# pwndbg

> Python plug-in that loads into GDB, or runs as a REPL around LLDB, to make live program state easier to inspect. Each stop prints a context of registers, stack, call frames and annotated disassembly with recursively dereferenced pointers; commands cover memory maps, search, telescoping, heap allocators and Go values, with Capstone/Unicorn emulation and decompiler integration for IDA, Binary Ninja, Ghidra and angr-management. The README lists Linux ELF, macOS Mach-O, QEMU user/system and embedded Cortex-M or RISC-V/32 debugging.

- Type: Tool
- Targets: Binary
- Category: Debugging and dynamic analysis
- Relationship: Foundation tool
- Sources reviewed: 2026-10-18
- Added to the catalog: 2026-10-19
- Original resource: <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg/blob/3044ccdf938221e04241e85fe02961ef174ef975/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/pwndbg/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/pwndbg/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/pwndbg/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- Compatibility table: pwndbg-gdb needs Python 3.10+ and GDB 12.1+ (tested on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04); pwndbg-lldb needs Python 3.12+ and LLDB 19+, and its support is marked experimental/early-stage; qemu-user needs QEMU 8.1+ (its vFile API is needed for vmmap) and qemu-system QEMU 6.2+. Mach-O debugging on macOS uses LLDB, and qemu-user debugging is GDB only.
- Release at review: 2026.09.15, published 2026-09-20, with portable archives, deb/rpm/apk/Arch packages, including macOS portable builds; the setup guide covers Linux and macOS through an install script, Homebrew, Nix, distro packages and source installs. The reviewed dev commit declares the same version.
- MIT license. Decompiler integration needs the separately installed decompiler.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg/blob/3044ccdf938221e04241e85fe02961ef174ef975/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg/blob/3044ccdf938221e04241e85fe02961ef174ef975/README.md#L54-L81>
3. <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg/blob/3044ccdf938221e04241e85fe02961ef174ef975/docs/features.md>
4. <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg/blob/3044ccdf938221e04241e85fe02961ef174ef975/docs/setup.md>
5. <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg/blob/3044ccdf938221e04241e85fe02961ef174ef975/pyproject.toml>
6. <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg/blob/3044ccdf938221e04241e85fe02961ef174ef975/LICENSE.md>
7. <https://github.com/pwndbg/pwndbg/releases/tag/2026.09.15>

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## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.