IDA Pro MCP server

IDA Pro MCP Server is a plugin that enables AI assistants like Claude to interact directly with IDA Pro for binary analysis tasks. It provides a Model Context Protocol (MCP) interface that allows remote querying and control of IDA Pro, enabling AI assistants to perform various operations such as retrieving disassembly code, decompiled pseudocode, and function information.

Installation

Requirements: This plugin is designed for and tested with IDA Pro version 9.0+.

1. Install the required Python dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Copy the ida-mcp-server.py file to your IDA Pro plugins directory:

Windows: %Programfiles%\IDA Pro 9.0\plugins\
Linux: ~/.idapro/plugins/
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/IDA Pro/plugins/

Configuration

To configure Claude or VSCode to work with the IDA Pro MCP Server, add the following to your mcp.json file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "IDAPro": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3000/sse",
      "type": "sse"
    }
  }
}

Usage

1. Open a binary file in IDA Pro
2. The plugin will automatically load and start the MCP server locally on port 3000
3. Connect your AI assistant (e.g., Claude) to this server
4. Use the AI assistant to perform binary analysis tasks

Available Analysis Tools

The server provides numerous tools for binary analysis:

Basic Information

• get_bytes: Retrieve raw bytes from a specific address
• get_disasm: Get disassembly at a specified address
• get_decompiled_func: Get pseudocode of the function containing the specified address
• get_function_name: Get function name at a specified address
• get_entry_point: Get the entry point of the binary

Program Structure

• get_segments: Get all segment information
• get_functions: Get all functions in the binary
• get_imports: Get all imported functions
• get_exports: Get all exported functions

Cross-References

• get_xrefs_to: Get all cross-references to a specified address

Function Management

• make_function: Create a function at a specified address
• undefine_function: Undefine a function at a specified address

Data Type Retrieval

• get_dword_at: Get the dword (4 bytes) at a specified address
• get_word_at: Get the word (2 bytes) at a specified address
• get_byte_at: Get the byte at a specified address
• get_qword_at: Get the qword (8 bytes) at a specified address
• get_float_at: Get the float at a specified address
• get_double_at: Get the double at a specified address

String Analysis

• get_string_at: Get the string at a specified address
• get_string_list: Get all strings in the binary
• get_strings: Get all strings in the binary (with addresses)

Best Practices for Binary Analysis

When analyzing binaries with this tool, consider the following workflow:

1. Examine the entry point
2. Review the import table to understand what external functions are called
3. Analyze strings for clues about functionality
4. Track key API calls
5. Identify main functional blocks
6. Analyze control flow
7. Look for potentially malicious behaviors
8. Examine algorithms and encryption routines
9. Document your findings

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 "IDAPro" '{"url":"http://127.0.0.1:3000/sse","type":"sse"}'

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": {
        "IDAPro": {
            "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3000/sse",
            "type": "sse"
        }
    }
}

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": {
        "IDAPro": {
            "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3000/sse",
            "type": "sse"
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect