ReversePlumbing

ReversePlumbing is a local MCP server: it gives an AI client structured information about files you allow it to read. Written from scratch by Chibitek, it helps turn evidence into an original product specification. It does not reproduce the inspected product or prove how its server works.

Quickstart

Pre-release source checkout. Requires Node.js 22.14 or newer. An npm release is not available through this README yet. Start inside a reviewed checkout of an approved commit:

npm ci --ignore-scripts --no-audit --no-fund
npm run build
node dist/server.js --root /absolute/path/to/isolated-artifacts

Replace the artifact path with an existing folder you intend to inspect. The process speaks MCP over standard input/output; it is not an interactive terminal prompt or a web server. Client setup and network-denied execution. Installation downloads dependencies; the running server itself makes no network requests.

Related MCP server: REA

What you can do

How it works

flowchart LR
  A[Files in approved folders] --> B[Read-only parsers]
  B --> C[Structured evidence]
  C --> D[Your MCP client]
  D --> E[Your model provider, depending on client]

The server exposes only stdio transport. It does not connect to a browser, fetch packages at runtime, or execute an inspected app. Ghidra is the single optional subprocess and must be installed separately.

Choose the right approach

Privacy and limits

Approve isolated folders only, never a home directory or a folder holding credentials. Reads are bounded and checked against approved roots. This is not a complete filesystem sandbox against another process changing ancestor directories during a read. Use isolated, stable copies for untrusted inputs.

Output goes to your AI client and may reach its model provider. Get permission before inspecting a confidential target. Use only software and services you own, license or are authorized to examine, within their terms. Never copy their code, wording, assets or paid content, or bypass access and license controls. Security policy.

FAQ

Does it change the app or call its servers? No. Inspection is read-only and the runtime performs no outbound networking. The optional analysis subprocess is subject to network denial.

Does it prove an app is safe? No. Signing fields are structural evidence, not a trust verdict. Read the per-format limits.

Does it run everywhere? Built-in readers work on local files. Verification has covered macOS and an isolated Linux container; do not infer full native Windows support from PE parsing. The optional Ghidra invocation requires the macOS sandbox.

How do I check my checkout? Run npm test. Optional tests depend on installed tools; review pass and skip counts. No hosted build badge is used.

Contributing and security

See Contributing and Security. Detailed parser coverage, verification commands and operational limits are in the technical reference.

License

Apache License 2.0. Built by Chibitek Labs, the product and innovation arm of Chibitek.