Getting Started Guide for Beginner Programmers — Bitburner 2.1.0 documentation (2024)

Note

Note that the scripts and strategies given in this guide aren’t necessarilyoptimal. They’re just meant to introduce you to the game and help you getstarted.

Introduction¶

Bitburner is a cyberpunk-themed incremental RPG. The player progresses by raisingtheir Stats, earning money, and climbing the corporate ladder.Eventually, after reaching certain criteria, the player will begin receiving invitationsfrom Factions. Joining these factions and working for them will unlockAugmentations. Purchasing and installing Augmentations provide persistentupgrades and are necessary for progressing in the game.

The game has a minimal story/quest-line that can be followed to reach the end of the game.Since this guide is only about getting started with Bitburner, it will not cover theentire “quest-line”.

First Steps¶

I’m going to assume you followed the introductory tutorial when you first began the game.In this introductory tutorial you created a script called n00dles.script and ran iton the n00dles server. Right now, we’ll kill this script. There are two waysto do this:

1. You can go to the Terminal and enter:

   $ kill n00dles.script

2. You can go to the Active Scripts page (Keyboard shortcut Alt + s) andpress the “Kill Script” button for n00dles.script.

If you skipped the introductory tutorial, then ignore the part above. Instead, go to theHacknet Nodes page (Keyboard shortcut Alt + h) and purchase aHacknet Node to start generating some passive income.

Creating our First Script¶

Now, we’ll create a generic hacking script that can be used early on in the game (or throughout theentire game, if you want).

Before we write the script, here are some things you’ll want to familiarize yourself with:

• General Hacking Mechanics
• Server Security
• hack()
• grow()
• weaken()
• brutessh()
• nuke()

To briefly summarize the information from the links above: Each server has asecurity level that affects how difficult it is to hack. Each server also has acertain amount of money, as well as a maximum amount of money it can hold. Hacking aserver steals a percentage of that server’s money. The hack() Netscript functionis used to hack a server. The grow() Netscript function is used to increasethe amount of money available on a server. The weaken() Netscript function isused to decrease a server’s security level.

Now let’s move on to actually creating the script.Go to your home computer and then create a script called early-hack-template.script bygoing to Terminal and entering the following two commands:

$ home$ nano early-hack-template.script

This will take you to the script editor, which you can use to code and createScripts. It will be helpful to consult the Netscript documentation.Specifically, you’ll want to take a look at Netscript Basic Functions.

Enter the following code in the script editor:

// Defines the "target server", which is the server// that we're going to hack. In this case, it's "n00dles"var target = "n00dles";// Defines how much money a server should have before we hack it// In this case, it is set to 75% of the server's max moneyvar moneyThresh = getServerMaxMoney(target) * 0.75;// Defines the maximum security level the target server can// have. If the target's security level is higher than this,// we'll weaken it before doing anything elsevar securityThresh = getServerMinSecurityLevel(target) + 5;// If we have the BruteSSH.exe program, use it to open the SSH Port// on the target serverif (fileExists("BruteSSH.exe", "home")) { brutessh(target);}// Get root access to target servernuke(target);// Infinite loop that continously hacks/grows/weakens the target serverwhile(true) { if (getServerSecurityLevel(target) > securityThresh) { // If the server's security level is above our threshold, weaken it weaken(target); } else if (getServerMoneyAvailable(target) < moneyThresh) { // If the server's money is less than our threshold, grow it grow(target); } else { // Otherwise, hack it hack(target); }}

The script above contains comments that document what it does, but let’s go through itstep-by-step anyways.

var target = "n00dles";

This first command defines a string which contains our target server. That’s the serverthat we’re going to hack. For now, it’s set to n00dles because that’s the onlyserver with a required hacking level of 1. If you want to hack a different server,simply change thisvariable to be the hostname of another server.

var moneyThresh = getServerMaxMoney(target) * 0.75;

This second command defines a numerical value representing the minimumamount of money that must be available on the target server in order for our scriptto hack it. If the money available on the target server is less than this value,then our script will grow() the server rather than hacking it.It is set to 75% of the maximum amount of money that can be available on the server.The getServerMaxMoney() Netscript function is used to find this value

var securityThresh = getServerMinSecurityLevel(target) + 5;

This third command defines a numerical value representing the maximum security levelthe target server can have. If the target server’s security level is higher thanthis value, then our script will weaken() the script before doing anything else.

if (fileExists("BruteSSH.exe", "home")) { brutessh(target);}nuke(target);

This section of code is used to gain root access on the target server. This isnecessary for hacking. See here for more details.

while (true) { if (getServerSecurityLevel(target) > securityThresh) { // If the server's security level is above our threshold, weaken it weaken(target); } else if (getServerMoneyAvailable(target) < moneyThresh) { // Otherwise, if the server's money is less than our threshold, grow it grow(target); } else { // Otherwise, hack it hack(target); }}

This is the main section that drives our script. It dictates the script’s logicand carries out the hacking operations. The while (true) creates an infinite loopthat will continuously run the hacking logic until the the script is killed.

