r_lang - Scripting language support library for radare2

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R_LANG(3) Library Functions Manual R_LANG(3)

NAME

r_lang — Scripting language support library for radare2

SYNOPSIS

Use this section to show the public header and the basic include needed to build against the r_lang API; it gives the minimal compile-time view of the library.

#include <r_lang.h>

DESCRIPTION

Readers will find here a concise overview of the goals and structure of the r_lang module: a plugin-driven runtime that lets radare2 host and run scripts and REPLs from multiple languages.

The r_lang library provides scripting language support for radare2 through a plugin-based system. It allows executing code in various programming languages within the radare2 environment, enabling automation, custom commands, and extensions.

At the heart of the API is struct r_lang_t, which manages loaded language plugins, user pointers and execution sessions. Language implementations register a struct r_lang_plugin_t, supplying callbacks for initialization, running code, running files, interactive prompts and cleanup.

INITIALIZATION

This section documents how to create and destroy an r_lang handle and how to associate runtime state (typically a pointer to an RCore instance) with it.

Create a new language instance:

RLang *lang = r_lang_new();

Set user pointer (usually RCore):

r_lang_set_user_ptr(lang, core);

Free when done:

r_lang_free(lang);

EXECUTION

Use these calls to select a language plugin, execute code buffers, or invoke script files. The typical host (radare2) selects a plugin then calls one of the run helpers shown below.

Select a language:

r_lang_use(lang, "qjs"); // QuickJS JavaScript

Execute code string:

const char *code = "console.log(’Hello from r2!’);";
r_lang_run_string(lang, code);

Execute code with length:

r_lang_run(lang, code, strlen(code));

Execute script file:

r_lang_run_file(lang, "script.js");

INTERACTIVE MODE

Interactive features (REPLs) are implemented per-plugin and can be entered via the generic prompt helper; this is the place to learn how to start a language REPL from the embedding application.

Start interactive prompt:

r_lang_prompt(lang); // Interactive REPL

ARGUMENTS

Scripts that expect positional arguments receive them via the argv helpers; the API lets hosts set argc/argv before invoking a file or an entry callback.

Set command-line arguments for scripts:

char *argv[] = {"script.js", "arg1", "arg2"};
r_lang_set_argv(lang, 3, argv);

DEFINITIONS

Use the definitions API to expose host pointers and typed variables to language runtimes; the host can add and remove named definitions visible to scripts.

Define variables accessible from scripts:

int value = 42;
r_lang_define(lang, "int", "my_var", &value);

Remove definition:

r_lang_undef(lang, "my_var");

LANGUAGES

This section highlights notable, supported language entry points rather than exhaustively listing every plugin. It focuses on the two integration styles commonly used by radare2: an embedded VM and native C plugin/script support.

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JavaScript: a native QuickJS (‘qjs‘) plugin is available and is the canonical embedded scripting VM inside radare2. Use ‘r_lang_use(..., "qjs")‘ to select it and ‘r_lang_run_string‘ / ‘r_lang_run_file‘ to execute code.

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C scripts: the C plugin compiles a ‘.c‘ file into a shared library, opens the resulting library, resolves an ‘entry‘ symbol and calls it with the current ‘RCore *‘ (stored in ‘r_lang->user‘) and the configured ‘argc, argv‘. The C entry must have the signature ‘void entry(RCore *core, int argc, const char **argv)‘.

EXAMPLES

The examples below show common usage patterns observed in the radare2 core: invoking QuickJS code, running inline expressions via the ‘#!‘ hashbang helper, and how C scripts are compiled and invoked with the host ‘RCore‘ pointer.

Execute JavaScript code:

#include <r_lang.h>

int main() {
RLang *lang = r_lang_new();
r_lang_use(lang, "qjs");

const char *js_code = R"js(
console.log("Hello from JavaScript!");
var addr = 0x1000;
console.log("Address: 0x" + addr.toString(16));
)js";

r_lang_run_string(lang, js_code);
r_lang_free(lang);
return 0;
}

Define and use variables:

RLang *lang = r_lang_new();
int my_int = 12345;
r_lang_define(lang, "int", "global_var", &my_int);

r_lang_use(lang, "qjs");
r_lang_run_string(lang, "console.log(’Value: ’ + global_var);");

r_lang_free(lang);

Execute script file:

r_lang_run_file(lang, "script.js");

Hashbang and ‘-e‘ usage (used by the ‘#!‘ command in ‘libr/core/cmd_hash.inc.c‘):

// the command handler implemented in libr/core/cmd_hash.inc.c parses ‘#!‘ lines
// and: selects the requested plugin (r_lang_get_by_name/r_lang_use_plugin),
// sets argv via r_lang_set_argv when file arguments are present, and either
// runs a file with r_lang_run_file or runs an expression with r_lang_run_string
// when ‘-e‘ is passed; expressions prefixed with ‘base64:‘ are decoded first.

C script example (how the C plugin runs code):

/* example.c */
#include <r_core.h>

void entry(RCore *core, int argc, const char **argv) {
char *s = r_core_cmd_str (core, "?E hello world");
printf("%s", s);
free (s);
}

/* The C plugin will compile this file to a shared library and call ‘entry‘ with
the host RCore pointer (r_lang->user) and any argv configured via
r_lang_set_argv(). */

SEE ALSO

r_core(3), r_util(3) GNU September 21, 2025 R_LANG(3)

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