Ida Pro Mcp
Open-source MCP server that exposes your IDA Pro database to Claude Code, Cursor and other LLM clients for AI-assisted reverse engineering
IDA Pro MCP is the project that made 'vibe reversing' a normal thing to say out loud. The headless idalib-mcp supervisor — persistent detached workers that outlive the supervisor, cross-supervisor worker adoption, four idb_open backends, per-database health via server_health — is better engineering than most MCP servers of its vintage, and int_convert exists for a real reason. The problem is the maintainer's own README: it recommends the Official Hex-Rays IDA MCP Server and flags the GUI plugin for eventual deprecation. Existing users should keep it. New adopters should start where the maintainer points.
Verified 3d ago · liveness 68/100 · cite: rightaichoice.com/tools/ida-pro-mcp
- Reverse engineers with a paid IDA Pro 8.3+ (ideally 9.3) install who want LLM assistance without leaving the IDB
- CTF and crackme solvers in Claude Code, Cursor, Zed or Codex who need int_convert-backed arithmetic
- Malware analysts who want the model to annotate and retype the database rather than just read pseudocode
- Teams standing up a shared headless idalib-mcp host so multiple analysts can open and adopt sessions
- Anyone on IDA Free or IDA Pro below 8.3 — Python 3.11+, idalib activated globally and uv on PATH are hard prerequisites
- Reverse engineering beginners: the README assumes you already know what to ask and how to clean obfuscated code
- Analysts expecting an LLM to work unmodified on string-encrypted, import-hashed or control-flow-flattened binaries
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Skip IDA Pro MCP if you don't already own IDA Pro 8.3+ (9 or 9.3 recommended) with idalib activated globally, or if you want a vendor-supported managed reversing product rather than a community plugin you configure yourself.
The plugin is MIT-licensed and free, but it requires a commercial IDA Pro 8.3+ license sold separately by Hex-Rays — that's the real line item.
The plugin itself is MIT-licensed and free; the cost that decides whether it fits is the commercial IDA Pro 8.3+ (ideally 9.3) licence you must already hold, plus your own LLM API spend. That combination makes it cheapest for an individual analyst who already has IDA and a Claude Code or Codex subscription, and comparatively expensive for a team that would need multiple IDA seats and a shared idalib-mcp host.
In short
Ida Pro Mcp — Open-source MCP server that exposes your IDA Pro database to Claude Code, Cursor and other LLM clients for AI-assisted reverse engineering. Best for Reverse engineers with a paid IDA Pro 8.3+ (ideally 9.3) install who want LLM assistance without leaving the IDB, CTF and crackme solvers in Claude Code, Cursor, Zed or Codex who need int_convert-backed arithmetic, Malware analysts who want the model to annotate and retype the database rather than just read pseudocode. Free to use.
What people actually say about Ida Pro Mcp — is it worth it?
We ran a structured research pass across product reviews, community discussions, and post-purchase forum threads to surface the patterns vendors won't publish themselves. Below: the recurring strengths, the hidden costs people mention most, and the cohort that consistently regrets adopting this tool.
12 mentions across 4 sources (Hacker News, YouTube, GitHub, Lemmy) · researched Sep 14, 2026.
Weighted by the 46 posts each of 4 sources contributed.
