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CTFLab

Leaderboard System

CTFLab’s leaderboard system automatically tracks solver progress and updates rankings in real-time. Choose between solve-count mode (default) or points-based mode for competitive scoring.

Leaderboard Modes

Section titled “Leaderboard Modes”

Solve-Count Mode

Section titled “Solve-Count Mode”

Members are ranked by total number of CTFs solved, regardless of difficulty.

Best for:

  • Introductory servers where everyone participates
  • Casual CTF communities
  • Beginners learning CTF fundamentals

Example:

🥇 Alice — 15 solved
🥈 Bob — 12 solved
🥉 Charlie — 10 solved

Points-Based Mode

Section titled “Points-Based Mode”

Members earn points per difficulty and are ranked by total points. Points are fully customizable.

To enable:

  1. Run /ctf-config-points
  2. Enter point values for each difficulty level
  3. Leaderboard automatically switches to points mode

Best for:

  • Competitive tournaments
  • Skill-based CTF events
  • Communities that reward challenge difficulty
  • Balanced scoring where Hard challenges are worth more than Easy

Example Configuration:

Easy = 100 points
Medium = 250 points
Hard = 400 points
Insane = 600 points

Resulting Leaderboard:

🥇 Alice — 2150 pts (1 Insane + 3 Hard + 2 Medium)
🥈 Bob — 1850 pts (1 Insane + 2 Hard + 4 Medium)
🥉 Charlie — 1250 pts (2 Hard + 3 Medium + 2 Easy)

Leaderboard Features

Section titled “Leaderboard Features”

Real-Time Updates

Leaderboards refresh automatically as members solve challenges — no manual intervention needed.

Two Display Modes

Desktop (3-column) and Mobile (single-column) leaderboards for optimal viewing on any device.

Medals & Rankings

🥇 🥈 🥉 medals for top 3 with rank numbers for positions 4+.

Member Management

Remove users from leaderboards, revoke specific solves, or manually award achievements.

Desktop vs. Mobile Leaderboards

Section titled “Desktop vs. Mobile Leaderboards”

Both leaderboards display the same data but optimized for different viewing contexts.

Desktop Leaderboard:

  • 3-column grid layout
  • Shows rank, user, and score/solves side-by-side
  • Best for viewing on large screens
  • Posted with /ctf-leaderboard

Mobile Leaderboard:

  • Single-column layout
  • Line-by-line format for small screens
  • Easier to read on phones
  • Posted with /ctf-leaderboard-mobile

Creating Leaderboards

Section titled “Creating Leaderboards”
/ctf-leaderboard
→ Choose channel
→ Leaderboard posted and auto-updates


/ctf-leaderboard-mobile
→ Choose channel
→ Mobile version posted and auto-updates

Managing Leaderboards

Section titled “Managing Leaderboards”

Remove a Member

Section titled “Remove a Member”

Use /ctf-leaderboard-remove [member] to:

  • Clear all solves for a user
  • Remove them from all leaderboard displays
  • Recalculate rankings automatically

Note: This is irreversible — all their solve history is deleted.

Revoke a Specific Solve

Section titled “Revoke a Specific Solve”

Use /ctf-revoke-solve [member] [ctf_query] to:

  • Remove one specific CTF solve
  • Keep their other solves intact
  • Update leaderboard and role assignments
  • Recalculate first-blood positions (if enabled)

Example:

/ctf-revoke-solve @alice 1
→ Removes Alice's solve for CTF ID 1
→ Leaderboard updates
→ Alice keeps all other solves

Auto-Update Debouncing

Section titled “Auto-Update Debouncing”

When multiple users solve challenges within seconds of each other, the leaderboard updates are debounced (grouped) into a single refresh. This prevents excessive Discord API calls and improves performance.

How it works:

  1. User A solves Challenge 1
  2. schedule_leaderboard_update() triggered (5 second delay)
  3. User B solves Challenge 2 (before 5 seconds elapse)
  4. Delay resets to 5 more seconds
  5. After final 5 seconds of no solves: single update with both A and B’s progress

Leaderboard + First-Blood Integration

Section titled “Leaderboard + First-Blood Integration”

If first-blood bonuses are enabled, the leaderboard calculation automatically includes bonus points for top 3 solvers of each challenge.

Example (with first-blood at 50%, 30%, 15%):

Challenge: Web Exploitation (400 points base)


1st Solver: 400 + 50% = 600 pts
2nd Solver: 400 + 30% = 520 pts
3rd Solver: 400 + 15% = 460 pts
4th+ Solver: 400 pts (no bonus)

Best Practices

Section titled “Best Practices”

Post Both Leaderboards

Create both desktop and mobile leaderboards for accessibility. Many members use Discord mobile app.

Set Realistic Points

If using points mode, ensure point values encourage participation across all difficulty levels. If Insane challenges are 10x harder than Easy, consider slightly lower multipliers.

Pin Leaderboard Messages

Pin leaderboard messages in a dedicated channel so members can find them easily. Use /ctf-leaderboard to refresh without creating duplicates.

Combine with Top-3 Roles

Enable /enable-top-3 to automatically assign roles to top 3 solvers. Roles sync every time the leaderboard updates.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”