Installation

Host

noxen requires Python 3.10 or newer.

On Windows, Windows Terminal is required. The classic console host (cmd.exe, old PowerShell window) does not support true color or the Unicode characters used by the TUI, so the interface will not render correctly.

Create and activate a virtual environment if you do not already have one:

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

First install the Frida Python package that matches the frida-server version running on your Android device. For example:

pip install frida==17.7.3

Frida is installed separately so you can pin the exact version you need without conflicting with an existing setup.

Then install noxen from the project directory:

git clone https://github.com/frankheat/noxen.git
cd noxen
pip install .

Launch noxen:

noxen

The base install includes noxen’s TUI dependencies, default hook configuration, and JavaScript runtime bundles. User settings are stored in your operating system’s standard per-user config directory when you save them from the Settings tab. Frida remains separate because its Python package should match your Android frida-server version.

If you also want the noxen-analyze command, install the optional analysis extra:

pip install ".[analyze]"

Use an editable install only when you are developing noxen itself. In editable mode, the environment points to the local source tree, so Python code changes are picked up without reinstalling the package:

pip install -e .

noxen uses a src layout. In the repository, importable Python code lives under src/noxen/; the repository root intentionally does not contain a local noxen/ package directory.

Android device

Use an Android device or emulator with frida-server running.

The Frida server version on Android should be compatible with the Frida Python package installed on the host. If attach fails, check the server version before changing noxen configuration.

Frida compatibility

The project has been tested with Frida 16.6.6 and 17.7.3, but those are validation points, not a hard version limit.

Frida 17 changed Java bridge loading, so noxen uses committed JavaScript bundles. Regular package installs include those bundles. You only need to rebuild them when developing noxen and editing the JavaScript agents.

Developer-only bundle rebuild

After changing either JavaScript agent:

npm install
npm run build

Commit the changed source file, its matching bundle, and the synced packaged runtime copy:

agent/script.js
agent/script_bundle.js
agent/system_server.js
agent/system_server_bundle.js
src/noxen/runtime/agent/