "java -jar C:\cbom\cbom-sensor.jar --config=C:\cbom\sensor.yml" start= auto
sc.exe start CbomSensor