CLI & Native Applets

Magisk Command-Line Tools & Binaries

Exhaustive developer and power-user reference documentation for all 4 native Magisk command-line binaries: magiskboot, resetprop, magiskpolicy, and su.

Native Binary Architecture & Invocation

Magisk's command-line utilities are implemented in high-performance C++ and compiled with the Android NDK for all target architectures (arm64-v8a, armeabi-v7a, x86_64, x86). When Magisk is installed, these binaries reside in /data/adb/magisk/ and are symlinked into the global root $PATH as well as accessible as standalone tools.

Native Tool Modules

Root Method Checker ★

Interactive Tool

Select your OEM brand and Android version to diagnose boot.img vs init_boot.img partitioning, generate fastboot flashing commands, and verify hardware caveats.

Utility: Real-Time Fastboot & Partition Diagnostic

Troubleshooting Finder ★

Interactive Tool

Describe the problem — bootloop, missing root, Play Integrity failure, banking-app detection or a flashing error — and get the likely cause and exact fix steps.

Utility: Symptom-based diagnostics & fixes

magiskboot

Boot Image Tool

Unpack, repack, CPIO patch, DTB edit, decompress, and hex-patch Android boot headers (v0–v4) and ramdisk archives.

Layer: Boot / Ramdisk Manipulation

resetprop

Properties Engine

Modify, set, and delete read-only (ro.*) Android system properties directly in memory without rebooting.

Layer: System Property Shared Memory Trie

magiskpolicy

SELinux Compiler

Real-time binary SELinux policy editor and compiler. Injects permissive rules into running kernels without audit violations.

Layer: Live Kernel SEPolicy Injection

MagiskSU (su)

Superuser Client

Isolated multi-user Superuser CLI client with mount namespace control (--mount-master), UID switching, and socket IPC.

Layer: Root Privilege Elevation Daemon

Master Tools Comparison & Invocation Matrix

Tool Name	Primary Function	Invocation Layer	Typical Developer Use Case
magiskboot	Boot image unpack / repack & CPIO ramdisk patcher	Offline / Pre-boot / Recovery	Modifying boot partitions, injecting binaries into root cpio
resetprop	Live in-memory system property manipulation	Runtime OS / Root Shell	Spoofing device fingerprints, bypassing Play Integrity checks
magiskpolicy	Real-time SELinux policy compiler and rule injector	Early Boot / Live Kernel	Granting specific SELinux permissions to custom root daemons
MagiskSU (su)	Multi-user Superuser client and mount namespace manager	User-Space Shell	Executing elevated commands and accessing global mount namespaces

Native Binary Architecture & Execution Lifecycle

Magisk's binary toolchain is engineered in high-performance C++ and compiled using the Android NDK for multiple CPU architectures: arm64-v8a, armeabi-v7a, x86_64, and x86. All four native binaries operate independently of the host Android operating system's userspace shared libraries, ensuring zero dependency conflicts across different Android versions.

When Magisk is active, its core binaries reside in /data/adb/magisk/, guarded by strict Linux filesystem permissions (0700 root:root) and designated SELinux file contexts. This sandboxing guarantees that unprivileged apps cannot execute or inspect the binaries directly. During boot initialization, Magisk's init binary mounts a lightweight, systemless tmpfs filesystem overlay, ensuring predictable execution environments across all OEM firmware variants (including Samsung One UI, Xiaomi HyperOS, OnePlus OxygenOS, and Google Pixel AOSP).

Command Utility	Underlying Execution Mechanism	Security Domain Scope
`magiskboot`	Direct block I/O & CPIO archive compression engine	Pre-boot & recovery partition manipulation
`resetprop`	Direct manipulation of Android shared memory trie	System property workspace (`__system_property_area__`)
`magiskpolicy`	Live SELinux binary policy compiler	Atomic writes to `/sys/fs/selinux/load`
`su`	Secure Unix domain socket IPC with `magiskd` daemon	User credentials authentication & mount namespace isolation

Source & Verification Standard

Last updated: September 23, 2026 • Checked against: Magisk v30.7 • Primary upstream: topjohnwu/Magisk. Primary reference: topjohnwu/Magisk on GitHub.