# Week 30 - SQLMap Debugging

What would you rather see? Your mother-in-law at your door unannounced, or the below sqlmap error:

`[WARNING] in case of continuous data retrieval problems you are advised to try a switch '--no-cast' or switch '--hex' [CRITICAL] unable to retrieve the number of ___`

This error used to haunt me during engagements. I would often just append '--no-cast’ and hope for the best. Until I learned a much better technique that, in my experience, can solve this problem most of the time.

Typically, this issue occurs when dumping data with Blind SQLi. Sqlmap is having trouble determining a valid character (True response) from an invalid (False response). To solve this problem, we must tell sqlmap EXACTLY how to determine a True response. To do this, we can use the flags ‘--string’ and ‘--code’

\--string => Specify portion of text returned in HTTP Response when the query is true --code => HTTP status code returned when query is true

I frequently use the ‘--string’ flag and specify some text returned only in the True page, which can often be found in the HTML of the server response. The ‘--code’ flag is also useful if you’re dealing with a SQLi whose False page is a 500 status code (syntax error).

Now you won’t have any more issues dumping data!

<img src="/files/gqakasaBMGo8jxUkXZsp" alt="" data-size="original">


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://www.webhackingtips.com/week-30-sqlmap-debugging.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.