Strace

Overview

Strace is a diagnostic utility that records the system calls and signals made by a process. The evdenis/strace project packages strace v6.19 as a Magisk module rather than modifying the read-only Android system partition.

The release ZIP includes separate precompiled binaries for arm64, arm, x86_64, and x86. Its customize.sh selects the directory reported by Magisk and aborts if no matching binary exists.

Installation and verification

1. Download the current strace-v2.zip from the upstream release.

2. In Magisk, open Modules, choose Install from storage, and select the ZIP.

3. Reboot when Magisk requests it.

4. From a root-capable shell, verify the installed command:

   su -c 'command -v strace && strace -V'

The upstream module installs the command at /system/bin/strace using Magisk’s systemless overlay. It does not claim KernelSU or APatch support, so this guide lists Magisk only.

Using the tool safely

Trace a short-lived command first and redirect output to a writable location:

su -c 'strace -f -o /data/local/tmp/trace.log -- ls /data'

Tracing a long-running or noisy process can generate large logs and affect timing. Avoid treating a trace as proof that a process is safe or malicious; interpret calls in the context of the application and Android permissions.

Limitations and recovery

The module is a binary packaging project, not a full Android tracing tutorial. The upstream README points to the strace project and an XDA discussion for broader usage. No Android-version matrix is asserted by the upstream module.

If the module causes a boot or manager problem, use Magisk’s safe-mode recovery path or remove the module directory from a compatible recovery environment. The module itself only provides the executable and has no documented persistent service.

Sources

• Upstream README
• Upstream release
• Upstream source