Skip to main content

How to Play Machines on Hack The Box

Trying to complete a Machine? Not sure where to start? Read this.

Written by Fischer

Whether you are a new player or a veteran, this guide provides useful tips on how to navigate, filter, and play Machines on Hack The Box's Labs platform [app.hackthebox.com].

Navigating to the Machines Page

You’ll need to navigate to the left-hand side menu and click on Machines from your HTB Labs dashboard.

machines1.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]

This page contains all the controls required to play Machines, including VPN connection details, Active and Retired machine lists, and your personal to-do list, which is under your favorites tab.

Machine Difficulties

Machines come in four separate difficulty levels, separated by color. These levels help you choose targets that match your skill set:

  1. Easy (Green)
    ​

  2. Medium (Yellow)
    ​

  3. Hard (Red)
    ​

  4. Insane (Silver)
    ​

VPN Server selection

If you'd like to learn more about using the VPN ticketing system and subsequently connect to the labs to access the Machines, we have a dedicated article on the topic.

Click the button below to learn how more about Lab Access:

Introduction to Lab Access

Understanding the Machines Page Layout

The top of the Machines page features a Highlights section. This area showcases the current staff pick, the Get Rewarded button, where you can submit your own machine to get rewards, and machines that currently have Official Writeups available

Below the highlights, you will find four main menus to browse Machines:

  • Active Machines: These are currently active and available to both HTB VIP+ and HTB Free users.

  • Retired Machines: These Machines have been retired and offer Official or Community-created Writeups. The Retired section offers a rotating shortlist of retired machines for HTB Free users with no indication of an HTB VIP+ subscription needed. The HTB VIP+ banner next to each retired Machine indicates that said machine is available exclusively to HTB VIP+ or HTB PRO users.

  • Favorites: This contains both Active and Retired Machines that you have added to your personal list.

  • Unreleased: This panel displays the upcoming release dates for upcoming Machines, and lists which Machines are scheduled to be retired, along with a timer for their retirement.
    ​

    machines.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]

Filtering and Searching

You can easily narrow down the list of Machines using the provided filters:

  • Status: Filter by Complete, Incomplete, or Both.

  • Difficulty: Filter by Easy, Medium, Hard, or Insane.

  • OS: Filter by Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, or Other.
    ​

    filters.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]

You can easily organize your view by clicking on any of the available sorting options. Keep in mind that clicking on a different sorting option will reset the current one.

The sorting behavior for an individual option follows a simple three-click cycle:

  • First click: Sorts the items in descending order.

  • Second click: Sorts the items in ascending order.

  • Third click: Resets and removes the sorting filter.

Here are the sorting options you can choose from to organize your content:

  • Machine

  • User-Rated Difficulty

  • Rating

  • User Flag Solves

  • System Flag Solves

  • Release Date
    ​

    sorting.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]

For Retired Machines, you can use the Advanced Search feature to filter by specific Attack Paths, Attack Subs, and Programming Languages used during the exploit.

filters2.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]

If you're having trouble finding a machine, remember to try clearing your filters.

Playing a Machine

Once you get accustomed to the line-up interface, you can pick a machine that you’d like to tackle.

starting a machine.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]

You can find the general Machine information in the header at the top. This will display the logo, name, OS, and level of the Machine, as well as the Machine's Rating, the number of XP Points offered upon completion, and the User-Rated Difficulty of the Machine.
​
​

On the main section of the Machine page, you can find the tabs related to general information, statistics, the activity of other users, the changelog for this Machine, other users' reviews, and walkthroughs (once the Machine retires):

walking.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]

Playing a Machine as an HTB Free, HTB VIP+, or HTB PRO User

The experience of playing machines for the HTB Free, HTB VIP+, and HTB PRO subscriptions is very similar. Since the end of 2025, Hack The Box has granted all users dedicated/individual Labs instances.

To get started, simply navigate to the Machine you'd like to play and spawn it:

starting a machine.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]

If you're using your Virtual Machine and would like to connect to the machine via an OVPN file, you can do so by following our Lab Access guide in the article below:

Lab Access Guide

On the other hand, if you are playing on a Pwnbox, you can follow the steps described in the article listed below:

Accessing and Initializing Pwnbox

Managing Your Machine Instance

When playing on isolated or shared instances, you have a few controls to manage your gameplay:

  • Resetting a Machine: If a Machine gets stuck or something breaks when attempting an exploitation step, you can reset it by clicking the Reset Machine button.

  • Extending a Machine's Time: Any spawned instance has a lifetime. If you are actively attacking and the timer is running out, click Extend the Machine's time to give yourself ownership and reset the lifetime to a maximum of 24 hours. For example, if it is currently Monday at 3:00 PM, your machine will remain active without shutting down until Tuesday at 3:00 PM. So, if you click on the Extend button at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, it will give you an extra 24 hours, and your machine will be up until 2:00 PM on Wednesday.

  • Stopping a Machine: If you are done attacking one Machine and want to tackle another one, you must first click the Stop Machine button on your previous instance.
    ​

Submitting Flags and Reviewing Machines

Once you’ve found a flag, you can submit it using the fields below the Machine's IP. Keep in mind that Hack The Box uses a flag rotation mechanism. This means that if you reset or stop your instance at any point, the previous flag you found may not be valid once you spawn the machine again.

To submit a flag

  1. Paste your flag into the submission field on the Machine page.

  2. Click the Submit button.
    ​

  3. After a successful submission, rate the difficulty of the challenge.
    ​

If you have completed the Machine (owned the system), you can share your thoughts by clicking the Review Machine button to help guide future development:
​

review.mp4 [video-to-gif output image]


​


​

Related Articles
Did this answer your question?