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Quick overview
Universal Radio Hacker (URH) is a flexible software package for inspecting and decoding wireless communications, aimed at both hobbyists and professionals working with software-defined radio (SDR). It enables recording, demodulating, and dissecting radio traffic so users can investigate how protocols behave and identify potential security issues in wireless and IoT systems.
Hardware compatibility
URH offers built-in drivers and support for many popular SDR front-ends, including:
- LimeSDR
- HackRF
- RTL-SDR
Interface and extensibility
The application features a graphical interface built with the Qt toolkit, making common tasks accessible through a visual workflow while still being suitable for advanced users. Python scripting support lets you create custom processing pipelines and automate repetitive operations, extending the tool’s capabilities to match specific analysis needs.
Key capabilities
- Capture and demodulation of radio signals across a range of bandwidths and modulation types
- Visual tools for signal inspection and protocol reverse engineering
- Scriptable processing steps and plugin-style customization
Common uses
URH is frequently used for tasks such as:
- Reverse-engineering unknown wireless protocols
- Testing and evaluating the security posture of IoT devices
- Learning SDR signal processing and protocol analysis techniques
Suggested alternative
If you need a lightweight file- and content-sharing utility instead of an SDR analysis toolkit, consider SHAREit (available for free), which focuses on cross-device file transfers rather than radio protocol inspection.
Technical
- Windows
- Free
