Overview

Turn passive observations into focused active checks with Smart Scan.

Rules connect a passive observation to active checks in Smart Scan. For example: detect a query parameter of interest, then run a selected active profile against the corresponding request.

Rules belong to the Pro extension. Burp Bounty Server executes profiles supplied through REST/MCP; it does not load or evaluate Pro rule files.

A small automation, step by step

Components

Component	Purpose
Name, enabled state, comments	Identify and explain the automation.
Match rows	Refer to passive request or response profiles.
Execute rows	Refer to active profiles or tags.
Action scope	All Matches or First Match, subject to current implementation limits.

Actual file format

Rules are JSON arrays saved as rule_<name>.bb in BurpBountyData/rules. They use lowercase fields such as name, enabled, match, execute. They are not the ProfileName/Scanner schema for scan profiles.

Older documentation showed .bbre files and Conditions/Actions objects. That example did not match the current serializer. Use the current format and export a rule from Pro when building integrations.

Start with one trigger and one action

Enable the referenced passive profile, the rule and the active profile. Run a narrow manual Smart Scan, verify the trigger, then inspect the launched active requests. Expand to live scanning only after confirming the behavior.

Current rule limits

The current engine does not enforce multi-row And as a strict accumulated conjunction, and First Match is not a reliable once-per-origin guarantee. Read limitations before using these controls to constrain scan scope or traffic.

Keep exploring

Create your first rule

Connect one passive trigger to one active action.

Explore examples

See common automation patterns and their limits.