# nygard/class-dump

Generate Objective-C headers from Mach-O files.

Repository: https://github.com/nygard/class-dump
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/class-dump
Homepage: http://stevenygard.com/projects/class-dump
Language: Objective-C
License Family: other
Last push: 2022-04-06T09:30:24+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5616, "days_push": 1610, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3585, forks 901 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:11.068556+00:00)

## What it is
class-dump is a command-line utility that examines the Objective-C runtime information in Mach-O binaries and generates Objective-C header declarations for classes, categories, and protocols. It presents the same data as 'otool -ov' in a compact, readable format, useful for exploring closed-source frameworks and applications.

## Use cases
- generate headers from an Objective-C framework binary
- inspect private APIs in AppKit or UIKit
- reverse engineer a closed-source iOS app's class interfaces
- explore plugin APIs in macOS applications
- compare class interfaces between framework releases
- dump class declarations from a Mach-O executable

## When to choose
- you need readable Objective-C declarations from Mach-O binaries on macOS
- you're researching private framework APIs or app internals
- you want a faster, cleaner alternative to 'otool -ov'

## When to avoid
- you're analyzing Swift-only binaries, since it targets Objective-C runtime info
- you need a maintained tool with active support or a clear license
- you're on Linux or Windows without a macOS environment

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: reverse-engineering, parser, developer-tools, cli
- domain: reverse-engineering, developer-tools, apple-ecosystem, operating-systems
- platform: cli
- tags: mach-o, objective-c, header-generation, binary-analysis, ios-reversing, macos

## Member repositories
- nygard/class-dump (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:11.068556+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:33:55.217524+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/nygard/class-dump (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:11.068556+00:00, sha eb563e395c77)
  - homepage: http://stevenygard.com/projects/class-dump (fetched 2026-08-29T09:27:20.763843+00:00, sha 8e0bbabc2b19)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.