REA
README.md
<div align="center">
<img src="docs/assets/rea-mcp-app-icon.png" alt="Launch the MCP Workbench that adds a color-coded Evidence
workspace and an optional OpenRouter analyst/reviewer team" width="200" />
# REA MCP APP: Reverse Engineer Anything
**AI Software Engineer: Anthony Cavanaugh**
Based on the original skill repository https://github.com/morluto/rea and extended with additional features and improvements.
### One MCP App and CLI to uncover how software works—from native binaries and managed code to Electron apps, websites, and live runtime behavior.
**See a feature you like. Understand how it works, down to the binary level.**
Trace a behavior through code, events, and execution. REA turns local analysis into linked Evidence your agent can inspect, question, and use in a durable workspace to build a reconstruction, compare real behavior, and verify declared cases. Optional AI specialists investigate assigned Evidence and report back to your main agent; cloud reasoning stays off until you enable it.
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/rea-agents)
[](https://github.com/morluto/rea/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[](docs/mcp-contracts.md#generated-catalog)
[](#what-you-can-analyze)
[](https://skills.sh/morluto/rea/reverse-engineer-anything)
[](LICENSE)
[](https://discord.gg/GkcryMnJDM)
[Quick start](#quick-start) · [How REA works](#how-rea-works) · [What you can analyze](#what-you-can-analyze) · [Showcases](#showcases) · [FAQ](#faq) · [Documentation](#documentation)
<code>npx rea-agents setup</code>
<br />
<img src="docs/assets/rea-mcp-workbench-app.png" alt="REA MCP App Workbench" width="1200" />
<br /><br />
<img src="docs/assets/rea-hopper-analysis.png" alt="REA launching its analysis bridge inside Hopper while inspecting a native binary" width="1200" />
<br /><br />
<table aria-label="REA community">
<tr>
<td align="center" width="360">
<a href="https://discord.gg/GkcryMnJDM">
<img src="docs/assets/discord.svg" height="42" alt="Discord" /><br />
<strong>Join the Reverse Engineering Community</strong>
</a><br />
<sub>Discord · Q&A · Show and Tell</sub>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<br />
</div>
---
See a feature in an app that you want in your own product? Ask your agent to investigate it with REA. It can inspect the app without its source code, explain how the feature works, show the evidence, and build a version for your project.
REA connects your agent to tools for inspecting native binaries, JavaScript and Electron apps, .NET assemblies, and websites. You can also use the same tools from your terminal. Analysis runs locally, and results include the evidence and limitations behind each conclusion.
The [MCP App investigation workbench](docs/mcp-app.md) adds a color-coded Evidence
workspace and an optional OpenRouter analyst/reviewer team. Both model IDs are
explicitly configurable with no defaults. Cloud reasoning is disabled until
enabled on the server; selected Evidence is sent to OpenRouter only for delegated
assignments. The main agent receives reports through REA's start/read/cancel tools.
The [durable feature workspace](docs/feature-workspaces.md) connects selected
behaviors, case timelines, executed comparisons, revisioned projects and portable
handoffs. Finite verification and canonical readiness remain distinct results.
The workbench includes light/dark themes and portable fullscreen. Scoped
specialists report to the main agent under shared request, token and spending
limits; specialist mode remains optional. Windows Electron captures now use a
retained native Job Object to clean up the launched application and descendants,
and retain ownership when cleanup cannot be verified.
The [acceptance and comparative benchmark report](docs/feature-benchmark.md)
records real browser, managed-artifact and Electron checks plus 30 live coding
trials. On this finite task, REA Evidence improved observed completion, while
specialist reports hit their output limit and added overhead. These results do
not establish general sub-agent superiority. Installed Codex App acceptance was
removed from the final scope at the user's request.
Setup registers REA with your agent and installs matching workflow instructions. Native analysis can use an existing Hopper, Ghidra, or IDA installation; setup can optionally install Hopper with approval. Static JavaScript analysis needs no native analysis engine.
