ida-pro-mcp

Implements a separated proxy server and IDA Pro plugin architecture that routes MCP protocol requests through an HTTP/stdio dispatcher, preventing protocol overhead from blocking IDA's single-threaded UI. The proxy server handles MCP metadata locally while forwarding IDA-specific operations to the plugin's internal HTTP handler, with strict thread synchronization via @idasync decorators to ensure safe access to IDA's non-reentrant API.

Exposes IDA Pro's decompilation engine (Hex-Rays) and disassembly capabilities as MCP tools that LLMs can invoke to analyze binary code. The system wraps IDA's internal decompilation APIs and disassembly functions, returning structured pseudocode and assembly listings that can be parsed and reasoned about by language models for vulnerability discovery and code understanding.

Manages IDA database state across multiple MCP requests, ensuring that modifications (patches, comments, type changes) persist in the IDA database file. The system coordinates database writes with IDA's analysis engine, handling concurrent access patterns and ensuring data consistency without requiring manual database save operations between requests.

Formats binary analysis results (disassembly, decompilation, metadata) in structured, LLM-friendly formats (JSON, markdown, plain text) that are optimized for language model consumption. The system abstracts IDA's raw output into parseable structures with clear delimiters, type information, and hierarchical organization, enabling LLMs to reliably extract and reason about analysis results without fragile text parsing.

Exposes IDA Pro's cross-reference (xref) database and data flow analysis capabilities as MCP resources, enabling LLMs to query function call graphs, data dependencies, and memory access patterns. The system retrieves xref chains from IDA's internal database and formats them as navigable resource trees that LLMs can traverse to understand code relationships and data flow.

Provides MCP tools to retrieve function signatures, type declarations, imported symbols, and string constants from the IDA database. The system queries IDA's symbol table and type information system, returning structured metadata that includes function prototypes, parameter types, return types, and imported library functions, enabling LLMs to understand binary interfaces and data structures.

Exposes IDA Pro's patching and modification capabilities through MCP tools, allowing LLMs to apply code patches, rename symbols, add comments, and modify type declarations in the IDA database. The system wraps IDA's patch APIs and database modification functions, with changes persisted to the IDA database file, enabling AI-assisted code annotation and binary modification workflows.

Provides a headless server mode using IDA's idalib library that enables automated, non-interactive binary analysis without the IDA GUI. The system spawns an idalib_server process that exposes the same MCP tools as the interactive plugin, allowing batch processing and CI/CD integration of binary analysis tasks without requiring a running IDA Pro instance or GUI.

Provides gated access to dangerous operations (breakpoint manipulation, register inspection, memory modification, arbitrary Python execution) through an @unsafe decorator system that requires explicit opt-in via configuration flags. The system enforces safety boundaries by requiring users to explicitly enable unsafe operations, preventing accidental execution of dangerous commands while allowing advanced users to leverage IDA's debugging and scripting capabilities for complex analysis tasks.

Provides automated configuration generation and installation for 30+ MCP clients (Claude Desktop, VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) through a single --install command. The system generates appropriate JSON configuration files for each client, handling client-specific setup requirements and enabling seamless integration with diverse AI development environments without manual configuration.

Implements a decorator-based RPC system (@idasync, @unsafe) that abstracts IDA Pro's non-reentrant, single-threaded API into a type-safe, callable interface suitable for MCP tool exposure. The system uses Python decorators to enforce thread synchronization, safety constraints, and type validation, automatically generating MCP tool schemas from decorated function signatures and handling serialization/deserialization of IDA objects.

Supports multiple transport modes (stdio, HTTP, SSE) for MCP protocol communication, allowing clients to choose the transport that best fits their environment. The system uses the zeromcp library to abstract transport details, enabling the same MCP server implementation to work with stdio-based clients (Claude Desktop, command-line tools) and HTTP-based clients (web interfaces, remote connections) without code changes.