IDA MCP
Official# Hex-Rays IDA MCP
Official Hex-Rays IDA MCP Server, see the [announcement blog post](https://hex-rays.com/blog/hex-rays-ida-mcp-server) for more information.
## Installation
### Requirements
- Installed in your PATH
- [Git](https://git-scm.com/)
- [uv](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv)
- IDA 9.4 or higher with idalib and Python 3.11+
- We recommend disabling other IDA MCP servers to reduce agent confusion
### Automatic installation
Install the Hex-Rays IDA MCP using [hcli](https://hcli.docs.hex-rays.com/):
```bash
uvx ida-hcli mcp install
# or if you have hcli installed:
hcli mcp install
```
This will install the GUI plugin and interactively offer you to install the supported agent plugins.
### Manual installation
<details>
<summary>Manual installation instructions...</summary>
#### IDA GUI Plugin
To support IDA GUI instances when using IDA MCP, install the plugin:
```bash
uvx ida-hcli plugin install ida-mcp@https://github.com/HexRaysSA/ida-mcp
# or if you have hcli installed:
hcli plugin install ida-mcp@https://github.com/HexRaysSA/ida-mcp
```
_Note_: Without the GUI plugin, IDA MCP will still work headlessly.
#### [Claude Code](https://claude.com/product/claude-code)
```bash
# Add Hex-Rays marketplace
claude plugin marketplace add HexRaysSA/claude-marketplace
# Install plugin
claude plugin install ida-mcp@HexRaysSA
# Update to latest version
claude plugin update ida-mcp@HexRaysSA
```
#### [Codex CLI](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/codex/cli)
```bash
# Add Hex-Rays marketplace
codex plugin marketplace add HexRaysSA/codex-marketplace
# Install plugin
codex plugin add ida-mcp@HexRaysSA
```
#### [GitHub Copilot CLI](https://github.com/features/copilot/cli)
```bash
# Add Hex-Rays marketplace
copilot plugin marketplace add HexRaysSA/copilot-marketplace
# Install plugin
copilot plugin install ida-mcp@HexRaysSA
# Update to latest version
copilot plugin update ida-mcp
```
#### [Pi](https://pi.dev/)
```bash
# Install extension
pi install git:github.com/HexRaysSA/ida-mcp@latest
# Update to latest version
pi update --extensions
```
#### [oh-my-pi](https://github.com/can1357/oh-my-pi)
```bash
# Install extension
omp plugin install github:HexRaysSA/ida-mcp#latest
# Update to latest version
omp plugin upgrade
```
#### Other agents
Configure a regular stdio MCP server in your MCP JSON configuration:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ida": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"--exclude-newer=1s",
"ida-mcp",
"stdio",
"--agent=my-agent"
]
}
}
}
```
`uvx` resolves the latest stable `ida-mcp` release from PyPI, so this
configuration does not need to be updated for each release.
`--agent=my-agent` is a human-chosen label (like `claude-code`, `cursor`,
`my-custom-agent`, etc.) used to differentiate sessions in the dashboard.
</details>
## CLI
```bash
# MCP server over standard input/output
uvx ida-mcp stdio --agent=my-agent
# MCP server over Streamable HTTP
uvx ida-mcp http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8737
# Inspect session log
uvx ida-mcp dashboard --open
# Export session logs for troubleshooting
uvx ida-mcp logs
```
## Usage
Start your agent harness and ask it something like:
> Reverse /path/to/sample.elf for me in IDA
To test the GUI integration, open something in IDA and ask your harness:
> What do I have open in the IDA GUI?
## Developers: IDA Nexus
The IDA MCP project is built on [IDA Nexus](https://github.com/HexRaysSA/ida-nexus),
which allows multiple clients to seamlessly share and operate on IDA databases.
You can build your own tools on top of the `ida-nexus` library, see
[the documentation](https://github.com/HexRaysSA/ida-nexus/blob/main/README.md#python-package-developers)
for more information.
TDQS
Scored across 6 tools
Each tool has a clearly distinct purpose: reference for API lookup, open_database for attaching, execute_python for running code, list_databases for discovery, save_database for persistence, and close_database for cleanup. No two tools overlap in functionality, making misselection unlikely.
Most tools follow a consistent verb_noun pattern (open_database, list_databases, save_database, close_database, execute_python). The exception is 'reference', which is a noun and deviates from the verb-first convention, but it remains clear and unambiguous, so the minor inconsistency is acceptable.
Six tools is well within the ideal range for a focused server. Each tool covers a distinct operation necessary for IDA database interaction and Python execution, with no redundancy or bloat.
The surface covers the core lifecycle (open, list, save, close) and execution (execute_python) along with reference lookup. While there is no explicit 'create database' or 'get database info' tool, execute_python can handle arbitrary operations, mitigating any gaps. Minor missing features like status checks are workable.