python-rayhunter 2026.3.2

Unofficial Python bindings for EFF's Rayhunter API

python-rayhunter

Unofficial Python bindings for EFF's Rayhunter API.

Note: This project is not affiliated with the EFF or the Rayhunter project.

Documentation

Full documentation can be found on Read The Docs. Please read them, I worked hard on them.

Requirements

• Python >= 3.11
• requests >= 2.32.2

Installation

pip install python-rayhunter

Quick Start

from rayhunter import RayhunterApi

api = RayhunterApi(hostname="192.168.1.1", port=8080)

Usage

Check recording status

if api.active_recording:
    print("A recording is currently in progress")

Fetch the QMDL manifest

The manifest lists all capture files available on the device, plus the active capture (if any).

manifest = api.get_manifest()

for entry in manifest.entries:
    print(f"{entry.name} — started {entry.start_time}, size {entry.qmdl_size_bytes} bytes")

if manifest.current_entry:
    print(f"Active capture: {manifest.current_entry.name}")

Download capture files

Use the filenames from the manifest to download files.

# Raw QMDL capture data
qmdl_data = api.get_qmdl_file("capture.qmdl")

# PCAP file (dynamically generated from QMDL by the Rayhunter binary)
pcap_data = api.get_pcap_file("capture.qmdl")

# Analysis report
report_data = api.get_analysis_report_file("capture.qmdl")

Control recordings

# Start a new recording (stops any active recording first)
api.start_recording()

# Stop the current recording
api.stop_recording()

System statistics

stats = api.system_stats()

disk = stats.disk_stats
print(f"Partition:  {disk.partition} ({disk.mounted_on})")
print(f"Disk usage: {disk.used_size}/{disk.total_size} bytes ({disk.used_percent}% used)")

mem = stats.memory_stats
print(f"Memory:     {mem.used}/{mem.total} bytes used, {mem.free} bytes free")

API Reference

RayhunterApi(hostname, port)

The main client for interacting with the Rayhunter API.

Method	Returns	Description
active_recording	bool	True if a recording is currently in progress
get_manifest()	QmdlManifest	Fetch the QMDL manifest from the device
get_qmdl_file(filename)	bytes	Download a raw QMDL capture file
get_pcap_file(filename)	bytes	Download a PCAP file (generated on demand)
get_analysis_report_file(filename)	bytes	Download the analysis report for a capture
start_recording()	—	Start a new recording
stop_recording()	—	Stop the active recording
system_stats()	SystemStats	Fetch disk and memory utilisation stats

QmdlManifest

Attribute	Type	Description
entries	List[QmdlManifestEntry]	All finalised capture files on the device
current_entry	Optional[QmdlManifestEntry]	The active capture, or None

QmdlManifestEntry

Attribute	Type	Description
name	str	Capture file name
start_time	str	Timestamp when the capture started
last_message_time	str	Timestamp of the last captured message
qmdl_size_bytes	int	Size of the QMDL file in bytes
analysis_size_bytes	int	Size of the associated analysis file in bytes

SystemStats

Attribute	Type	Description
disk_stats	DiskStats	Disk usage information
memory_stats	MemoryStats	Memory usage information

DiskStats

Attribute	Type	Description
partition	str	Partition Rayhunter is mounted on (e.g. ubi0:usrfs)
total_size	int	Total disk size in bytes
used_size	int	Used disk space in bytes
available_size	int	Available disk space in bytes
used_percent	int	Percentage of disk space in use
mounted_on	str	Mount point (e.g. /data)

MemoryStats

Attribute	Type	Description
total	int	Total memory in bytes
used	int	Used memory in bytes
free	int	Free memory in bytes

License

Since "do what you'd like and don't blame me," isn't necessarily legally binding, this repository uses the MIT LICENSE.