Exploration C2 Core

Overview

Exploration C2 Core is the foundational submodule/package shared across all components of the Exploration Command and Control (C2) framework, including C2Implant, C2LinuxImplant and C2TeamServer. Written in C++, it provides core data structures, communication protocols, and serialization mechanisms to enable modular and cross-platform development of C2 components.

This repository is intended to be consumed from a parent repository as a shared source subtree or submodule.

Features

• Unified message format across all C2 transport channels
• Serialization and deserialization of C2 messages using nlohmann/json
• Utilities for modules development
• Designed for portability and reuse across multiple platforms

Dependencies

• nlohmann/json: Modern C++ JSON serialization library
• cpp-base64: Lightweight base64 encoding/decoding

Build and Tests

C2Core no longer exposes a standalone build entrypoint in this repository.

• The parent project owns the compiler toolchain and top-level CMake configuration.
• Module tests are enabled by the parent through C2CORE_BUILD_TESTS.
• Functional, env-driven module tests are enabled through C2CORE_BUILD_FUNCTIONAL_TESTS.
• Test strategy, flags, and ready-to-run commands are documented in TESTING.md.