frida-tools

What it is and what it does

frida-tools is a command-line interface to Frida, a dynamic instrumentation engine used to inspect, modify, and inject code into running processes. It works across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, making it useful for security research, reverse engineering, debugging, and runtime analysis. The package depends on frida itself (the core engine), plus colorama, prompt-toolkit, pygments, and websockets for terminal UI and communication.

You install it to gain access to CLI commands like frida (interactive REPL), frida-ps (list processes), frida-trace (trace function calls), and frida-kill (terminate instrumented processes). It's production-stable and actively maintained, but installation has high friction because frida requires compiled native binaries for your platform.

Use it for:

• Reverse-engineer closed-source mobile or desktop applications by injecting JavaScript to inspect runtime behavior
• Trace function calls and system interactions in running processes without recompiling or attaching a traditional debugger
• Security research and vulnerability discovery by instrumenting code at runtime to observe data flow and state changes
• Automate testing of applications by injecting test code and assertions into live processes
• Debug native code in iOS or Android apps by hooking into Objective-C, Swift, Java, or native methods from the command line

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Provides command-line tools for Frida, a dynamic instrumentation framework that lets you inject code and inspect running processes on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Yes, if you need runtime code inspection and injection across multiple platforms. High install friction (native dependencies) and an uncommon license (wxWindows) are real considerations, but the package is production-stable, actively maintained, and has no known vulnerabilities. Start with the official Frida documentation to confirm your use case is supported on your target platform.

Install

frida-tools on PyPI

pip install frida-tools

uv add frida-tools

poetry add frida-tools

Installing frida-tools

Before you install

High install friction due to native dependencies; frida itself requires compiled binaries for your platform. Installation may require build tools or pre-built wheels. Actively maintained with a release within the last 50 days.

License in practice

Licensed under wxWindows Library Licence, Version 3.1, which is OSI-approved but less common than GPL or MIT. License treatment is marked unclear in the package metadata, so review the actual license terms before use in proprietary or commercial projects.

Quickstart

pip install frida-tools
from frida_tools import *
# Then use CLI commands like frida, frida-ps, frida-trace, or frida-kill

Requires frida native binaries compiled for your OS (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, or Android). Installation may fail without a compatible platform or build environment.

Verify before relying

• Whether frida-tools works on all listed platforms (iOS, Android, QNX) or only as a host tool for those targets
• Exact Python version support—classifiers list 3.7–3.10 but requires_python is unspecified
• Whether the wxWindows license imposes restrictions on closed-source or commercial use

Package facts

Evidence: frida_tools-14.10.4.tar.gz

Keywords: frida, debugger, dynamic, instrumentation, inject, javascript, windows, macos, linux, ios, iphone, ipad, android, qnx

Tags

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