# Vivisect

> Pure-Python reverse-engineering framework that combines the vivisect static analyzer, the vtrace debugging library and the vdb debugger. Vivisect loads PE, ELF, Mach-O, Intel HEX, S-record and raw blob files into workspaces, disassembles and emulates code through envi architecture modules for x86, AMD64, ARM, Thumb, AArch64, MSP430, H8 and Z80, and adds symbolic execution, a Qt GUI and a remote workspace server. vtrace drives processes on Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, macOS and Solaris and has GDB-stub and VMware backends.

- Type: Tool
- Targets: Binary · Firmware
- Category: Native analysis tools
- Relationship: Foundation tool
- Sources reviewed: 2026-10-27
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-03
- Original resource: <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/blob/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/vivisect/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/vivisect/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/vivisect/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- Latest release at review: 1.3.2, uploaded to PyPI on 2026-03-31 from tag v1.3.2 (the project publishes no GitHub release pages); it requires Python 3.8+ and pins PyQt5 5.15.7 for the GUI, and AArch64 support arrived in 1.3.0. The reviewed master commit (2026-09-03) is ten commits later and, still labelled 1.3.2, requires Python 3.11+ and PyQt6 6.5+. Install with pip install "vivisect[gui]"; releases before 1.0.0 are Python 2 only, and Python 2 workspaces are typically not loadable in Python 3.
- Bundled helper libraries: vtrace/platforms/windll holds Microsoft’s dbghelp.dll and symsrv.dll for amd64 and i386, committed since 2014 and loaded by the Windows vtrace backend for symbol handling, and pyproject.toml packages them into the PyPI distribution. They are Microsoft binaries under Microsoft’s terms, not the project’s Apache-2.0 license, and no Microsoft license or notice accompanies them. The macOS backend ships a prebuilt machhelper.dylib next to its C source and Makefile.
- Input is binaries or firmware images the user supplies. CircleCI runs the unittest suite on Python 3.11 against sample binaries from a separately cloned vivtestfiles repository, and a GitHub Actions workflow checks formatting; documentation is on Read the Docs.
- Apache-2.0 license (COPYRIGHT names invisigoth, 2014); the Microsoft DLLs keep their own terms.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/blob/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/blob/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/pyproject.toml>
3. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/blob/v1.3.2/pyproject.toml>
4. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/blob/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/CHANGELOG.rst>
5. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/tree/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/vtrace/platforms/windll>
6. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/blob/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/vtrace/platforms/win32.py>
7. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/tree/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/vtrace/platforms/darwin>
8. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/tree/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/envi/archs>
9. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/tree/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/vivisect/parsers>
10. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/blob/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/.circleci/config.yml>
11. <https://github.com/vivisect/vivisect/blob/66c93f0c1caa949434b9b1ba8bb64c8bad0eb3d9/COPYRIGHT>
12. <https://pypi.org/project/vivisect/1.3.2/>

## More in Native binaries

- [r2pipe](https://awesomerea.org/resources/r2pipe/index.md) · Tool
- [GREASE](https://awesomerea.org/resources/grease/index.md) · Tool
- [PLASMA](https://awesomerea.org/resources/plasma-disassembler/index.md) · Tool
- [mobdevim](https://awesomerea.org/resources/mobdevim/index.md) · Tool
- [XPEViewer](https://awesomerea.org/resources/xpeviewer/index.md) · Tool
- [Fermion](https://awesomerea.org/resources/fermion/index.md) · Tool

## 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.