Running our Scripts¶

Now we want to start running our hacking script so that it can start earning usmoney and experience. Our home computer only has 8GB of RAM and we’ll be using it forsomething else later. So instead, we’ll take advantage of the RAM on other machines.

Go to Terminal and enter the following command:

$ scan-analyze 2

This will show detailed information about some servers on the network. Thenetwork is randomized so it will be different for every person.Here’s what mine showed at the time I made this:

[home ~]> scan-analyze 2~~~~~~~~~~ Beginning scan-analyze ~~~~~~~~~~n00dles--Root Access: YES, Required hacking skill: 1--Number of open ports required to NUKE: 0--RAM: 4.00GB----zer0------Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 75------Number of open ports required to NUKE: 1------RAM: 32.00GBfoodnstuff--Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 1--Number of open ports required to NUKE: 0--RAM: 16.00GBsigma-cosmetics--Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 5--Number of open ports required to NUKE: 0--RAM: 16.00GBjoesguns--Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 10--Number of open ports required to NUKE: 0--RAM: 16.00GB----max-hardware------Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 80------Number of open ports required to NUKE: 1------RAM: 32.00GB----CSEC------Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 54------Number of open ports required to NUKE: 1------RAM: 8.00GBhong-fang-tea--Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 30--Number of open ports required to NUKE: 0--RAM: 16.00GB----nectar-net------Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 20------Number of open ports required to NUKE: 0------RAM: 16.00GBharakiri-sushi--Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 40--Number of open ports required to NUKE: 0--RAM: 16.00GBiron-gym--Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 100--Number of open ports required to NUKE: 1--RAM: 32.00GB

Take note of the following servers:

• sigma-cosmetics
• joesguns
• nectar-net
• hong-fang-tea
• harakiri-sushi

All of these servers have 16GB of RAM. Furthermore, all of these servers do not requireany open ports in order to NUKE. In other words, we can gain root access to all of theseservers and then run scripts on them.

First, let’s determine how many threads of our hacking script we can run.Read more about multithreading scripts hereThe script we wroteuses 2.6GB of RAM. You can check this using the following Terminal command:

$ mem early-hack-template.script

This means we can run 6 threads on a 16GB server. Now, to run our scripts on all of theseservers, we have to do the following:

1. Use the scp Terminal command to copy our script to each server.
2. Use the connect Terminal command to connect to a server.
3. Use the run Terminal command to run the NUKE.exe program andgain root access.
4. Use the run Terminal command again to run our script.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for each server.

Here’s the sequence of Terminal commands I used in order to achieve this:

$ home$ scp early-hack-template.script n00dles$ scp early-hack-template.script sigma-cosmetics$ scp early-hack-template.script joesguns$ scp early-hack-template.script nectar-net$ scp early-hack-template.script hong-fang-tea$ scp early-hack-template.script harakiri-sushi$ connect n00dles$ run NUKE.exe$ run early-hack-template.script -t 1$ home$ connect sigma-cosmetics$ run NUKE.exe$ run early-hack-template.script -t 6$ home$ connect joesguns$ run NUKE.exe$ run early-hack-template.script -t 6$ home$ connect hong-fang-tea$ run NUKE.exe$ run early-hack-template.script -t 6$ home$ connect harakiri-sushi$ run NUKE.exe$ run early-hack-template.script -t 6$ home$ connect hong-fang-tea$ connect nectar-net$ run NUKE.exe$ run early-hack-template.script -t 6

The home Terminal command is used to connect to the homecomputer. When running our scripts with the run early-hack-template.script -t 6command, the -t 6 specifies that the script should be run with 6 threads.

Note that the nectar-net server isn’t in the home computer’s immediate network.This means you can’t directly connect to it from home. You will have to search for itinside the network. The results of the scan-analyze 2 command we ran beforewill show where it is. In my case, I could connect to it by going fromhong-fang-tea -> nectar-net. However, this will probably be different for you.

After running all of these Terminal commands, our scripts are now up and running.These will earn money and hacking experience over time. These gains will bereally slow right now, but they will increase once our hacking skill rises andwe start running more scripts.

