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frida/frida

📈 Trending★ 20,662MesonAudience · developerComplexity · 4/5ActiveLicenseSetup · hard

TLDR

Dynamic instrumentation toolkit that lets you inject code into running programs to inspect and modify their behavior in real time, without source code.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Frida))
    What it does
      Inject code live
      Inspect behavior
      Modify programs
      No source needed
    How to use
      Python bindings
      Node.js bindings
      CLI tools
      Pre-built binaries
    CLI Tools
      frida attach
      frida-ps list
      frida-trace monitor
      frida-discover find
    Use cases
      Reverse engineering
      Security research
      Debugging apps
      Dynamic analysis
    Tech stack
      Meson build
      Python C API
      JavaScript runtime

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Reverse-engineer closed-source applications to understand how they work without access to source code.

USE CASE 2

Monitor and intercept function calls in running programs to debug issues or analyze security vulnerabilities.

USE CASE 3

Automate security testing by injecting test code into live applications to verify behavior under different conditions.

USE CASE 4

Trace system calls and API usage in real time to profile performance or detect malicious activity.

Tech stack

MesonPythonNode.jsCJavaScript

Getting it running

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires building native C extensions with Meson and understanding instrumentation/hooking concepts; multiple language runtimes needed.

Frida is open-source; check frida.re for specific license terms allowing use in research and security work.

In plain English

Frida is a dynamic instrumentation toolkit designed for developers, reverse-engineers, and security researchers. Dynamic instrumentation means it lets you inject code into running programs and inspect or modify their behavior in real time, without needing the program's source code. The repository itself exists primarily as the place to clone if you want to build Frida from source. The more common way to install it is through package managers: pip install frida for Python bindings, pip install frida-tools for command-line tools, or npm install frida for Node.js bindings. Pre-built binaries are also available on the GitHub releases page for various operating systems. The toolkit includes several CLI tools such as frida, frida-ps, frida-trace, frida-kill, frida-ls-devices, and frida-discover. Building from source on Apple platforms (macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS) requires a valid code-signing certificate. Full documentation is available at frida.re.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to use Frida to attach to a running process and list all loaded modules using the Python API.
Prompt 2
Write a Frida script that intercepts calls to a specific function in a running app and logs the arguments and return value.
Prompt 3
How do I use frida-trace from the command line to monitor all function calls in a target process?
Prompt 4
Explain how to set up Frida on macOS, including code-signing requirements for building from source.
Prompt 5
Create a Frida hook that modifies the return value of a function to test how an app handles unexpected data.
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Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.