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CTF Registration & Teams

Everything you need to know to register for a CTF.

Ryan Gordon avatar
Written by Ryan Gordon
Updated over 5 months ago

Notice: Registration and Teams for Business CTF and University CTF do not work as described below. For these CTFs specifically, please review their specific articles.

The first step in participating in any Hack The Box CTF is to register on our CTF Platform. This is a separate platform from the main website, and as such, requires a completely separate account.


Click the button below to view the CTF Platform!


Registering an Account

To participate in CTFs as a team, it's essential to create an account. Follow the steps outlined here to get started:


Joining a Team

You need to be a part of a Team to participate in a CTF, so you'll either need to join one or create your own. To join a Team, click on the Teams page in the upper navigation menu. Click on Join Team and search for the name in the drop-down menu.

Once you've selected the Team you'd like to join, click on Send Join Request. The Team Captain will be prompted to accept or deny your request.

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Create a Team

Instead of joining an existing Team, you can choose to create your own! You can be the Captain and sail your hacking crew through the cyber-seas. To start, click on the Create Team button.

Fill out the Team Creation Form with the appropriate information. The Team Discord Link field is not mandatory, but if you choose to fill it in, a Join Team Discord button will be available for your Team Members next to your Team in the My Teams tab.

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Keep in mind, you can only create a new Team if you are not already a Captain of an existing Team. You cannot be the Captain of two Teams at the same time, so you'll need to transfer ownership of the Team to someone else before you create your new one.

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Managing Your Team

Accepting a Join Request

To add people to your Team, have them send a join request using the process detailed earlier in this article. Once they have done so, you'll have the ability to accept the join request.

To do so, navigate to the My Teams Page, however over your Team, and click Manage Team.

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Click on the Members page, and you'll be presented with any Pending Join Requests. From here, you can choose to either accept or deny the request.

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Managing Team Members

From the Members page, you also have the ability to manage your existing members. You can transfer ownership of the Team, or alternatively, remove them from the Team.

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Transferring ownership of the Team is an irrevocable action- once you change ownership the person you transfer it to will have control of the Team. You'll need to enter your password to confirm the change.

If you decide you want to be Team Captain again, you'll need to ask whomever you transferred it to transfer it back.


Joining a CTF

To play in a CTF, hover over the event you wish to participate in and click Sign Up. You'll be prompted to select which Team you want to join the CTF as a member of. If the CTF is private, you'll be required to enter the password.

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Different CTFs may have different eligibility requirements to join, so be sure to read any information or updates publicized by Hack The Box for clarification.


CTF Rules

It’s important to ensure that everyone enjoys a fair and secure experience. To maintain the integrity of the event, please carefully read and adhere to the following rules and guidelines:

  • It is strictly forbidden to perform any kind of Denial of Service attack or any other unwanted actions against the servers or associated infrastructure.

  • Do not try to brute-force the flag submission system.

  • Do not perform any unwanted actions against other teams or members.

  • Do not try to exchange flags, write-ups, or hints of the challenges during the competition with other teams or external entities unless allowed by the CTF Organizer.

  • Do not distribute the content of the CTF challenges to third-party entities for help.

  • All teams must consist of a maximum number of members as determined by the CTF host.

  • Please familiarize yourself with the User Agreement regarding our content and intellectual property.

  • Any violation of these terms will automatically disqualify the player from the competition.

  • Let the scoreboard go on 🔥 Good luck!

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