IDA Pro MCP server for AI agents

The IDA Pro MCP Server enables AI-powered reverse engineering assistance directly within IDA Pro. This protocol server connects your IDA instance to various AI assistants, allowing them to interact with your reverse engineering workflow.

Installation Requirements

Python 3.11 or higher (use idapyswitch to select the newest 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

Installation Steps

Install the package directly from GitHub using pip:

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

Then configure and install the IDA plugin:

ida-pro-mcp --install

Important: After installation, completely restart IDA Pro and your MCP client for the changes to take effect. For Claude, you'll need to quit it from the system tray icon.

Using the MCP Server

Starting the Server

Open IDA Pro and load a binary
The MCP plugin menu will appear in IDA once a binary is loaded
Click on "Edit → Plugins → MCP" to start the server

Available Functions

The MCP server provides numerous functions to analyze and manipulate your IDA database:

Query Functions

Get function information: get_function_by_name, get_function_by_address, get_current_function
List database elements: list_functions, list_globals, list_imports, list_strings, list_local_types
Analyze code: decompile_function, disassemble_function, get_xrefs_to, get_callees, get_callers

Modification Functions

Comments: set_comment
Renaming: rename_local_variable, rename_global_variable, rename_function
Type setting: set_global_variable_type, set_function_prototype, declare_c_type
Stack frame manipulation: rename_stack_frame_variable, create_stack_frame_variable

Memory Analysis

Read memory: read_memory_bytes, data_read_byte, data_read_word, data_read_dword, data_read_qword
Read strings: data_read_string

Structure Analysis

Get structure info: get_defined_structures, analyze_struct_detailed, get_struct_at_address
Search structures: search_structures

Debugging Functions (require the `--unsafe` flag)

Debug control: dbg_start_process, dbg_continue_process, dbg_exit_process
Breakpoints: dbg_set_breakpoint, dbg_delete_breakpoint, dbg_enable_breakpoint
Execution: dbg_step_into, dbg_step_over, dbg_run_to

Effective AI Prompting

For best results with AI assistants, consider the following prompting strategy:

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

Tips for Better Results

Always instruct the AI to use the convert_number function instead of performing base conversions itself
Consider using the math-mcp server for complex calculations
Before using AI analysis, address any obfuscation in the binary:
- String encryption
- Import hashing
- Control flow flattening
- Code encryption
- Anti-decompilation techniques
Use tools like Lumina or FLIRT to identify open-source libraries and C++ STL code

Advanced Usage: Headless and SSE Transport

Run an SSE server for UI connection:

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

For headless operation (after installing idalib):

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

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

IDA Pro MCP server