This is what you need to know to download, install and begin to use WinAppDbg:
The latest version is 1.5 (20 Dec 2013). There are different installers depending on your Python version (32 and 64 bits) and the source code can be installer via the setup.py script. All of them work in all supported Windows versions - by 32-bit or 64-bit it means the Python interpreter, not the OS itself.
The Sourceforge project’s download page contains all versions. You can also get the bleeding-edge version from the subversion repository.
Installer packages
Source code
The programming manuals can be consulted online, but they’re also available for download:
Windows Help Files
HTML format
PDF format (suitable for printing)
Older versions are still available for download as well:
| Version 1.4 (10 Dec 2010) | |
| Version 1.3 (12 Feb 2010) | |
| Version 1.2 (16 Jun 2009) | |
| Version 1.1 (18 May 2009) | |
| Version 1.0 (22 Apr 2009) |
Naturally you need the Python interpreter. It’s recommended to use Python 2.7. You’ll have to install the 32 bit VM to debug 32 bit targets and the 64 bit VM for 64 bit targets. Both VMs can be installed on the same machine.
If you’re still using Python 2.5 64-bit, you’ll need to install ctypes as well. This is needed to interface with the Win32 API, and WinAppDbg won’t work without it. Newer versions of Python already have this module.
The following packages provide extra features and performance improvements, they are very recommended but not mandatory.
WinAppDbg itself doesn’t come with a disassembler, but all of the following are compatible. WinAppDbg will pick the most suitable one automatically when needed, but you can also decide which one to use.
The SQL Alchemy ORM module gives WinAppDbg the ability to use a SQL database to store and find crash dumps. Most major database engines are supported.
With the Python specializing compiler, Psyco, WinAppDbg will experience a performance gain just by installing it, no additional steps are needed. You can download the sources and some old precompiled binaries from the official site and newer but unofficial builds from Voidspace.
Also PyReadline is useful when using the console tools shipped with WinAppDbg, but they’ll work without it. Basically what it does is provide autocomplete and history for console applications.
Simply run the Windows installer package and follow the wizard.
If you prefer to install directly from the sources package, extract it to any temporary folder and run the following command:
install.bat
You can also install WinAppDbg (stable versions only) from the Cheese Shop using any of the compatible package managers:
pip install winappdbg
PyPM (only when using ActivePython)
Easy Install (formerly from Setuptools, now from Distribute)
easy_install winappdbg
Python Package Manager (it’s a GUI installer)
Minimim requirements:
Recommended platform:
It might work, but was not tested, under Windows 2000, Wine and ReactOS, and some bugs and missing features are to be expected in these platforms (mainly due to missing APIs).
Python 3 support was experimental up to WinAppDbg 1.4, and was dropped with WinAppDbg 1.5. There are currently no plans to support Python 3 in the near future - backwards compatibility would be broken and plenty of code would need to be refactored just to port it.
While there are still some issues that need ironing out, it may be worth trying out faster Python interpreters such as PyPy and IronPython.
If you find a bug or have a feature suggestion, don’t hesitate to send an email to the winappdbg-users mailing list. Both comments and complaints are welcome! :)
The following tables show which Python interpreters, operating systems and processor architectures are currently supported. Full means all features are fully functional. Partial means some features may be broken and/or untested. Untested means that though no testing was performed it should probably work. Experimental means it’s not expected to work and although it might, you can encounter many bugs.
| Version | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CPython 2.4 and earlier | not supported | Use an older version of WinAppDbg in this case. |
| CPython 2.5 through 2.7 | full | |
| CPython 3.0 and newer | not supported | Planned for WinAppDbg 2.0. |
| PyPy 1.4 and earlier | not supported | It doesn’t seem to be available for download any more... |
| PyPy 1.5 and 1.6 | experimental | The sqlite3 dll is missing, after you fix that it should be the same as newer versions. |
| PyPy 1.7 and newer | experimental | Some compatibility issues need fixing. |
| IronPython 2.0 and newer | experimental | Some compatibility issues need fixing. |
| Jython 2.5 and earlier | not supported | Support for ctypes is incomplete in this platform. |
| Version | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 2000 and older | not supported | Some required Win32 API functions didn’t exist yet. |
| Windows XP | full | |
| Windows Server 2003 | full | |
| Windows Server 2003 R2 | full | |
| Windows Vista | full | |
| Windows 7 | full | |
| Windows Server 2008 | full | |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 | full | |
| Windows 8 | untested | Probably similar to Windows 7. |
| Windows Server 2012 | untested | Probably similar to Windows Server 2008 R2. |
| ReactOS | untested | Probably similar to Windows 2000. |
| Linux (using Wine 1.2) | untested | Reported to work on Ubuntu. |
| Linux (using Wine 1.3) | untested | Reported to work on Ubuntu. |
| Windows + Cygwin | not supported | Ctypes under Cygwin doesn’t fully support calling Win32 API functions. |
| Windows Phone | not supported | Planned for WinAppDbg 2.0. |
| Version | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Intel (32 bits) | full | |
| Intel (64 bits) | full | |
| ARM | not supported | Planned for WinAppDbg 2.0. |
This software is released under the BSD license, so as a user you are entitled to create derivative work and redistribute it if you wish. A makefile is provided to automatically generate the source distribution package and the Windows installer, and can also generate the documentation for all the modules using Epydoc. The sources to this documentation are also provided and can be compiled with Sphinx.