REVEN Python API installation guide

Prerequisites

The supported platforms for installing the REVEN Python API are Debian Stretch 64 bits and Windows 10 64 bits. A working Python 2.7 or 3.5 (CPython) installation is also required.

Note for Debian: other dependencies will be installed over the course of this document and can be found in the dependencies.sh file.

Python 2 / Python 3

Since Python 2 is due to reach its end-of-life in January 2020, we provide a Python 3 version of the API.
However, some tools currently require Python 2 (Axion, IDA). You will need to use the Python 2 version if you plan to write scripts interacting with these tools.

Via Jupyter Notebook

REVEN provides integration with Jupyter Notebook, which allows you to use the REVEN Python API from your browser. For more information on this method of using the API, please refer to the dedicated documentation page.

On the REVEN server

If your Python development environment is on the same machine as your REVEN server, then the Python API is already installed, and you just need to activate it.
Go to the install path of your REVEN package, then execute the following in a bash shell:

For Python2:

source sourceme_python2

For Python3:

source sourceme_python3

This results in activating a virtualenv with the Python API installed. To deactivate it and get back to your original Python environment, either open a new shell, or run the deactivate command in the current shell where the virtualenv was activated.

Note that the sourceme_python2 and sourceme_python3 files are bash scripts and may not work as intended when sourced with different shells (fish, zsh, ...).

On a client workstation

To install on a client workstation, you will need to download the corresponding archive from the Download page of the Project Manager.
Choose the package corresponding to the desired OS and Python version.

This section assumes that you are working from the root directory of the decompressed archive.

Virtualenv / user-wide / system-wide

Python development provides many ways of installing a Python package. This document covers the main installation options.

  • Using a virtualenv: A local installation that won't conflict with any other Python environment in your system. This is the most recommended way to make Python development, since it will guarantee that you won't break any existing Python script by accidentally upgrading a common dependency.
    For a virtualenv installation, you'll first need to activate a virtualenv and then use pip normally during the next section.

  • A user-wide installation: This installation does not conflict with other users on the system, but you may have to manually setup the environment for your Python packages to be found.
    For a user-wide installation, you'll need to use pip with a --user option after the install argument during the next section.

  • A system-wide installation: This installation may conflict with other users or applications on the system, and requires root privileges. But after a system-wide installation, any user on the system will be able to use the REVEN Python API.
    For a system-wide installation, you'll need to use pip with root privilege on Debian Stretch (sudo for example), and normally on Windows during the next section.

Windows

First, be sure to have a Python 2.7 installation available with the pip utility installed. The default Python installer typically provides this component.

  • Step 1 (optional): create the virtualenv
    The following Powershell lines will provide you with a virtualenv named env in your current working directory.
python.exe -m pip install virtualenv  # Not required if you already have virtualenv installed
python.exe -m virtualenv --system-site-packages env
env\Scripts\activate
  • Step 2 (required): install the REVEN API
    Paths are given relative to this current folder.
pip install (Get-Item dependencies\*.whl).FullName
pip install (Get-Item reven_api*.whl).FullName
pip install (Get-Item reven2*.whl).FullName

Debian Stretch

First, be sure to have a Python installation available with the corresponding pip utility installed.

  • Step 1 (required): install the system dependencies
    Paths are given relative to this current folder.
sudo ./dependencies.sh
  • Step 2 (optional): create the virtualenv

Python2

sudo apt install virtualenv  # If virtualenv is not already installed
virtualenv --system-site-packages env2
source env/bin/activate

Python3

sudo apt install python3-venv  # If venv is not already installed
python3 -m venv --system-site-packages env
source env/bin/activate
  • Step 3 (required): install the REVEN API
    Paths are given relative to this current folder.
pip install dependencies/*.whl
pip install reven_api*.whl
pip install reven2*.whl

Next steps

If you successfully completed the previous steps, you should have a working REVEN Python API. Feel free to check out the Quickstart guide for a smooth kick-off.

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