- +Full MCP bridge letting Claude, Cursor, VS Code, and Zed drive IDA directly rather than via chat window
- +Write-back tools (comments, renames, byte patches, type declarations) let LLM suggestions land in the IDB
- +Headless idalib-mcp server with persistent database workers enables remote/team workflows via SSE
- +int_convert tool explicitly prevents LLM number-base hallucinations, a real-world reversing pain point
- +Free and MIT-licensed with over 12,000 GitHub stars and an active maintainer
- −Requires paid IDA Pro 8.3+ and Python 3.11+ — unusable for Ghidra/radare2-only analysts
- −OpenAI blocks or warns on IDA/MCP reverse-engineering tasks; provider policy is a real workflow risk
- −Setup spans 20+ MCP clients and config paths, with history of client-specific misconfiguration bugs
- −Best output depends heavily on prompting skill — vague prompts waste tokens and time
- −MCP protocol itself draws criticism for weak input validation and unclear state semantics
- • IDA Pro license (IDA Pro 8.3+) — often hundreds to thousands of dollars, mandatory
- • LLM API token spend, especially with headless/autonomous agent workflows
- • Server compute if you run idalib-mcp persistently for team access
- • Time cost of configuring MCP across multiple clients when paths/schemas change
Viability Score
How well maintained and how widely used is Ida Pro Mcp? Built from what the vendor actually publishes (docs, changelog, tutorials, integrations, pricing), whether the site is live, and how much real users discuss it. How we calculate this
Last calculated: October 2026
How we score →Key Features
- MCP server bridging IDA Pro to LLM clients for contextual Q&A on decompilation and disassembly
- MCP resources for IDB metadata, segments, entry points, cursor, selection, local types, structs, imports and exports
- Decompile and disassemble functions at any address via lookup_funcs and list_funcs
- Write-back tools: set comments, rename local variables and functions, retype arguments, patch assembly bytes
- int_convert tool handles decimal, hex, byte, ASCII and binary conversions to prevent LLM number-base hallucinations
- Headless idalib-mcp server with persistent detached database workers that outlive the supervisor
- Worker adoption: a new supervisor reuses an already-open database instead of re-analyzing it
- idb_open mode parameter with prefer_headless, force_headless, prefer_gui and force_gui backends
- idb_list, idb_save and idb_close session management with a --max-workers concurrency cap
- Per-database health checks via server_health and is_active probes in idb_list
- SSE transport for remote MCP connections and stdio transport for local clients
- ida-pro-mcp --config emits ready-to-paste JSON config for clients the one-line installs don't cover
- One-line plugin installs for Claude Code, Codex and Kimi Code marketplaces
- Bundled prompt templates enforcing int_convert use and a decompile-annotate-retype-rename-document workflow
- IDA_MCP_* environment variables for worker capacity, health probes, timeouts and request logging
About Ida Pro Mcp
IDA Pro MCP is an MIT-licensed MCP server that bridges your IDA Pro database and a language model, so you can interrogate decompilation, disassembly, types, structs, imports, exports and cross-references without leaving the chat window you already work in. Install it as a Claude Code, Codex or Kimi Code plugin, or run it headless through idalib-mcp, then point a supported MCP client at it. Beyond reading the IDB, the server exposes write-back tools: set comments, rename local variables and functions, retype arguments, patch assembly bytes. A bundled int_convert tool handles decimal, hex, byte, ASCII and binary conversions so the model never does base math in its head — the README's example prompts instruct you to forbid that outright. It requires Python 3.11+, IDA Pro 8.3 or higher (9 recommended; the vendor examples use IDA Professional 9.3), idalib activated globally and uv on PATH; IDA Free is not supported. You supply your own LLM backend, so you carry the API keys and model costs. Note the maintainer's own README now recommends the Official Hex-Rays IDA MCP Server instead and marks the GUI plugin as no longer recommended, slated for eventual deprecation in favour of idalib-mcp.
Behind the Verdict
What this project gets right is unglamorous and specific. Reverse engineering is a long session against one database, and IDA Pro MCP is designed for that: idb_open with prefer_headless, force_headless, prefer_gui or force_gui; workers that survive the supervisor that spawned them and self-exit after an idle TTL (one hour by default); a second supervisor pointed at the same binary adopting the running worker instead of re-analyzing. --max-workers caps concurrency, idb_list and server_health report per-database state, and SSE transport lets you run the analysis box headless while you sit on a laptop. Write-back matters as much as read: set_comment, rename_local_variable, rename_function, retype arguments and patch_assembly_bytes mean the model improves the database rather than just narrating it, and the bundled prompt templates drive a decompile-annotate-retype-rename-document loop that ends in a report.md. The honesty is unusual. The maintainer states plainly that LLMs hallucinate, that integer and byte base conversion is an especially common failure (hence int_convert plus a prompt rule never to convert bases in-head), and that obfuscated binaries defeat the workflow until you strip string encryption, import hashing and control-flow flattening and resolve libraries with Lumina or FLIRT. Beginners are told outright this is not for them. Then there is the awkward part: the README's [!IMPORTANT] banner recommends the Official Hex-Rays IDA MCP Server instead, and the GUI plugin installation path is labelled 'no longer recommended and will eventually be deprecated. Use idalib-mcp instead.' Where it fits: analysts who already own IDA Pro 8.3+ (ideally 9.3), already know what to ask, and work crackmes, CTF binaries or malware samples from Claude Code, Cursor, Zed, VS Code, Windsurf, Cline, Roo Code, Copilot CLI, Gemini CLI, Amazon Q Developer CLI, Augment Code, LM Studio, Codex or Kimi Code. Where it does not: IDA Free users and anyone below 8.3 — hard blockers; anyone wanting a managed zero-install product with vendor support; greenfield work, where the maintainer's own recommendation is to use the Hex-Rays server. You bring the API keys and the model bill.
