frida-android

Manage frida-server on an Android device/emulator via ADB.

Automatically downloads the frida-server build that matches the host's installed frida CLI version, pushes it to the device, and starts it. Root access is auto-detected: on rooted devices frida-server runs as root; on non-rooted devices it runs as the shell user and can only instrument debuggable apps.

Usage

./frida_android.sh <command>

Command	Description
start	Ensure frida-server is installed at the matching version and launch it (aliases: on, up)
stop	Kill frida-server on the device (aliases: off, down)
restart	Stop, then start
status	Show device/host versions, running pid, port, connectivity (alias: st)
install	Download + push frida-server, do not start
uninstall	Stop and remove the on-device binary

Environment

Variable	Default	Description
FRIDA_VERSION	host frida --version, then latest	Force a specific frida-server version
FRIDA_PORT	27042	Listen port for frida-server
FRIDA_REMOTE	/data/local/tmp/frida-server	On-device install path
FRIDA_CACHE_DIR	$HOME/.cache/frida-android-server	Host cache directory for downloaded binaries

Requirements

• adb in PATH with a connected device/emulator
• curl and xz on the host
• python3 on the host (only needed when falling back to GitHub for the latest version)
• frida / frida-tools on the host (recommended) so versions match automatically and status can verify connectivity
• Root (su) on the device is recommended (Magisk, userdebug, etc.) but not required — the script auto-detects root and falls back to non-root mode

Non-root limitations

When running without root, frida-server executes as the shell user. This means:

• Only debuggable apps (android:debuggable="true" or debug builds) can be instrumented
• System services and production apps cannot be attached to
• Some status checks (e.g. netstat) may return less information

Version resolution

1. FRIDA_VERSION env var if set
2. Output of frida --version (host CLI)
3. Latest GitHub release tag from https://api.github.com/repos/frida/frida/releases/latest

Downloaded binaries are cached, so subsequent runs are offline as long as the version doesn't change.

Examples

# First run: downloads matching frida-server, pushes, and starts it
./frida_android.sh start

# Confirm everything is up
./frida_android.sh status

# Talk to it from the host
frida-ps -U

# Pin a specific version
FRIDA_VERSION=16.7.11 ./frida_android.sh restart

# Use a non-default port
FRIDA_PORT=27045 ./frida_android.sh start

# Tear down completely
./frida_android.sh uninstall

Optional: put it on your PATH

ln -s "$PWD/frida_android.sh" ~/bin/frida_android