https://smartcontractauditor.ai/assets/sherlock-audit-contest-guide-B7fvtaf-.js

1import{j as e}from"./index-DJZuVyTC.js";import{B as t}from"./BountyPlatformGuide-BCIlfOMR.js";import"./accordion-BwXwaUPW.js";import"./user-CmMjch5k.js";const o={title:"Sherlock Audit Contest Triage & Workflow Guide",metaDescription:"Watson on Sherlock? Here's a triage workflow for the opening hours of a Sherlock contest, plus where a fast automated scan actually helps and where it doesn't.",canonicalUrl:"https://smartcontractauditor.ai/sherlock-audit-contest-guide",keywords:"sherlock audit, sherlock contest, sherlock watson, sherlock protocol triage, competitive smart contract auditing",platformName:"Sherlock",formatLabel:"Time-boxed audit contest",headline:"Getting Through a Sherlock Codebase Before the Clock Runs Out",subheadline:"Sherlock contests put watsons on a fixed scope for a fixed window, with a judging and escalation process that rewards clear, well-substantiated reports. The scope you can actually read carefully is the scope you can find bugs in.",quickAnswer:["Sherlock runs time-boxed audit contests where watsons compete on a sponsor's fixed scope, with a structured judging and dispute-escalation process after submissions close.","Report quality and clarity matter in Sherlock's judging process, not just being first — but you still can't write a clear report about code you haven't had time to actually read.","An automated scan trims the time spent on function-by-function orientation so more of the contest window goes to the manual work that actually finds contest-worthy bugs."],formatExplainer:"Sherlock contests publish a scope, a prize pool, and a fixed submission window. After the window closes, findings go through judging with a structured escalation period where watsons can dispute severity or duplicate classifications before final payouts. The judging process is more formalized than most contest platforms, which means report clarity and substantiation carry real weight.",workflowSteps:[{title:"Read the scope and any known-issues doc before touching code",description:"Sherlock scopes usually specify exact commit hashes and sometimes prior audit reports — check whether a contract was already reviewed before spending contest hours on it."},{title:"Scan the full scope for an initial map",description:"A function and access-control inventory across every in-scope contract gets you oriented faster than reading a large diff cold, especially on contests with 10+ files in scope."},{title:"Cross-reference flagged patterns against the protocol's actual design",description:"Sherlock's judging process penalizes reports that don't hold up under scrutiny — a flagged pattern is only worth submitting once you've confirmed it's a real, exploitable deviation from intended behavior, not just an unusual-looking line."},{title:"Spend the bulk of your window on manual review of the unusual files",description:"Once the scan tells you which contracts have custom logic worth attention, that's where careful manual reading and report-writing happens."}],helpsWith:["Getting a fast function/modifier inventory across large multi-contract scopes","Identifying which contracts are standard-library-based vs. custom before committing time","Catching an obvious missed check early enough to still investigate it properly","Re-scanning quickly if the sponsor updates scope mid-contest"],wontDoForYou:["Substantiate a finding well enough to survive Sherlock's judging and escalation process","Understand protocol-specific invariants or economic assumptions","Write the report — clarity and evidence are what Sherlock's judges actually weigh","Replace reading the sponsor's own documentation and prior audit history"],sections:[{heading:"Judging Rewards Substantiation, Not Just Speed",content:"<p>Sherlock's escalation process means a rushed, thin report is more likely to get disputed or downgraded than on some other contest platforms. That changes the math on where triage time is worth spending — getting oriented fast matters, but so does leaving enough of the window to actually build a defensible case for each finding you submit.</p>"},{heading:"Working Through Multi-File Scopes Efficiently",content:"<p>Sherlock contests frequently involve protocol forks or large DeFi codebase

1s with dozens of files. Scanning each in-scope contract individually (or the whole set if you're working from a repo) gives you a working inventory before you start tracing cross-contract calls by hand — which is usually where the time crunch actually happens.</p>"}],faqs:[{question:"Does Sherlock accept automated scan output as a submission?",answer:"No. Sherlock's judging process evaluates substantiated findings with clear proof of impact — a pattern flagged by any automated tool is a lead for your own investigation, not something you submit directly."},{question:"How does Sherlock's escalation process work?",answer:"After initial judging, watsons can escalate disputes about severity or duplicate classification within a set window, and judges review escalations before finalizing payouts. This is more formal than most audit contest platforms."},{question:"Can I scan a Sherlock scope by contract address instead of the repo?",answer:"Yes, if the in-scope contracts are already deployed and verified on a supported explorer (Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism) — paste the address instead of pulling the repo."}],relatedPages:[{title:"Bug Bounty Hunter Toolkit",href:"/bug-bounty-hunter-toolkit",description:"The full workflow across every bounty platform"},{title:"Code4rena Contest Guide",href:"/code4rena-audit-contest-guide",description:"A similar contest format, different judging model"},{title:"Cantina Competitions Guide",href:"/cantina-competitions-guide",description:"Fixed-scope and competition-based work on Cantina"}],ctaHeadline:"Get Oriented Before You Start Reading Line by Line",ctaSubheadline:"Paste, upload, or scan a deployed contract by address — free to start.",structuredData:{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https://smartcontractauditor.ai/sherlock-audit-contest-guide#article",headline:"Sherlock Audit Contest Triage & Workflow Guide",author:{"@type":"Organization",name:"SmartContractAuditor.ai"},publisher:{"@type":"Organization",name:"SmartContractAuditor.ai"},datePublished:"2026-08-18",dateModified:"2026-08-18",mainEntityOfPage:{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://smartcontractauditor.ai/sherlock-audit-contest-guide"}},{"@type":"FAQPage",mainEntity:[{"@type":"Question",name:"Does Sherlock accept automated scan output as a submission?",acceptedAnswer:{"@type":"Answer",text:"No. Sherlock's judging process evaluates substantiated findings with clear proof of impact. An automated pattern flag is a lead, not a submission."}},{"@type":"Question",name:"How does Sherlock's escalation process work?",acceptedAnswer:{"@type":"Answer",text:"After initial judging, watsons can escalate disputes about severity or duplicate classification within a set window before payouts are finalized."}}]}]}};function r(){return e.jsx(t,{data:o})}export{r as default};