explaingit

yotamn/frida-gum

Analysis updated 2026-08-15 · repo last pushed 2022-02-01

Audience · researcherComplexity · 5/5DormantSetup · hard

TLDR

A low-level toolkit that lets you inspect and modify a running program's behavior in real time by hooking into its code, tracing execution, and monitoring memory. It is the engine behind Frida, a popular dynamic instrumentation framework.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Hooks running code
      Traces execution
      Scans memory
    Tech stack
      Written in C
      Multi-architecture
      JavaScript bindings
    Use cases
      Security research
      Memory leak tracking
      App behavior analysis
    Platforms
      Windows macOS Linux
      iOS and Android
    Audience
      Security researchers
      Reverse engineers
      Tool developers

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Track which functions a running app calls and log them without restarting the program

USE CASE 2

Monitor memory access and scan for patterns inside a live application

USE CASE 3

Detect memory leaks by tracking heap allocations with callbacks

USE CASE 4

Build a custom debugging or security analysis tool for iOS or Android apps

What is it built with?

CJavaScriptx86ARMARM64MIPS

How does it compare?

yotamn/frida-gum000madz000/rfid-attendance00kaku/gallery-slider-block
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2022-02-012024-07-222021-05-19
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultyhardeasyeasy
Complexity5/52/52/5
Audienceresearcherdevelopergeneral

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Consumed as a C library via a prebuilt devkit or through frida-core JavaScript bindings, requiring familiarity with native linking and the target program's architecture.

In plain English

Frida-gum is a low-level toolkit that lets you inspect and modify what a running program is doing, in real time. It is the engine behind Frida, a popular dynamic instrumentation framework. If you have ever wanted to peek inside a running application to see which functions it calls, what memory it touches, or how it behaves, all without restarting it or having the source code, this library provides the building blocks for that. At a high level, it works by hooking into a program's code as it runs. You can intercept function calls to log them or swap in your own behavior. You can trace execution step by step, monitor memory access, scan memory for patterns, look up debug symbols, and inspect loaded modules. It also includes code generation and relocation tools for multiple CPU architectures (x86, ARM, ARM64, MIPS), which means it can rewrite instructions on the fly to insert its hooks without breaking the program. The people who use this are typically security researchers, reverse engineers, and developers building debugging or analysis tools. For example, a mobile security researcher might use it to understand how an iOS app communicates with a server, or a developer might track down a memory leak by monitoring heap allocations. The library gives these users a way to build highly granular tools: it offers heap allocation tracking, leak detection, and profiling with callbacks for worst-case performance scenarios. A notable aspect of the project is that it is written in C and designed to be cross-platform, covering Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android across many CPU architectures. It is consumed by a higher-level component called frida-core through JavaScript bindings, which is how most people interact with it, writing scripts in JavaScript rather than dealing with the C library directly. You can download a prebuilt devkit from the Frida releases page if you want to link it into your own native project.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Write a JavaScript Frida script that hooks a specific function in a running mobile app and logs every time it is called along with its arguments
Prompt 2
Create a Frida script that scans the memory of a running process for a specific byte pattern and reports the addresses where matches are found
Prompt 3
Write a Frida script that tracks heap allocations in a target app and reports potential memory leaks by logging objects that are allocated but never freed
Prompt 4
Help me set up a Frida script that intercepts a function call and replaces its return value with a custom value to test how the app handles it

Frequently asked questions

What is frida-gum?

A low-level toolkit that lets you inspect and modify a running program's behavior in real time by hooking into its code, tracing execution, and monitoring memory. It is the engine behind Frida, a popular dynamic instrumentation framework.

Is frida-gum actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2022-02-01).

How hard is frida-gum to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated hard, with roughly 1h+ to a first successful run.

Who is frida-gum for?

Mainly researcher.

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