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Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Ida Pro Mcp actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
Install the plugin from the mrexodia Claude marketplace, open a crackme IDB in IDA Pro, then ask Claude Code what a function at a given address does and have it add comments and rename variables with the write-back tools.
Outcome: A documented, renamed database and a report.md without switching between IDA and the editor; int_convert keeps the model's base arithmetic honest.
Run idalib-mcp headless on the analysis box, open the sample with idb_open, and connect from a laptop over SSE; check per-database state with server_health and idb_list.
Outcome: The sample stays in a persistent worker process that survives the supervisor and expires after the idle TTL, so reconnecting later adopts the running database instead of re-analyzing it.
Point several analysts at one headless idalib-mcp host, cap concurrency with --max-workers, and have each session open or adopt its own database via idb_open and idb_list.
Outcome: Multiple open databases tracked with idb_list and idb_save, though the maintainer's own README now recommends the Official Hex-Rays IDA MCP Server for this kind of standardisation.
Use Cases
- Ask 'What does this function do?' and get an answer grounded in the decompiler output for that address.
- Have the model add comments and rename variables, then write those changes back into your IDB with the modification tools.
- Use int_convert so the model doesn't mangle integer and byte base conversions mid-analysis.
- Run a headless idalib-mcp server on an analysis box and connect from a laptop over SSE.
- Work through crackmes or CTF binaries from Claude Code, Cursor or Zed without leaving the editor.
- Use the README prompt templates for a systematic pass: decompile, retype, rename, document to RE/*.md.
- Track multiple open databases with idb_open, idb_list and idb_save during a long reversing session.
Limitations
- Requires IDA Pro 8.3 or higher (9 recommended; vendor examples use IDA Professional 9.3), IDA Free is not supported, and idalib must be activated globally with uv on PATH — legacy or minimally configured setups won't satisfy this.
- You supply your own LLM backend, so you carry the API keys and the model costs.
- Headless deployment adds MCP client configuration work and may need SSH tunnelling for remote access.
- Effectiveness tracks prompt quality: the README warns LLMs hallucinate and that integer and byte base conversion is an especially common failure, which is why int_convert and the bundled prompt templates exist.
- The maintainer states the GUI MCP plugin is no longer recommended and will eventually be deprecated in favour of idalib-mcp, and the README's own banner recommends the Official Hex-Rays IDA MCP Server instead.
- Obfuscated binaries defeat the workflow until string encryption, import hashing and control-flow flattening are stripped and library code is resolved with Lumina or FLIRT.
as of 2026-10-14
Verification history
We have re-verified Ida Pro Mcp 8 times since . Each pass re-reads the vendor's own pages and re-checks every listed field against that evidence; passes where nothing had changed are marked as such.
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-checked, vendor evidence unchanged
- — re-checked, vendor evidence unchanged
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-checked, vendor evidence unchanged
- — re-checked, vendor evidence unchanged
Showing the 6 most recent of 8 verification passes.
Free to cite with attribution — this page re-verifies continuously.
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Plans compared
For each published Ida Pro Mcp tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.
