Desktop companion app compatible with HackRF One and PortaPack devices.
Natural language SDR control, frequency sweeps, signal capture, spectrum visualization, and an embedded RF knowledge base. Works with or without an LLM.
Fresh Mayhem is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Great Scott Gadgets, Sharebrained Technology, or any hardware manufacturer. HackRF, HackRF One, and PortaPack are trademarks of their respective owners.
Download the latest release for your platform from the Releases page.
| Format | Best For |
|---|---|
.deb |
Debian, Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, Linux Mint |
.rpm |
Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, RHEL |
.AppImage |
Any distro (universal, no install needed) |
Signed and notarized DMG for macOS 11+ (Intel and Apple Silicon). Currently in testing.
MSI installer for Windows 10/11. Currently in development.
- Natural language device control — "capture 433 MHz", "full spectrum sweep", "sweep the WiFi band"
- Capture and analyze — IQ raw, WAV, and sweep CSV files saved locally
- Loot file analysis — click CHAT on any capture and get peak frequencies, signal identification, noise floor stats
- In-app spectrum viewer — visualize sweep data without leaving the app
- Device health check — read-only hardware diagnostics (clock synth, mixer, transceiver, M0 state)
- 28 FAQs with search — troubleshooting for Linux, macOS, Windows, device setup, LLM models
- 50 "Did You Know" tips — RF fundamentals, signal hunting, PortaPack tricks
- 15 languages — full i18n across all features
- Works without LLM — MANUAL mode for direct CLI commands, no Ollama required
- Privacy-first — all data stays local, no telemetry, no tracking
The app wraps the standard HackRF CLI tools. Anything you can do with hackrf_transfer or hackrf_sweep, you can do here. The intent parser understands ~50 natural language patterns:
capture 433 MHz/capture 868 MHz/capture 915 MHz(ISM bands)capture 1090 MHz(ADS-B aircraft tracking)capture 162.4 MHz(NOAA weather radio)capture 152 MHz(pager/POCSAG)capture [any frequency]with MHz, GHz, kHz, or Hz
full spectrum sweep(0-6 GHz)sweep 400 to 500 MHz(custom range)sweep FM band(88-108 MHz)sweep WiFi band(2.4 GHz or 5 GHz)
scan WiFi/scan Bluetooth/scan LoRalisten for ADS-B/listen for GPScapture TPMS/capture marine AISscan amateur 2m band/scan 70cm band
set LNA gain to 24/set VGA gain to 30/set TX gain to 20amp on/amp off/bias tee on/bias tee offdevice info/firmware versionlist my captures/stop
capture 433 MHz for 2 minutessweep 400 to 500 for 30 seconds
what is OOK modulation?what frequency do garage doors use?explain the difference between AM and FM
Anything the parser doesn't recognize gets passed to the LLM, which can call all of the same tools. There's also MANUAL mode for typing raw hackrf CLI commands directly.
| Device | Status |
|---|---|
| HackRF One | Fully supported |
| PortaPack H4M (Mayhem firmware) | Supported (limited mode) |
| HackRF One Pro | Should work, untested |
| Older PortaPacks (H1/H2/H2+) | May work with Mayhem firmware, untested |
- Install HackRF tools —
sudo apt install hackrf(Debian/Ubuntu) or equivalent - Connect your HackRF via USB data cable (not charging-only)
- Install Fresh Mayhem — download .deb/.rpm/.AppImage from Releases
- Optional: Install Ollama for natural language commands — ollama.com
- Launch and click the FRESH MAYHEM logo to scan for your device
Each release includes SHA-256 checksums in the release notes.
sha256sum Fresh\ Mayhem_*.debAll dependencies use permissive licenses (MIT, Apache-2.0, ISC, BSD-3-Clause, MPL-2.0 file-level). No GPL code is included in the application.
HackRF CLI tools (hackrf_info, hackrf_transfer, hackrf_sweep, etc.) are GPLv2 and developed by Great Scott Gadgets. They are called as separate external processes, not bundled or linked into this application. Users install them independently.
A full dependency audit (324 crates and packages) is maintained in the source repository.
Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue.
Please include:
- Your platform (Linux distro, macOS version, etc.)
- App version (shown in the BETA badge)
- Device type (HackRF One, PortaPack, etc.)
- Steps to reproduce
Check the in-app FAQ tab (question mark icon) before submitting. Many common issues are covered there.
New to GitHub issues? See our step-by-step guide.
Proprietary software by Super Basic Studio, LLC — Free during beta.