git.stella-ops.org/docs/modules/scanner/operations/entrypoint-lang-elixir.md

Entry-Point Runtime — Elixir / Erlang (BEAM)

Signals to gather

• argv0 equals elixir, iex, mix, erl, beam.smp, or release scripts (bin/app start).
• Release layouts: _build/prod/rel/<app>/bin/<app>, releases/<version>/vm.args, sys.config.
• Environment variables (MIX_ENV, RELEASE_COOKIE, RELEASE_NODE).
• Config files (config/config.exs, config/prod.exs).

Implementation notes

• Recognise Distillery / mix release scripts that exec the real BEAM VM.
• When release script is invoked with eval, treat the wrapper as part of the chain but classify runtime as Elixir.
• Inspect vm.args for node name, cookie, and distributed settings.
• For pure Erlang services (no Elixir), the same detector should fire using erl hints.

Evidence & scoring

• Boost for release directories and BEAM VM binaries (beam.smp).
• Add evidence for config files and env vars.
• Penalise minimal images lacking release artefacts (could be generic shell wrappers).

Edge cases

• Phoenix apps often rely on bin/server wrapper—ShellFlow must collapse to release script.
• Multi-node clusters may start multiple BEAM instances; treat as Supervisor if several nodes stay active.