## Install GEF

There is **NO mandatory dependency** to have `gef` running contrarily to other projects.
A simple recent GDB compiled with Python scripting support will do.


### Pre-requisites
Only [GDB 7.7 and higher](https://www.gnu.org/s/gdb) is required. It must be compiled with Python 2 or 3 support.

All recent distributions of Linux now embeds a GDB version compiled with at least Python 2 (although more and more are migrating towards Python 3).

You can verify it with the following command:

```bash
$ gdb -nx -ex 'python print (sys.version)' -ex quit
```

This should display your version of Python compiled with `gdb`.

For example, with Python2
```bash
$ gdb -nx -ex 'python print (sys.version)' -ex quit
2.7.3 (default, Mar 18 2014, 06:31:17)
[GCC 4.6.3]
```

Or Python3
```bash
$ gdb -nx -ex 'python print (sys.version)' -ex quit
3.4.0 (default, Apr 11 2014, 13:08:40)
[GCC 4.8.2]
```

If you see an error here, it means that your GDB installation does not support Python.

**Note**: If your GDB is compiled with Python3, `GEF` will assume that your
environment locales are in UTF-8 (which is the standard). If you use on purpose
another locales, you may expect `Unicode` exceptions preventing many commands to
work as expected. Please set up your locales to `UTF-8` to have `GEF` running
smoothly.


### Setup from repository

The best way to use `GEF` is through cloning the git repository from GitHub, and
source the file from your `~/.gdbinit`.

```bash
$ git clone https://github.com/hugsy/gef.git  # or git pull to update
$ echo 'source /path/to/gef.py' >> ~/.gdbinit
```

### One-time setup script

If you only need `GEF` for a one-time environment (VMs, etc.) that do not
have/need `git` installed, just go with:

```bash
$ curl -s -L https://github.com/hugsy/gef/raw/master/gef.sh | sh
```

### Optional dependencies

A few commands were added to `GEF` to extend its capabilities. It is
highly recommended to install the following modules (but not required):

- [`capstone`](https://github.com/aquynh/capstone) - disassembly engine
- [`Ropper`](https://github.com/sashs/Ropper) - an improved version of [`ROPgadget`](https://github.com/JonathanSalwan/ROPgadget)
- [`unicorn`](https://github.com/unicorn-engine/unicorn) - emulation engine
- [`keystone`](https://github.com/keystone-engine/keystone) - assembly engine

Some of those modules can be installed through `python-pip`. The following
commands will work for most distributions, but substitute `pip3` for versions of `gdb` compiled with Python 3:
```bash
$ pip install capstone
$ pip install ropper
```

Please refer to each project for installation and troubleshooting guides. As
`gef` works out of the box, please do not send Issues to this project if you
have problems while installing those modules.

`gef` will assume the module installations are valid. Otherwise, it will
automatically disable all the `gef` commands that require this invalid module.


### Check setup

To check that `GEF` has been correctly installed, simply start a new `gdb`
session against any binary.
```bash
$ gdb -q /bin/ls
```

You should see the following header and prompt
```bash
$ gdb-gef -q /bin/ls
gef loaded, `gef help' to start, `gef config' to configure
37 commands loaded (15 sub-commands), using Python engine 3.5
Reading symbols from /bin/ls...(no debugging symbols found)...done.
gef➤
```