> **[Visit the REA website](https://rea.tools/)** for setup instructions, illustrated guides, and real case studies.
## Quick start
### Set up your agent
With Node.js and npm installed, run:
```bash
npx rea-agents setup
```
Choose your agents, review the proposed changes, and approve them. Setup adds
REA's MCP server and matching workflow instructions, with backups of existing
configuration. Restart your agent afterward.
Setup supports Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Grok Build and
[other agents](docs/installation.md#supported-agents). See
[installation and setup](docs/installation.md) for provider configuration and
manual MCP registration.
### Ask your agent
```text
Understand how search works in the Notes app, show me the evidence, and build a
similar feature for my project.
```
Replace Notes with your target app and the feature you want to understand.
### Use the terminal
Inspect an extracted JavaScript/Electron app directory or ASAR:
```bash
npx -y rea-agents@latest analyze-javascript-application /absolute/path/to/app --json
```
The result includes modules, imports, Electron boundaries and their evidence.
Replace the path with your target, such as `"D:/apps/example"` on Windows.
To install the `rea` command for regular use:
```bash
npm install --global rea-agents
rea --help
```
For native analysis, configure a provider first. See the
[CLI and Evidence guide](docs/cli.md) for native commands, provider selection,
snapshots and scripting.
### Update REA
REA changes quickly, and new releases include frequent bug fixes. Keep your
installation up to date.
For an npm-installed CLI:
```bash
rea update
```
To refresh your agent registrations and skill, run the setup command printed
by the update.
If you use `npx`, update your agent setup with:
```bash
npx rea-agents@latest setup
```
Review the setup changes and restart your agent. For one-off CLI commands,
use `npx rea-agents@latest` followed by the command.
### Connect from an MCP client manually
For clients that use the `mcpServers` JSON format, add REA to the client's MCP
configuration file (often named `mcp.json`):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"rea": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "rea-agents@latest", "mcp"]
}
}
}
```
Save the file and restart or reconnect the client. This starts REA as a local
stdio MCP server. Client-specific config locations and other formats are in the
[manual MCP registration guide](docs/installation.md#mcp-registry); guided setup
with `npx rea-agents setup` can write the matching registration for supported
clients.
### Open the REA MCP App
In a session connected to REA, ask your client to open the **REA workbench** or
call `rea_workbench`. MCP Apps compatible clients render the interactive
Evidence workspace; clients without MCP Apps support can still use REA's tools
and receive their regular results. See the [MCP App guide](docs/mcp-app.md) for
the workbench features and optional OpenRouter configuration. REA does not load
`.env` files automatically, so configure any optional server variables in the
MCP client's server environment and keep credentials in its secret store.
## How REA works
Your agent calls REA through MCP to inspect the target and trace relevant code.
REA returns findings with their evidence. The agent uses them to ask follow-up
questions, explain the behavior, or write and test an implementation.
CLI commands use the same workflows.
[Open the full-size figure](website/public/assets/figures/rea-investigation-flow.png).
<a id="current-status"></a>
## What you can analyze
REA requires Node.js 22.x (>=22.19), 24.x (>=24.11), or 26+, plus npm.
