Handle target list comments and encoding errors

README.md

@@ -169,6 +169,9 @@ strix --target https://your-app.com --instruction "Perform authenticated testing
 # Multi-target testing (source code + deployed app)
 strix -t https://github.com/org/app -t https://your-app.com
 
+# Targets from a file, one target per non-empty, non-comment line
+strix --target-list ./targets.txt
+
 # White-box source-aware scan (local repository)
 strix --target ./app-directory --scan-mode standard
 

docs/quickstart.mdx

@@ -62,6 +62,9 @@ strix --target https://your-app.com
 
 # Multiple targets (white-box testing)
 strix -t https://github.com/org/repo -t https://your-app.com
+
+# Targets from a file, one target per non-empty, non-comment line
+strix --target-list ./targets.txt
 ```
 
 ## Next Steps

docs/usage/cli.mdx

@@ -6,13 +6,17 @@ description: "Command-line options for Strix"
 ## Basic Usage
 
 ```bash
-strix --target <target> [options]
+strix (--target <target> | --target-list <path> | --mount <path>) [options]
 ```
 
 ## Options
 
-<ParamField path="--target, -t" type="string" required>
-  Target to test. Accepts URLs, repositories, local directories, domains, or IP addresses. Can be specified multiple times.
+<ParamField path="--target, -t" type="string">
+  Target to test. Accepts URLs, repositories, local directories, domains, or IP addresses. Can be specified multiple times. Fresh runs require at least one target source: `--target`, `--target-list`, or `--mount`.
+</ParamField>
+
+<ParamField path="--target-list" type="string">
+  Path to a file containing targets, one per non-empty, non-comment line. Lines starting with `#` are ignored. Can be specified multiple times and combined with `--target`.
 </ParamField>
 
 <ParamField path="--mount" type="string">
@@ -101,6 +105,9 @@ strix -n --target ./ --scan-mode quick --scope-mode diff --diff-base origin/main
 # Multi-target white-box testing
 strix -t https://github.com/org/app -t https://staging.example.com
 
+# Targets from a file
+strix --target-list ./targets.txt
+
 # Large local repository — bind-mount instead of copying it in
 strix --mount ./huge-monorepo
 ```

strix/interface/main.py

@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ from strix.interface.utils import (
     infer_target_type,
     is_whitebox_scan,
     process_pull_line,
+    read_target_list_file,
     resolve_diff_scope_context,
     rewrite_localhost_targets,
     validate_config_file,
@@ -344,6 +345,9 @@ Examples:
   strix --target https://github.com/user/repo --target https://example.com
   strix --target ./my-project --target https://staging.example.com --target https://prod.example.com
 
+  # Targets from a file, one target per non-empty, non-comment line
+  strix --target-list ./targets.txt
+
   # Custom instructions (inline)
   strix --target example.com --instruction "Focus on authentication vulnerabilities"
 
@@ -367,7 +371,15 @@ Examples:
         action="append",
         help="Target to test (URL, repository, local directory path, domain name, or IP address). "
         "Can be specified multiple times for multi-target scans. "
-        "Required for fresh runs; loaded from disk when ``--resume`` is set.",
+        "Fresh runs require at least one of --target, --target-list, or --mount.",
+    )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--target-list",
+        type=str,
+        action="append",
+        metavar="PATH",
+        help="Path to a file containing targets, one per non-empty, non-comment line. "
+        "Can be specified multiple times and combined with --target.",
     )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--mount",
@@ -488,10 +500,11 @@ Examples:
     args.user_explicit_instruction = args.instruction if args.resume else None
 
     if args.resume:
-        if args.target or args.mount:
+        if args.target or args.target_list or args.mount:
             parser.error(
-                "Cannot combine --resume with --target/--mount. --resume picks up where "
-                "the prior run left off, including the original target list."
+                "Cannot combine --resume with --target/--target-list/--mount. "
+                "--resume picks up where the prior run left off, including the "
+                "original target list."
             )
         _load_resume_state(args, parser)
         agents_path = runtime_state_dir(run_dir_for(args.resume)) / "agents.json"
@@ -503,13 +516,20 @@ Examples:
                 f"or remove --resume to start over with the same targets."
             )
     else:
-        if not args.target and not args.mount:
+        if not args.target and not args.target_list and not args.mount:
             parser.error(
-                "the following arguments are required: -t/--target or --mount "
+                "the following arguments are required: -t/--target, --target-list, or --mount "
                 "(or use --resume <run_name> to continue a prior scan)"
             )
         args.targets_info = []
-        for target in args.target or []:
+        targets = list(args.target or [])
+        for target_list_path in args.target_list or []:
+            try:
+                targets.extend(read_target_list_file(target_list_path))
+            except ValueError as e:
+                parser.error(str(e))
+
+        for target in targets:
             try:
                 target_type, target_dict = infer_target_type(target)
 

strix/interface/utils.py

@@ -1131,6 +1131,34 @@ def infer_target_type(target: str) -> tuple[str, dict[str, str]]:  # noqa: PLR09
     )
 
