IDA Pro MCP server

The IDA MCP Server is a powerful tool that allows you to interact with IDA Pro databases through Large Language Models using the Model Context Protocol. It enables automation and analysis of IDA databases, making it easier to extract and work with binary analysis data.

Installation

Server Installation

Using uv (Recommended)

The simplest way to run the server is with uv:

uvx mcp-server-ida

Using pip

Alternatively, install via pip:

pip install mcp-server-ida

Then run it as a module:

python -m mcp_server_ida

IDA Plugin Installation

To enable communication between IDA and the MCP server:

1. Copy the plugin files to your IDA plugins directory:
   • repository/plugin/ida_mcp_server_plugin.py
   • repository/plugin/ida_mcp_server_plugin/ (directory)

Location depends on your operating system:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Hex-Rays\IDA Pro\plugins
• Linux/macOS: $HOME/.idapro/plugins (e.g., ~/.idapro/plugins)

Configuration

Setting Up with Claude Desktop

Add the IDA MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration by editing the claude_desktop_config.json file:

For uv installation:

"mcpServers": {
  "ida": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": [
        "mcp-server-ida"
    ]
  }
}

For pip installation:

"mcpServers": {
  "ida": {
    "command": "python",
    "args": [
        "-m", 
        "mcp_server_ida"
    ]
  }
}

Debugging

You can debug the server using the MCP inspector:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx mcp-server-ida

For development installs:

cd path/to/mcp-server-ida/src
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv run mcp-server-ida

To view logs, use:

tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log

Using the Server

Once configured correctly, you can use Claude or other compatible LLMs to:

1. Open and analyze IDA databases
2. Query function information
3. Extract disassembly and decompilation data
4. Automate analysis tasks

The MCP server acts as a bridge between your LLM and IDA Pro, allowing the model to access and work with data from your binary analysis.

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 "ida" '{"command":"uvx","args":["mcp-server-ida"]}'

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": {
        "ida": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-server-ida"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "ida": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-server-ida"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect