IDA Pro MCP

[!IMPORTANT] I recommend using the Official Hex-Rays IDA MCP Server instead!

See the announcement blog post for more information.

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
  • Kimi Code
  • Other MCP Clients: Run ida-pro-mcp --config to get the JSON config for your client.

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"
# linux
uv run "/path/to/idapro-9.3/idalib/python/py-activate-idalib.py"

Installation (Claude Code)

To install the latest IDA Pro MCP in Claude Code:

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

Installation (Codex)

To install the latest IDA Pro MCP in Codex:

codex plugin marketplace add mrexodia/codex-marketplace
codex plugin remove ida-pro-mcp@mrexodia
codex plugin add ida-pro-mcp@mrexodia

Installation (Kimi Code)

To install the latest IDA Pro MCP in Kimi Code, run this slash command in the chat:

/plugins install https://github.com/mrexodia/ida-pro-mcp/tree/main
/reload

This installs the idalib MCP server and the idapython skill. Plugins are copied to $KIMI_CODE_HOME/plugins/managed/, so uv must be on your PATH. The first session after installing is slower, because uv resolves the dependencies before the server responds.

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)

2. **Improve Readability in the Database**
   - Rename variables to sensible, descriptive names
   - Correct variable and argument types where necessary (especially pointers and array types)
   - Upd