Additional tools and host support depend on the target:
| Target | What REA returns | Requirements and guide |
| ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Native binaries | Pseudocode, assembly, strings, symbols, calls and references | Hopper, Ghidra or IDA; [native analysis](https://rea.tools/guides/native/) |
| Offline ELF layout | Sections, segments, original symbols/relocations and static mitigation candidates | Caller-supplied pwntools on Linux x64; [binary diagnostics](docs/binary-diagnostics.md) |
| EVM bytecode | Dispatch selectors, byte offsets, inferred arguments and mutability | Local raw/hex carrier on Linux x64; [offline EVM guide](docs/evm-bytecode.md) |
| Recorded Linux crashes | Raw notes, every recorded thread's registers/signals and optional mapping candidates | Caller-supplied pwntools on Linux x64; optional GDB/pwndbg; [recorded crashes](docs/recorded-crashes.md) |
| JavaScript / Electron | Modules, imports, source maps, routes, IPC and native add-on relationships | Node.js and npm; [application analysis](https://rea.tools/guides/javascript/) |
| Websites | Page structure, scripts, network observations and requested screenshots | A Chrome-family browser; [browser analysis](https://rea.tools/guides/browser/) |
| Saved network captures | Requests, responses, exposed payloads and source locations | HAR; mitmdump on Linux for native mitmproxy captures; [capture guide](docs/web-network-captures.md) |
| .NET assemblies | Metadata, CIL instructions, declared native dependencies and build comparisons | None (static only); [managed-code guide](docs/managed-code-analysis.md) |
| Android APKs | Manifest declarations, classes, decompiled methods and references | Headless JADX and a full JDK on Linux/macOS/Windows x64; [Android guide](docs/android-analysis.md) |
| Android devices | Devices, packages, processes, logs, dumps, screen captures, and APK/file transfers | Caller-supplied adb (emulator or hardware); [ADB guide](docs/adb-device-analysis.md) |
| JEB projects | Engine-backed project units, artifact digests and type/method pseudo-code | A caller-started JEB client serving MCP, selected with REA_JEB_MCP_URL; [JEB guide](docs/jeb-analysis.md) |
| Android resources | Decoded manifest, string tables, locales and version facts | Caller-supplied Apktool launcher; [resource guide](docs/apktool-resource-analysis.md) |
| Firmware | Regions, extraction results and native-analysis handoffs | Binwalk / Unblob on Linux; [firmware guide](docs/firmware-analysis.md) |
| Packages and resources | File inventories, digests, plists, Apple bundle anatomy and extracted resources | [Artifact and JavaScript guide](docs/javascript-artifact-reconstruction.md), [Apple applications](docs/apple-application-analysis.md) |
| Process behavior | Terminal output, interactions, exit and filesystem observations, and run comparisons | Linux/macOS with a native PTY; [process capture](docs/process-capture.md) |
Static JavaScript and .NET inspection read the supplied files without running
the application. Runtime capture runs or interacts with the selected target
using your user permissions; each runtime guide describes its effects.
<a id="choosing-a-deep-analysis-provider"></a>
Native formats and host support vary by provider. See
[Hopper and Ghidra setup](docs/installation.md#hopper), the
[IDA guide](docs/ida-provider.md), and
[experimental Windows Ghidra support](docs/windows-ghidra-p0.md).
Ghidra also supports [16-bit DOS analysis](docs/ghidra-dos.md).
For large binaries, raise its startup deadline with
`REA_GHIDRA_STARTUP_TIMEOUT_MS`.
For provider selection, see the [CLI guide](docs/cli.md#choose-a-provider).
Check [release availability](docs/installation.md#released-package-and-main)
for features added since the latest npm release.
## Showcases
[](https://rea.tools/showcase/)
### DX-Ball: reconstruct a sound-pan calculation
Follow a sound call into its position-to-pan helper, inspect the instructions,
and turn incomplete pseudocode into C. The reconstruction passes 3,205
original-x86 cases and reproduces all 63 compiled function bytes.
[Read the case study](https://rea.tools/showcase/dx-ball/) ·
[Reconstruction repository](https://github.com/N0zoM1z0/dx-ball)
### Notion: trace the Electron clipboard bridge
Find the renderer's clipboard API, follow it through preload and IPC into the
main process, and inspect the rich clipboard format.
[Read the case study](https://rea.tools/showcase/notion/)
### TH04: recover a DOS bullet-ring calculation
Inspect the original PC-98 game's 16-bit instructions, recover the fixed and
aimed angle calculations, and compare the reconstructed C++ with the
historical compiler output.
