IDA-MCP

MCP server that runs inside IDA Pro 9.4 so tools like Cursor / Claude / Cline can talk to your open IDB over HTTP.

Default listen address: 127.0.0.1:8765
Stack: IDAPython + Hex-Rays (when present). No extra pip deps inside IDA.

Install

.\install.ps1 -IdaPath "C:\Program Files\IDA Professional 9.4"

Copies the plugin to %APPDATA%\Hex-Rays\IDA Pro\plugins\.

Uninstall:

.\uninstall.ps1

Related MCP server: IDA Pro MCP

Usage

1. Open IDA 9.4 and load an IDB

2. Edit → Plugins → IDA-MCP → Start (or Ctrl-Alt-M to toggle)

   • Stop: Edit → Plugins → IDA-MCP → Stop (or Ctrl-Alt-M again)

3. Point your MCP client at http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp

Cursor

%USERPROFILE%\.cursor\mcp.json or project .cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ida-mcp": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp"
    }
  }
}

If you set a token in config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ida-mcp": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}

More examples under examples/.

Smoke check

Invoke-RestMethod http://127.0.0.1:8765/health

Try: call get_database_info, then list_functions / decompile_function.

Config

%LOCALAPPDATA%\IDA-MCP\config.json

{
  "host": "127.0.0.1",
  "port": 8765,
  "token": "",
  "allow_write": false,
  "allow_patch": false,
  "allow_execution": false,
  "max_read_size": 1048576,
  "max_call_depth": 20,
  "log_level": "INFO"
}

Env vars override the file: IDA_MCP_HOST, IDA_MCP_PORT, IDA_MCP_TOKEN, IDA_MCP_ALLOW_WRITE, IDA_MCP_ALLOW_PATCH, IDA_MCP_ALLOW_EXECUTION, …

Logs: %LOCALAPPDATA%\IDA-MCP\ida-mcp.log

Defaults

Don't bind 0.0.0.0 without a token — the server refuses that.

How it works

HTTP JSON-RPC (Streamable HTTP) in a background thread inside IDA. Tool handlers schedule IDA API calls with ida_kernwin.execute_sync so the UI doesn't get trashed from worker threads.

Stdlib only in-process; the optional mcp package in requirements.txt is for external tooling/tests, not required by the plugin.

See docs/architecture.md.

Tools (high level)

There are ~57 tools. The useful ones day-to-day:

• DB: get_database_info, get_entry_points

• Functions: list_functions, get_function*, get_disassembly, decompile_function

• Xrefs / graph: get_xrefs_*, get_callers, get_callees, trace_call_path

• Imports / strings: list_imports, find_import, list_strings, find_string

• Search / memory: search_bytes, search_text, read_memory

• Analysis helpers: analyze_function, summarize_function

Writes and patches are separate and gated. Full list: docs/tools.md.

Resources: ida://database, ida://function/0x…, …/pseudocode, …/disassembly.

After code changes

Either restart IDA, or run scripts/reload_ida_mcp.py via File → Script file.

Tests

pip install pytest
pytest tests -q

Live checks (IDA must be running with MCP up): tests/_live_mcp_check.py, tests/_live_full_test.py.

Layout

ida_plugin/          plugin entry + package
install.ps1          Windows installer
docs/                architecture / tools / install notes
examples/            MCP client configs
.cursor/skills/      Cursor skill for using the tools
tests/

License

MIT — see LICENSE.