Increasing Hacking Level¶

There are many servers besides n00dles that can be hacked, but they havehigher required hacking levels. Therefore, we should raise our hacking level. Not onlywill this let us hack more servers, but it will also increase the effectiveness of our hackingagainst n00dles.

The easiest way to train your hacking level is to visit Rothman University. You can do this byclicking the City tab on the left-hand navigation menu, or you can use thekeyboard shortcut Alt + w. Rothman University should be one of the buttonsnear the top. Click the button to go to the location.

Once you go to Rothman University, you should see a screen with several options. Theseoptions describe different courses you can take. You should click the first button, whichsays: “Study Computer Science (free)”.

After you click the button, you will start studying and earning hacking experience. While youare doing this, you cannot interact with any other part of the game until you click the buttonthat says “Stop taking course”.

Right now, we want a hacking level of 10. You need approximately 174 hacking experience to reachlevel 10. You can check how much hacking experience you have by clicking the Stats tabon the left-hand navigation menu, or by using Keyboard shortcut Alt + c.Since studying at Rothman University earns you 1 experience per second, this will take174 seconds, or approximately 3 minutes. Feel free to do something in the meantime!

Editing our Hacking Script¶

Now that we have a hacking level of 10, we can hack the joesguns server. This serverwill be slightly more profitable than n00dles. Therefore, we want to change our hackingscript to target joesguns instead of n00dles.

Go to Terminal and edit the hacking script by entering:

$ home$ nano early-hack-template.script

At the top of the script, change the target variable to be joesguns:

var target = "joesguns";

Note that this will NOT affect any instances of the script that are already running.This will only affect instances of the script that are ran from this point forward.

Creating a New Script to Purchase New Servers¶

Next, we’re going to create a script that automatically purchases additional servers. Theseservers will be used to run many scripts. Running this script will initially be veryexpensive since purchasing a server costs money, but it will pay off in the long run.

In order to create this script, you should familiarize yourself with the followingNetscript functions:

• purchaseServer()
• getPurchasedServerCost()
• getPurchasedServerLimit()
• getServerMoneyAvailable()
• scp()
• exec()

Create the script by going to Terminal and typing:

$ home$ nano purchase-server-8gb.script

Paste the following code into the script editor:

// How much RAM each purchased server will have. In this case, it'll// be 8GB.var ram = 8;// Iterator we'll use for our loopvar i = 0;// Continuously try to purchase servers until we've reached the maximum// amount of serverswhile (i < getPurchasedServerLimit()) { // Check if we have enough money to purchase a server if (getServerMoneyAvailable("home") > getPurchasedServerCost(ram)) { // If we have enough money, then: // 1. Purchase the server // 2. Copy our hacking script onto the newly-purchased server // 3. Run our hacking script on the newly-purchased server with 3 threads // 4. Increment our iterator to indicate that we've bought a new server var hostname = purchaseServer("pserv-" + i, ram); scp("early-hack-template.script", hostname); exec("early-hack-template.script", hostname, 3); ++i; }}

This code uses a while loop to purchase the maximum amount of servers using thepurchaseServer() Netscript function. Each of these servers will have8GB of RAM, as defined in the ram variable. Note that the script uses the commandgetServerMoneyAvailable("home") to get the amount of money you currently have.This is then used to check if you can afford to purchase a server.

Whenever the script purchases a new server, it uses the scp() function to copyour script onto that new server, and then it uses the exec() function toexecute it on that server.

To run this script, go to Terminal and type:

$ run purchase-server-8gb.script

This purchase will continuously run until it has purchased the maximum number of servers.When this happens, it’ll mean that you have a bunch of new servers that are all runninghacking scripts against the joesguns server!

Note that purchasing a server is fairly expensive, and purchasing the maximum amount ofservers even more so. At the time of writing this guide, the script above requires$11 million in order to finish purchasing all of the 8GB servers.Therefore, we need to find additional ways to make money to speedup the process! These are covered in the next section.

Additional Sources of Income¶

There are other ways to gain money in this game besides scripts & hacking.

After you Purchase your New Servers¶

After you’ve made a total of $11 million, your automatic server-purchasing script shouldfinish running. This will free up some RAM on your home computer. We don’t want this RAMto go to waste, so we’ll make use of it. Go to Terminal and enter the following commands:

$ home$ run early-hack-template.script -t 3

Reaching a Hacking Level of 50¶

Once you reach a hacking level of 50, two new important parts of the game open up.

Message received from unknown sender:We've been watching you. Your skills are very impressive. But you're wastingyour talents. If you join us, you can put your skills to good use and changethe world for the better. If you join us, we can unlock your full potential.But first, you must pass our test. Find and hack our server using the Terminal.-CyberSecThis message was saved as csec-test.msg onto your home computer.