 
+def read_target_list_file(path_str: str) -> list[str]:
+    """Read scan targets from a file, one target per non-empty, non-comment line."""
+    if not path_str or not path_str.strip():
+        raise ValueError("--target-list path must not be empty.")
+
+    path = Path(path_str).expanduser()
+    if not path.is_file():
+        raise ValueError(f"Target list file '{path_str}' is not an existing file.")
+
+    try:
+        targets = [
+            target
+            for line in path.read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines()
+            if (target := line.strip()) and not target.startswith("#")
+        ]
+    except UnicodeDecodeError as e:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Target list file '{path_str}' must be valid UTF-8 text: {e!s}"
+        ) from e
+    except OSError as e:
+        raise ValueError(f"Failed to read target list file '{path_str}': {e!s}") from e
+
+    targets = [target for target in targets if target]
+    if not targets:
+        raise ValueError(f"Target list file '{path_str}' is empty.")
+    return targets
+
+
 def sanitize_name(name: str) -> str:
     sanitized = re.sub(r"[^A-Za-z0-9._-]", "-", name.strip())
     return sanitized or "target"

tests/test_cli_target_list.py

@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+"""Tests for CLI target-list argument parsing."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import importlib
+import sys
+from types import SimpleNamespace
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
+
+import pytest
+
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    from pathlib import Path
+
+
+cli_main: Any = importlib.import_module("strix.interface.main")
+
+
+def _stub_settings(monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch) -> None:
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        cli_main,
+        "load_settings",
+        lambda: SimpleNamespace(runtime=SimpleNamespace(max_local_copy_mb=1024)),
+    )
+
+
+def test_parse_arguments_accepts_target_list_file(
+    tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    target_list = tmp_path / "targets.txt"
+    target_list.write_text(
+        "https://test1.com/\n"
+        "\n"
+        "http://test2.com:5789/\n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+    _stub_settings(monkeypatch)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sys, "argv", ["strix", "--target-list", str(target_list), "-n"])
+
+    args = cli_main.parse_arguments()
+
+    assert [target["original"] for target in args.targets_info] == [
+        "https://test1.com/",
+        "http://test2.com:5789/",
+    ]
+    assert [target["type"] for target in args.targets_info] == [
+        "web_application",
+        "web_application",
+    ]
+
+
+def test_parse_arguments_combines_target_and_target_list(
+    tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch
+) -> None:
+    target_list = tmp_path / "targets.txt"
+    target_list.write_text("http://test2.com:5789/\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    _stub_settings(monkeypatch)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        sys,
+        "argv",
+        ["strix", "-t", "https://test1.com/", "--target-list", str(target_list)],
+    )
+
+    args = cli_main.parse_arguments()
+
+    assert [target["original"] for target in args.targets_info] == [
+        "https://test1.com/",
+        "http://test2.com:5789/",
+    ]
+
+
+def test_parse_arguments_rejects_resume_with_target_list(
+    tmp_path: Path, monkeypatch: pytest.MonkeyPatch, capsys: pytest.CaptureFixture[str]
+) -> None:
+    target_list = tmp_path / "targets.txt"
+    target_list.write_text("https://test1.com/\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        sys,
+        "argv",
+        ["strix", "--resume", "old-run", "--target-list", str(target_list)],
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(SystemExit):
+        cli_main.parse_arguments()
+
+    assert (
+        "Cannot combine --resume with --target/--target-list/--mount"
+        in capsys.readouterr().err
+    )

tests/test_local_sources.py

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ from strix.interface.utils import (
     dedupe_local_targets,
     directory_size_bytes,
     find_oversized_local_targets,
+    read_target_list_file,
 )
 
 
@@ -157,6 +158,66 @@ def test_build_mount_targets_info_rejects_empty_path(empty: str) -> None:
         build_mount_targets_info([empty])
 
 
+def test_read_target_list_file_strips_blank_lines(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    target_list = tmp_path / "targets.txt"
+    target_list.write_text(
+        "\n"
+        " https://test1.com/ \n"
+        "\n"
+        "http://test2.com:5789/\n"
+        "  \n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    assert read_target_list_file(str(target_list)) == [
+        "https://test1.com/",
+        "http://test2.com:5789/",
+    ]
+
+
+def test_read_target_list_file_ignores_comment_lines(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    target_list = tmp_path / "targets.txt"
+    target_list.write_text(
+        "# production targets\n"
+        "https://test1.com/\n"
+        "  # staging targets\n"
+        "http://test2.com:5789/\n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+
+    assert read_target_list_file(str(target_list)) == [
+        "https://test1.com/",
+        "http://test2.com:5789/",
+    ]
+
+
+def test_read_target_list_file_rejects_empty_file(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    target_list = tmp_path / "targets.txt"
+    target_list.write_text(" \n# no targets yet\n\n", encoding="utf-8")
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="is empty"):
+        read_target_list_file(str(target_list))
+
+
+def test_read_target_list_file_rejects_missing_path(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="not an existing file"):
+        read_target_list_file(str(tmp_path / "missing.txt"))
+
+
+def test_read_target_list_file_rejects_non_utf8_file(tmp_path: Path) -> None:
+    target_list = tmp_path / "targets.txt"
+    target_list.write_bytes(b"https://test1.com/\xff\n")
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="must be valid UTF-8 text"):
+        read_target_list_file(str(target_list))
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("empty", ["", "   "])
+def test_read_target_list_file_rejects_empty_path(empty: str) -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="must not be empty"):
+        read_target_list_file(empty)
+
+
 def test_dedupe_keeps_distinct_targets_in_order() -> None:
     targets = [
         _local_target("/a"),