IDA Pro MCP server for AI agents

The IDA Pro MCP Server is a tool that connects IDA Pro with large language models (LLMs) through the Model Context Protocol, allowing you to use AI assistants for reverse engineering tasks directly within IDA Pro. It provides numerous functions for analyzing binaries, decompiling code, and manipulating the IDA database.

Installation

Prerequisites

Python 3.11 or higher (use idapyswitch to switch to the newest Python version)
IDA Pro 8.3 or higher (version 9 recommended, IDA Free is not supported)
A compatible MCP Client such as Cline, Roo Code, Claude, Cursor, VSCode Agent Mode, or Windsurf

Standard Installation

Install the package and configure the MCP server:

pip uninstall ida-pro-mcp
pip install git+https://github.com/mrexodia/ida-pro-mcp
ida-pro-mcp --install

Important: After installation, completely restart IDA Pro and your MCP client (including Claude which runs in the background).

Usage

Basic Operation

After installation, load a binary in IDA Pro to activate the plugin menu. The plugin will appear under "Edit → Plugins → MCP".

Available Functions

Information Retrieval

Get metadata about the current IDB
Retrieve function information by name or address
Get the current address or function
Convert numbers between different representations
List functions, globals, strings, and local types
Decompile or disassemble functions
Find cross-references

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>github.com/mrexodia/ida-pro-mcp</server_name>
<tool_name>decompile_function</tool_name>
<arguments>{"address": "0x1000"}</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Code Modification

Set comments at specific addresses
Rename local variables, global variables, and functions
Set variable and function types
Declare new C types

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>github.com/mrexodia/ida-pro-mcp</server_name>
<tool_name>rename_function</tool_name>
<arguments>{"function_address": "0x1000", "new_name": "parse_header"}</arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Debugging Functions (Requires --unsafe flag)

Get register values and call stack information
Manage breakpoints
Control process execution

Effective Prompting

For better results with LLMs, use a prompt that includes specific instructions:

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 convert_number 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

Advanced Features

SSE Transport & Headless Operation

Run an SSE server to connect to the user interface:

uv run ida-pro-mcp --transport http://127.0.0.1:8744/sse

Run a headless SSE server (requires idalib):

uv run idalib-mcp --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8745 path/to/executable

Testing Connection

To verify your MCP server connection is working:

<use_mcp_tool>
<server_name>github.com/mrexodia/ida-pro-mcp</server_name>
<tool_name>check_connection</tool_name>
<arguments></arguments>
</use_mcp_tool>

Tips for Better Results

Tell LLMs to use the convert_number MCP function for numerical conversions
Consider using math-mcp for complex calculations
Before using LLMs, manually remove obfuscation like:
- String encryption
- Import hashing
- Control flow flattening
- Code encryption
- Anti-decompilation tricks
Use Lumina or FLIRT to resolve open source library code and C++ STL

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "github-com-mrexodia-ida-pro-mcp" '{"command":"uv","args":["run","ida-pro-mcp","--install-plugin"],"timeout":1800}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "github.com/mrexodia/ida-pro-mcp": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "ida-pro-mcp",
                "--install-plugin"
            ],
            "timeout": 1800
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "github.com/mrexodia/ida-pro-mcp": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "run",
                "ida-pro-mcp",
                "--install-plugin"
            ],
            "timeout": 1800
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect