# hugsy/gef

GEF (GDB Enhanced Features) - a modern experience for GDB with advanced debugging capabilities for exploit devs & reverse engineers on Linux

Repository: https://github.com/hugsy/gef
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/gef
Homepage: https://hugsy.github.io/gef
Language: Python
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: python, exploit, gdb, linux, reverse-engineering, ctf, ida-pro, binary-ninja, pwn, exploit-development, debugging, malware-analysis, pwntools, powerpc, sparc, mips, discord, gef, python-api
Last push: 2026-08-20T21:35:23+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 77/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 36, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4178, "days_push": 13, "days_rel": 212, "gap_med": 385, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 8326, forks 831 (observed 2026-08-28T04:10:20.309515+00:00)

## What it is
GEF (GDB Enhanced Features) is a single-file Python plugin for GDB that adds a modern, feature-rich debugging experience for exploit developers and reverse engineers. It is architecture-agnostic, dependency-free, and works across x86, ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, and SPARC.

## Use cases
- debug binaries in gdb with a better ui
- develop exploits for ctf challenges
- reverse engineer malware on linux
- analyze memory and registers during dynamic analysis
- extend gdb with custom python commands
- debug arm or mips binaries cross-architecture

## When to choose
- you use GDB on Linux for exploit development, CTFs, or reverse engineering
- you want a zero-dependency, single-script GDB enhancement
- you need multi-architecture debugging support
- you want an extensible GDB plugin with a Python API

## When to avoid
- you need a Windows-native debugger
- you require Python 2 support (use gef-legacy instead)
- you prefer a GUI-based reverse engineering suite like IDA or Binary Ninja alone

## Facets
- artifact type: plugin
- maturity: active
- function: reverse-engineering, security, developer-tools, cli
- domain: security, reverse-engineering, developer-tools
- platform: python, cli
- tags: gdb, exploit-development, ctf, debugger, dynamic-analysis, malware-analysis, pwn, binary-analysis, command-line, linux

## Member repositories
- hugsy/gef (main) score 77

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:20.309515+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 2026-08-29T17:27:45.847500+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/hugsy/gef (fetched 2026-08-28T04:10:20.309515+00:00, sha cdb032abcc18)
  - homepage: https://hugsy.github.io/gef (fetched 2026-08-29T08:27:38.710618+00:00, sha 00ca8e067b78)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.