[Read the case study](https://rea.tools/showcase/th04/) ·
[Reconstruction repository](https://github.com/N0zoM1z0/th04)
If you've used REA on something interesting, we'd love to see it. Share your
case in an [issue](https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues) or a
[pull request](https://github.com/morluto/rea/pulls), including the target,
your question, how REA helped, and what you found.
## FAQ
<details>
<summary><strong>Which agents can use REA?</strong></summary>
Any agent that supports local MCP servers. Setup configures the
[supported agents](docs/installation.md#supported-agents); other clients can use
[manual MCP registration](docs/installation.md#mcp-registry).
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Do I need Hopper, Ghidra or IDA?</strong></summary>
Deep native analysis uses one of them. Static JavaScript and .NET inspection
work without a native analysis engine. Setup can install Hopper after approval;
Ghidra and IDA use your existing installations. See [provider setup](docs/installation.md#hopper).
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Do I need to start Hopper first?</strong></summary>
REA starts Hopper when an operation needs it. On macOS, a first-run dialog may
ask you to choose demo mode or activate your license. See
[Hopper startup and troubleshooting](docs/installation.md#launcher-paths-and-troubleshooting).
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>What does installing the skill from skills.sh do?</strong></summary>
The skill supplies investigation instructions for your agent. Use `npx rea-agents setup`
to register REA's MCP server and install the matching instructions, then restart
your agent. See [skill-only installation](docs/installation.md#skill-only-installation).
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>What code does REA return?</strong></summary>
Native analysis returns pseudocode and assembly. JavaScript/Electron analysis
recovers modules and their relationships. Your agent uses these findings to
write and test an implementation; the [showcases](#showcases) give worked examples.
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>Does REA upload my app?</strong></summary>
REA analyzes targets locally. Your agent receives the tool results, and its
model provider has its own data policy.
</details>
<details>
<summary><strong>What should I do if I hit a bug?</strong></summary>
Update first; a recent release may already fix it.
For an npm-installed CLI:
```bash
rea update
```
For agent setup through `npx`:
```bash
npx rea-agents@latest setup
```
If you're using an agent, complete the [setup refresh](#update-rea) and restart
it. Retry the same task. If the problem persists, [open an issue](https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues)
with your REA version, target type, steps to reproduce and error output.
</details>
## Documentation
Start with the website's [worked guides](https://rea.tools/guides/).
For exact options, prerequisites and result contracts:
- [Installation and setup](docs/installation.md): agent registration, provider configuration, updates and uninstall.
- [Readiness and troubleshooting](docs/installation.md#check-readiness-for-your-task): diagnose one agent or analysis engine.
- [CLI and Evidence](docs/cli.md): commands, provider selection, snapshots, import/export and exit statuses.
- [MCP contracts](docs/mcp-contracts.md) and [agent prompts](docs/mcp-prompts.md): tool results, sessions and guided investigations.
- [Tool catalog](docs/mcp-contracts.md#generated-catalog): generated inventory of tools, providers and CLI commands.
- [Roadmap](docs/roadmap.md): planned work and capability trackers.
Report vulnerabilities through [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md).
## Disclaimer
REA provides tools for lawful reverse-engineering research, analysis, and reconstruction. You are responsible for obtaining any required authorization and complying with applicable laws. The project does not endorse illegal or unauthorized use.
REA is an open-source software project. We have not issued or endorsed any cryptocurrency or token. Tokens using the REA name are not affiliated with the project.
## Contributing
We'd love your help with REA! [Open an issue](https://github.com/cavanaughdesignstudio/rea/issues) to
report a bug or suggest a feature, or [send a pull request](https://github.com/morluto/rea/pulls)
to improve the code or docs.
See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for development setup and checks,
[testing](docs/testing.md) for verification lanes, and the
[architecture map](docs/architecture.mermaid) for the project structure.
## License
[MIT](LICENSE)