$ home$ cat csec-test.msg

$ home$ scan-analyze 2

>iron-gym--Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 100--Number of open ports required to NUKE: 1--RAM: 32---->zer0------Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 75------Number of open ports required to NUKE: 1------RAM: 32---->CSEC------Root Access: NO, Required hacking skill: 54------Number of open ports required to NUKE: 1------RAM: 8

$ connect iron-gym$ connect CSEC

$ run BruteSSH.exe$ run NUKE.exe$ backdoor

Using Additional Servers to Hack Joesguns¶

Once you have the BruteSSH.exe program, you will be able to gain root accessto several additional servers. These servers have more RAM that you can use torun scripts. We’ll use the RAM on these servers to run more scripts that targetjoesguns.

$ home$ scp early-hack-template.script neo-net$ scp early-hack-template.script zer0$ scp early-hack-template.script max-hardware$ scp early-hack-template.script iron-gym

$ run early-hack-template.script -t 12

Profiting from Scripts & Gaining Reputation with CyberSec¶

Now it’s time to play the waiting game. It will take some time for your scripts to startearning money. Remember that most of your scripts are targeting joesguns. It will take abit for them to grow() and weaken() the server to the appropriate valuesbefore they start hacking it. Once they do, however, the scripts will be very profitable.

In the meantime, we are going to be gaining reputation with the CyberSec faction.Go to the Factions tab on the left-handnavigation menu, and from there select CyberSec. In the middle ofthe page there should be a button for Hacking Contracts.Click it to start earning reputation for the CyberSec faction (as wellas some hacking experience). The higher your hacking level, the more reputation youwill gain. Note that while you are working for a faction, you can choose to not interactwith the rest of the game in any way to gain reputation at full speed. You can also select todo something else simultaneously, gaining reputation a bit more slowly, until you focus again.You can cancel your faction work at any time with no penalty to your reputation gained so far.

Purchasing Upgrades and Augmentations¶

As I mentioned before, within 1-2 hours I had earned over $200 million. Now, it’s timeto spend all of this money on some persistent upgrades to help progress!

Next Steps¶

That’s the end of the walkthrough portion of this guide! You should continue to explorewhat the game has to offer. There’s quite a few features that aren’t covered or mentionedin this guide, and even more that get unlocked as you continue to play!

Also, check out the Netscript documentation to see what it has to offer. Writingscripts to perform and automate various tasks is where most of the fun in the game comesfrom (in my opinion)!

The following are a few things you may want to consider doing in the near future.

// Array of all servers that don't need any ports opened// to gain root access. These have 16 GB of RAMvar servers0Port = ["sigma-cosmetics", "joesguns", "nectar-net", "hong-fang-tea", "harakiri-sushi"];// Array of all servers that only need 1 port opened// to gain root access. These have 32 GB of RAMvar servers1Port = ["neo-net", "zer0", "max-hardware", "iron-gym"];// Copy our scripts onto each server that requires 0 ports// to gain root access. Then use nuke() to gain admin access and// run the scripts.for (var i = 0; i < servers0Port.length; ++i) { var serv = servers0Port[i]; scp("early-hack-template.script", serv); nuke(serv); exec("early-hack-template.script", serv, 6);}// Wait until we acquire the "BruteSSH.exe" programwhile (!fileExists("BruteSSH.exe")) { sleep(60000);}// Copy our scripts onto each server that requires 1 port// to gain root access. Then use brutessh() and nuke()// to gain admin access and run the scripts.for (var i = 0; i < servers1Port.length; ++i) { var serv = servers1Port[i]; scp("early-hack-template.script", serv); brutessh(serv); nuke(serv); exec("early-hack-template.script", serv, 12);}

Random Tips¶

• Early on in the game, it’s better to spend your money on upgrading RAM and purchasingnew servers rather than spending it on Augmentations
• The more money available on a server, the more effective the hack() andgrow() Netscript functions will be. This is because both of these functionsuse percentages rather than flat values. hack() steals a percentage of a server’stotal available money, and grow() increases a server’s money by X%.
• There is a limit to how much money can exist on a server. This value is different for eachserver. The getServerMaxMoney() function will tell you this maximum value.
• At this stage in the game, your combat stats (strength, defense, etc.) are not nearlyas useful as your hacking stat. Do not invest too much time or money into gaining combatstat exp.
• As a rule of thumb, your hacking target should be the server with highest max money that’srequired hacking level is under 1/3 of your hacking level.