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UAC (Unix-like Artifacts Collector) is a portable, YAML-configurable shell tool for gathering selected live-response and forensic artifacts from Unix-like systems. Responders choose a profile, individual artifact definitions, or both, then provide a destination for the collected output. UAC is a collection utility—not a complete investigation or analysis suite—and what it gathers depends on the selected rules and target system.
What UAC does
The UAC project describes the tool as a way to automate artifact collection for incident response and forensic work. Depending on the selected definitions, it can run commands and save their output, copy files or directories, find matching paths, record hashes, and collect file metadata. See the UAC project README.
Collection does not by itself explain what happened on a system. Responders still need to interpret the results and handle evidence under their organization’s procedures. The project’s feature descriptions do not establish independent success rates, collection-time benchmarks, completeness figures, or accuracy measurements.
Which operating systems does UAC support?
The project lists AIX, ESXi, FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, NetBSD, NetScaler, OpenBSD, and Solaris. Its script checks operating-system labels and exits for an unsupported label; the UAC source script shows that check.
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This list describes operating-system labels recognized by UAC, not a guarantee that every artifact works on every listed system. Individual artifact definitions specify their own supported systems. Check the rule’s supported_os field and the target host’s environment before relying on a particular collection. The project also describes intended use in varied environments, including NAS and IoT devices, but that is not a compatibility guarantee for any specific device. The Getting Started documentation and artifact reference describe the platform and rule model.
How profiles and artifact rules control collection
UAC reads YAML artifact definitions dynamically. Each definition has a version and a list of rules; rules specify a description, supported operating systems, a collector type, and fields required by that collector. Operators can choose a named profile, select individual artifacts, or supply custom YAML paths. That flexibility means the actual collection depends on the chosen profile and rules, as well as available host utilities, permissions, and local configuration.
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The documented collector types have different jobs:
command: Executes a defined command and saves its standard output to the configured output. Standard error is logged touac.logunless redirected.file: Copies raw files and directories into the output structure.find: Locates files or directories matching the rule and records their paths.hash: Records hashes using the configured algorithm.stat: Collects metadata for a body file compatible with The Sleuth Kit. The documentation notes a Perl fallback when nativestatis unavailable.
Because command rules execute on the target, collection is not entirely passive. Inspect the selected profile and artifact definitions before running them, especially when custom rules are involved. Collector details are in the UAC artifact documentation.
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How to run UAC for an incident response collection
The project says UAC need not be installed on the target: download and extract it, then run the script. Its README examples use a profile and/or artifact selection followed by an output destination:
./uac -p ir_triage /tmpThis example selects the ir_triage profile and uses /tmp as the destination. The README also shows selecting a memory artifact alongside the full profile:
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./uac -a ./artifacts/memory_dump/avml.yaml -p full /tmpThese are project examples, not a recommendation to run a broad profile in every incident. Memory collection in the cited example is a Linux capability using specified methods or tools; it should not be read as universal memory capture across all operating systems listed by UAC. Check the definitions and target requirements for the method you intend to use. See the README usage examples.
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Where UAC saves collected artifacts
The operator supplies the destination directory when invoking UAC. The file collector places copied files in the resulting output structure; the destination itself is chosen as part of the command. A portable drive may be useful in an authorized workflow, but UAC does not require or recommend a particular drive.
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Before collection, choose artifacts that fit the incident and host, confirm that the destination is writable and has enough capacity, and follow your organization’s authorization and evidence-handling procedures. These are operational precautions, not guarantees from UAC about chain of custody or evidence integrity.
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