# FLEXTool/FLEX

An in-app debugging and exploration tool for iOS

Repository: https://github.com/FLEXTool/FLEX
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/flex
Language: Objective-C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2026-06-11T20:34:01+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 62/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 87, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4480, "days_push": 83, "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 14631, forks 1792 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:07.350558+00:00)

## What it is
FLEX (Flipboard Explorer) is an in-app debugging and exploration library for iOS apps, written in Objective-C. It presents a toolbar overlay that lets developers inspect and modify views, objects, properties, network traffic, the file system, and more at runtime without needing Xcode or LLDB attached.

## Use cases
- inspect and modify the iOS view hierarchy at runtime
- view and change properties and ivars on live objects
- dynamically call instance and class methods in a running app
- review network request history with headers and responses
- browse the app sandbox file system and SQLite/Realm databases
- explore classes in the app and system frameworks
- debug an app on a physical device without Xcode attached

## When to choose
- you need runtime introspection of an iOS app without a debugger attached
- you want to debug on physical devices or in the simulator with an in-app overlay
- you need to inspect network traffic, file system, and object state from inside the app
- you are building debug builds of iOS apps and want a swiss-army exploration tool

## When to avoid
- you need a production-safe tool - FLEX exposes app internals and should be stripped from release builds
- you are developing for platforms other than iOS/tvOS
- you need automated or CI testing rather than interactive manual debugging
- your project requires a permissively licensed dependency and the custom FLEX license is a concern

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: developer-tools, testing, logging, monitoring
- domain: developer-tools, mobile-development
- platform: cross-platform
- tags: in-app-debugging, runtime-inspection, objective-c, ios-development, view-hierarchy, network-logging, heap-exploration, debugging, ios, mobile

## Member repositories
- FLEXTool/FLEX (main) score 62

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:07.350558+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 2026-08-29T17:12:27.357826+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/FLEXTool/FLEX (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:07.350558+00:00, sha 5bd3faa20b57)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.