An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes IDA Pro reverse-engineering capabilities to LLM clients.
MCPyIDA exposes binary analysis capabilities via MCP: decompilation, disassembly, symbol lookup, cross-references, type inspection, structure recovery, binary patching, and scriptable analysis.
Related project: If you use Ghidra rather than IDA Pro, see MCPyGhidra for an equivalent MCP server for Ghidra.
- IDA Pro 9.x or later with idalib (tested with IDA Pro 9.2+; download)
- Python 3.10–3.12
Note: IDA Pro is commercial software. A valid IDA Pro license is required. MCPyIDA does not bundle or distribute IDA Pro; you must supply your own installation.
python3 -m venv idavenv
source idavenv/bin/activatepip install mcpyidamcpyida_installPoint IDA's IDAPython at the same virtual environment. The exact steps depend on your IDA Pro version and OS; see the IDA Pro documentation for details on configuring IDAPython's Python interpreter.
- Launch IDA Pro and open a binary.
- Go to Edit → Plugins → MCPyIDA (or the MCP menu added by the plugin).
- Start the MCP server.
- The server URL appears in the output window, e.g.:
http://127.0.0.1:6050/sse/
Launch the MCP server without the IDA GUI (requires idalib):
export IDADIR=/path/to/idapro
mcpyida-headless --binary /path/to/firmware.elfThe server prints a JSON readiness signal to stdout:
{"status": "ready", "host": "127.0.0.1", "port": 6050, "binary": "/path/to/firmware.elf"}Point any MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, VS Code MCP extension, etc.) at the running server:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ida": {
"type": "streamable-http",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:6050/mcp"
}
}
}MCPyIDA exposes tools organized into categories:
- Listing & context: list entries, inspect binary metadata, resolve functions
- Analysis: decompile, disassemble, cross-references, control-flow graphs
- Types: type enumeration and detailed inspection
- Modification: rename symbols, update variables, set comments, patch instructions
- Scripting: Python code execution with back-to-client RPC callbacks
- Search: binary pattern and instruction sequence matching
IDA does not load the plugin after mcpyida_install
Ensure your IDAPython interpreter is pointing at the virtual environment where
mcpyida is installed. The mcpyida_install command copies the plugin loader
into IDA's plugin directory; the loader itself must be able to import mcpyida
at runtime.
mcpyida-headless exits immediately with an idalib error
Set IDADIR to the root of your IDA Pro installation (the directory containing
idalib.so / idalib.dll). Verify the path is correct and that your IDA Pro
license is valid and reachable.
Port 6050 is already in use
Pass --port <number> to mcpyida-headless, or configure the port in the
plugin's settings panel when running in GUI mode.
MCP client reports connection refused
Confirm the server started successfully (look for the JSON readiness signal or
check IDA's output window). The default transport is streamable-http on
http://127.0.0.1:6050/mcp; older clients that only support SSE can connect to
http://127.0.0.1:6050/sse/.
git clone https://github.com/nightwing-us/mcpyida.git
cd mcpyida
pip install -e ".[dev]"Unit tests (no IDA Pro required):
pytest tests/unit/ -v --tb=shortIntegration and e2e tests require IDA Pro / idalib and are run in a CI environment with an IDA Pro license available.
mypyruff check src tests
ruff format src testsMCPyIDA and MCPyGhidra are maintained in parallel as sister projects with intended feature parity — MCPyIDA targets IDA Pro and MCPyGhidra targets Ghidra.
- MCPyGhidra — equivalent MCP server for Ghidra (free, open-source RE tool)
- pyghidra-decaf — Python-native Ghidra plugin development framework (underpins MCPyGhidra)
Apache-2.0 — see LICENSE for details.
Copyright © 2026 Nightwing Group, LLC.