ida-pro

IDA Pro MCP

Simple MCP Server to allow vibe reversing in IDA Pro.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/6ebeaa92-a9db-43fa-b756-eececce2aca0

The binaries and prompt for the video are available in the mcp-reversing-dataset repository.

Prerequisites

• Python (3.11 or higher)
  • Use idapyswitch to switch to the newest Python version
• IDA Pro (8.3 or higher, 9 recommended), IDA Free is not supported
• Supported MCP Client (pick one you like)
  • Amazon Q Developer CLI
  • Augment Code
  • Claude
  • Claude Code
  • Cline
  • Codex
  • Copilot CLI
  • Crush
  • Cursor
  • Gemini CLI
  • Kilo Code
  • Kiro
  • LM Studio
  • Opencode
  • Qodo Gen
  • Qwen Coder
  • Roo Code
  • Trae
  • VS Code
  • VS Code Insiders
  • Warp
  • Windsurf
  • Zed
  • Other MCP Clients: Run ida-pro-mcp --config to get the JSON config for your client.

Installation (Claude Code)

To install the headless IDA Pro MCP in Claude Code:

claude plugin marketplace add mrexodia/claude-marketplace
claude plugin install ida-pro-mcp@mrexodia

To update to the latest version:

claude plugin update ida-pro-mcp@mrexodia

Note: This requires having idalib activated globally and uv installed:

# windows
uv run "C:\Program Files\IDA Professional 9.3\idalib\python\py-activate-idalib.py"
# macos
uv run "/Applications/IDA Professional 9.3.app/Contents/MacOS/idalib/python/py-activate-idalib.py"

Installation (GUI)

Note: the MCP plugin is no longer recommended and will eventually be deprecated. Use idalib-mcp instead.

If you want to configure the MCP server manually from the IDA GUI:

pip uninstall ida-pro-mcp
pip install https://github.com/mrexodia/ida-pro-mcp/archive/refs/heads/main.zip

Configure the MCP servers and install the IDA Plugin:

ida-pro-mcp --install

Important: Make sure you completely restart IDA and your MCP client for the installation to take effect. Some clients (like Claude) run in the background and need to be quit from the tray icon.

Prompt Engineering

LLMs are prone to hallucinations and you need to be specific with your prompting. For reverse engineering the conversion between integers and bytes are especially problematic. Below is a minimal example prompt, feel free to start a discussion or open an issue if you have good results with a different prompt:

Your task is to analyze a crackme in IDA Pro. You can use the MCP tools to retrieve information. In general use the following strategy:

- Inspect the decompilation and add comments with your findings
- Rename variables to more sensible names
- Change the variable and argument types if necessary (especially pointer and array types)
- Change function names to be more descriptive
- If more details are necessary, disassemble the function and add comments with your findings
- NEVER convert number bases yourself. Use the `int_convert` MCP tool if needed!
- Do not attempt brute forcing, derive any solutions purely from the disassembly and simple python scripts
- Create a report.md with your findings and steps taken at the end
- When you find a solution, prompt to user for feedback with the password you found

This prompt was just the first experiment, please share if you found ways to improve the output!

Another prompt by @can1357:

Your task is to create a complete and comprehensive reverse engineering analysis. Reference AGENTS.md to understand the project goals and ensure the analysis serves our purposes.

Use the following systematic methodology:

1. **Decompilation Analysis**
   - Thoroughly inspect the decompiler output
   - Add detailed comments documenting your findings
   - Focus on understanding the actual functionality and purpose of each component (do not rely on old, incorrect comments)