Use Air-Gapped Mode when: testing classified systems, handling client data with strict data residency requirements, operating in physically isolated networks, or when contractual obligations prohibit any data from leaving the assessment environment.

Prerequisites

  • Ollama installed locally with at least one model pulled
  • All scan tool binaries pre-downloaded (no internet required after setup)
  • CVE database pre-synced (Settings → CVE → Sync Now) while connected
  • Nuclei templates pre-downloaded while connected
  • PhantomYerra license validated (if using licensed mode) while connected
  1. 1

    Pre-Download Everything While Connected

    Before entering the air-gapped environment, while still connected to the internet:

    # Pull Ollama models ollama pull deepseek-r1:70b # best quality (needs 64GB RAM) ollama pull deepseek-r1:7b # lighter option (needs 16GB RAM) ollama pull codellama:34b # code analysis # Update all scan tools nuclei -update-templates # PhantomYerra → Settings → Tools → Update All # Sync CVE database # PhantomYerra → Settings → CVE → Sync Now # Update all Python packages while connected pip install --upgrade -r python/requirements.txt
  2. 2

    Enable Air-Gapped Mode

    Go to Settings → Privacy → Air-Gapped Mode. Toggle Enable Air-Gapped Mode to ON. This sets the following configuration:

    privacy_mode : air_gapped use_local_model : true ollama_endpoint : http://localhost:11434 local_model : deepseek-r1:70b anonymize_ai_calls : true (enforced — cannot disable) send_domains_to_ai : false (enforced) send_ips_to_ai : false (enforced) send_company_names_to_ai : false (enforced) block_external_ai_calls : true (hard block at HTTP layer) telemetry_enabled : false auto_update_enabled : false license_check_interval : never (offline mode)
  3. 3

    Configure Ollama as Primary AI Provider

    In Settings → AI Configuration → Provider Priority, drag Local Ollama to Position 1. All other providers are automatically disabled in Air-Gapped Mode regardless of this setting.

  4. 4

    Disconnect from Network

    You can now physically disconnect from the network or disable the network adapter. PhantomYerra will operate fully offline. The status bar shows 🔒 Air-Gapped Mode Active in red when network is disconnected.

⏱️ Pre-download setup: 30–90 minutes (model download is the longest step). Air-gapped mode activation: under 1 minute.

Common Issues

Ensure the Ollama service is running: ollama serve or check the system tray icon. Verify the model is loaded: ollama list — the model must show as available. Confirm the endpoint in Settings → AI Configuration → Local Ollama is http://localhost:11434. On Windows, Ollama may need to be started manually from the Start Menu.

Sync the CVE database before entering the air-gapped environment: Settings → CVE → Sync Now. For ongoing air-gapped engagements, periodically sync via a controlled connection or transfer the CVE database file (data/cve.db) from an online PhantomYerra instance using approved transfer procedures. PhantomYerra's CVE sync downloads the full NVD JSON feed which can be transferred as a file.

Run nuclei -update-templates while connected to the internet before entering the air-gapped environment. The templates are stored at ~/.local/nuclei-templates/ (Linux/macOS) or %USERPROFILE%\nuclei-templates\ (Windows) and can be copied to an air-gapped machine via approved media transfer.