Declarative
Describe the intended systems, networks, artifacts and events in a high-level specification instead of platform setup steps.
Cyber Experimentation as Code
Define reproducible cyber-range environments.
Describe systems, networks, artifacts and scenario events in one structured specification that can be reviewed and maintained, then transform it into deployment material for supported platforms.
CRADLE—the Cyber-testbed Reconstruction and Automation Description Language—is a declarative and debuggable domain-specific language.
Why CRADLE?
Bring scattered configuration and scenario knowledge into one structured specification.
Cyber environments often depend on manual configuration, scattered scripts, infrastructure settings and platform-specific knowledge. As they evolve, it becomes harder to understand what changed or recreate the same scenario elsewhere.
One structured description
Keep the environment and scenario intent together.
CRADLE represents the systems, networks, artifacts and event sequence of a cyber experiment in a structured scenario definition. That definition can be reviewed, maintained and transformed for supported deployment environments.
SystemsNetworksArtifactsEventsscenario.cradle
Cyber Experimentation as Code
CRADLE describes computing components as code, providing a static, high-level environment description that teams can review, compare and maintain.
Repeatable
Preserve experiment intent as version-controlled text that can be compared, maintained and generated again for supported targets.
Debuggable
Inspect the authored scenario, intermediary representation and generated provider material when diagnosing a workflow.
CRADLE in action
From scenario definition to environment.
Select part of the CRADLE scenario to see how its systems, network and endpoints map into the generated environment.
scenario.cradleSelect a highlighted line
metadata() >
name("HelloWorld"),
eventType("sequence"),
object("HelloWorld").
instances() >
01Define
02Generate
03Deploy
Generated environment
Interpreted from the selected scenario definition
Instancewin7192.168.56.121
lan_0
Instancerouter192.168.56.122
Networklan_0
192.168.56.0/24InstanceDefines the
win7 system in the scenario.Try CRADLE in the Workbench
Browser-based inspection only. The Workbench does not start virtual machines or deploy infrastructure.
View the HelloWorld scenario →Evaluate CRADLE
Inspect the approach, not just the claims.
Evaluate current capabilities directly through the working model, documented example and current schema reference.
Working model
Inspect a scenario in the browser
Edit CRADLE source and inspect its topology and event flow without deploying infrastructure.
Try CRADLE in the Workbench →Documented exampleFollow the HelloWorld scenario
Trace instances, a network, an object and a scheduled event through a compact scenario definition.
View the HelloWorld scenario →Preview referenceReview the current scenario model
Examine the documented metadata, instances, networks and events, together with known schema and compiler differences.
Read the schema reference →Supported workflow
Build for the environment you need.
CradleXC keeps scenario logic independent from target-specific generation. Backend plugins translate your CRADLE scenario into the files required by each environment.
Read backend compatibility guidance →Select a backend
Browse published backend plugins and choose one for your target environment.
Backend repositoryInstall the backend
Install the selected backend plugin with the CradleXC CLI.
sudo cxc plugin install <plugin_name>Check discovery
Use cxc plugin list to confirm that CradleXC detects the installed backend.
Render target files
Use cxc build with the selected backend to generate target-specific output.
Start learning
Start with the outcome you need.
01
Understand CRADLE
Learn the problem CRADLE addresses, what a scenario captures and where the product boundaries are.
→02Follow HelloWorld
Follow the instances, network, object and scheduled event in the compact HelloWorld example.
→03Write a scenario
Review the metadata, objects, instances, networks and events that make up the human-authored language.
→Get CRADLE
Install CradleXC.
Install CradleXC through the official CRADLE package repository, verify your environment and start writing your first scenario.
APT · Ubuntu / Debian
Install from the CRADLE repository.
Configure the official CRADLE APT repository once, then install and update CradleXC through your system package manager.
01
Add the repositoryConfigure the CRADLE package source.
02
Install CradleXC
sudo apt install cxc03
Keep it updatedFuture releases are delivered through APT.
Ready to build
Check your environment.
Confirm that CradleXC is available and verify the local dependencies required by your CRADLE environment.
$ cxc doctor
Cradle Cross Compiler v0.19.2 — dependency check
Dependency Status Purpose
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
✓ All required dependencies are installed.
Configuration:
Config file: <TEMP>/home/.cxc/config.toml
Config dir: https://github.com/cradle-lang/cradle-lib
Heuristics dir: https://github.com/cradle-lang/cradle-lib
THE CRADLE COMMUNITY
The people behind the project.
Researchers, educators and cybersecurity practitioners contribute to its research, development and continued evolution.
01
Project Origins
CRADLE began as a joint effort bringing together cybersecurity research and cyber-range infrastructure.
02
Project Leads
Prof. Liang Zhenkai
National University of Singapore
Dr. Anis Yusof
National University of Singapore
They guide the project's research direction, system design, technical development and continued work on reproducible cyber experimentation.
03
Partner Organizations
CRADLE works with research organizations contributing expertise in cybersecurity, cyber experimentation and related research.
University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute
Research collaboration in cybersecurity and cyber experimentation.