Open Source (MIT License)
$0
Ideal for
Reverse engineers who already hold a commercial IDA Pro 8.3+ (ideally 9.3) licence and want AI-assisted analysis inside their existing IDB.
What this tier adds
Starting tier and only tier: the MCP server is free under MIT, but a commercial IDA Pro licence, idalib activated globally with uv on PATH, and your own LLM API keys are all prerequisites rather than costs the plugin covers.
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Ida Pro Mcp's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
The plugin itself is MIT-licensed and free; the cost that decides whether it fits is the commercial IDA Pro 8.3+ (ideally 9.3) licence you must already hold, plus your own LLM API spend. That combination makes it cheapest for an individual analyst who already has IDA and a Claude Code or Codex subscription, and comparatively expensive for a team that would need multiple IDA seats and a shared idalib-mcp host.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Ida Pro Mcp — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
With Claude Code, Codex or Kimi Code, the one-line marketplace plugin install is minutes — but only after idalib is activated globally and uv is on PATH, and the first Kimi Code session is slower while uv resolves dependencies. The GUI pip install plus ida-pro-mcp --install needs a full restart of both IDA and your MCP client. Headless idalib-mcp on a remote host adds SSE or stdio client
Switching to or from Ida Pro Mcp
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From the IDA GUI plugin: move to headless idalib-mcp, since the README flags the GUI plugin as no longer recommended and eventually deprecated.
- →From manual IDAPython scripting: replace ad-hoc scripts with MCP resources for metadata, segments, entry points, types, structs, imports and exports.
- →From reading pseudocode in a separate chat window: point a supported MCP client at your IDB so the model reads the decompilation in place.
- ↗To the Official Hex-Rays IDA MCP Server: the README's [!IMPORTANT] banner recommends it, so new adopters are steered there rather than to this plugin.
- ↗To a plain IDAPython workflow: if you don't want to carry API keys and model costs, drive the database directly instead of through an LLM client.
- ↗To idalib-mcp from the GUI plugin: the maintainer's stated forward path is the headless supervisor, not the in-IDA GUI install.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
Tutorials & Learning
Setting up IDA Pro MCP server for AI assisted reverse engineering
George
Automated AI Reverse Engineering with MCP for IDA and Ghidra (Live VIBE RE)
OALabs
IDA Pro MCPでバイナリ解析にAIを導入する
safesynt
YouTube returned 6 videos for “Ida Pro Mcp”, and we withheld 2: 2 did not mention Ida Pro Mcp. Showing the 4 we can prove are about Ida Pro Mcp.
Official links
Tools that pair well with Ida Pro Mcp
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Ida Pro Mcp, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
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Featured Head-to-Head Comparisons
Ida Pro Mcp vs Sublime Security
Ida Pro Mcp and Sublime Security serve completely different domains: reverse engineering vs. email security. Your choice depends on your job function. For reverse engineers, Ida Pro Mcp is a free, powerful AI plugin for IDA Pro. For security teams combatting phishing and BEC, Sublime Security provides advanced, low–false-positive detection with custom rules. They are not interchangeable.
Ida Pro Mcp vs Audioeye
These tools serve entirely different markets. Choose Ida Pro Mcp if you are a reverse engineer looking to accelerate analysis with AI inside IDA Pro. Choose AudioEye if your priority is web accessibility compliance, especially if you face legal requirements like ADA or WCAG.
Ida Pro Mcp vs Push Security
Choose Push Security if your focus is preventing browser-based attacks (AiTM, session hijacking) and securing AI tool usage across the organization. Choose Ida Pro Mcp if you are a reverse engineer looking for an AI assistant inside IDA Pro. They serve entirely different domains; the decision hinges on whether you need enterprise browser security (Push) or AI-augmented malware analysis (Ida Pro Mcp).
Ida Pro Mcp vs Marvin
Marvin and Ida Pro Mcp serve completely different domains. Choose Marvin if you're a Python developer who wants to embed LLM intelligence into your apps with minimal boilerplate. Choose Ida Pro Mcp if you're an IDA Pro user looking to supercharge reverse engineering with AI. They aren't competitors; your choice depends entirely on your job role.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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