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bladerf

Command-line tools for Nuand bladeRF transceivers

What it does

Carries bladeRF-cli, which enumerates bladeRF devices, loads FPGA bitstreams and firmware, sets frequency, gain and sample rate, runs loopback tests, and captures or transmits sample files directly.

Why you would want it

It is the first thing to run when a bladeRF is not working and the diagnostic that separates hardware from software. It is also how the FPGA image is loaded, which the device needs before it will do anything at all -- a bladeRF with no bitstream looks broken.

Before it will work

A bladeRF, and the matching FPGA bitstream for the board revision and the library version. USB 3 for the higher sample rates; on USB 2 the device works and the achievable bandwidth is much lower.

How it installs

  • apt: bladerf

Known problems

Library, firmware and FPGA bitstream versions must be compatible, and a mismatch is the dominant bladeRF problem -- the symptom is a device that enumerates and then fails to configure. Kali carries 0.2025.10 against Debian 13 and Parrot's 0.2024.05 (measured 2026-08-28), which shifts the compatible bitstream with it. The bladeRF transmits; what leaves an antenna is your responsibility. The maintainer does not own this hardware (D-027).

Keeping it current

  • probe: apt policy
  • strategy: apt_upgrade

Where to get help with the software itself

Nuand. Forum and GitHub linked from the site.

Source: catalog/packages/bladerf.yaml