ida-auto-mcp

An MCP server that gives AI coding assistants (OpenCode, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Antigravity) control over the IDA Pro lifecycle so they can analyze multiple binaries without manual intervention.

The Problem

If you use ida-pro-mcp, the MCP server runs embedded inside the IDA Pro process (listening on 127.0.0.1:13337).

Because IDA is strictly one database per process, unattended multi-binary analysis wasn't possible:

1. You open binaryA.dll in IDA.

2. The AI inspects functions, decompiles, and finishes analyzing binaryA.dll.

3. The AI wants to look at binaryB.dll next, but can't: IDA is locked to binaryA.dll.

4. You have to sit at your desk, save the database, kill IDA, open binaryB.dll, wait for auto-analysis to finish, make sure port 13337 binds, and resume prompting.

The Solution

ida-auto-mcp runs as a standalone local MCP server alongside your existing ida-pro-mcp setup. It exposes process control tools (ida_open, ida_switch, ida_close, ida_save, ida_status) so your AI assistant can drive batch analysis pipelines on its own:

[ AI Assistant (OpenCode / Claude / Cursor) ]
      │                                │
      │ (Process Control via stdio)    │ (Static Analysis via HTTP/SSE)
      ▼                                ▼
[ ida-auto-mcp ]                [ ida-pro-mcp (port 13337) ]
      │                                ▲
      │ spawns / saves / terminates    │ hosted inside
      ▼                                │
[ IDA Pro 9.x (ida64.exe -A) ] ────────┘

When switching binaries, ida-auto-mcp:

1. Triggers an idb_save RPC call to IDA so you don't lose any decompilation or typing work.

2. Sends a clean close signal and waits for the process and TCP port 13337 to be released.

3. Launches the next binary with -A (autonomous mode, so no interactive prompts block execution).

4. Polls IDA until auto-analysis completes (auto_is_ok()) and the MCP server is ready before returning to the AI.

Installation

Requires Python 3.11+ and IDA Pro 9.x (Windows).

git clone https://github.com/cacamelio/ida-auto-mcp.git
cd ida-auto-mcp
pip install -r requirements.txt

Auto-Config

Run the setup helper to automatically register the server in your installed clients:

python setup_clients.py

Or configure manually below.

Related MCP server: IDA Pro MCP Server

Client Configuration

OpenCode (~/.config/opencode/opencode.json)

Add ida-auto under the "mcp" key:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "ida-pro": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:13337/sse",
      "enabled": true
    },
    "ida-auto": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "python",
        "C:\\path\\to\\ida-auto-mcp\\server.py"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ida-auto": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "C:\\path\\to\\ida-auto-mcp\\server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Antigravity (~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ida-pro-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "serverUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:13337/mcp"
    },
    "ida-auto": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "C:\\path\\to\\ida-auto-mcp\\server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ida-auto": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "C:\\path\\to\\ida-auto-mcp\\server.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

ida_open

Opens a target file in IDA. If another instance is running, it saves and closes it first.

• target_path (str, required): Path to the .dll, .exe, .so, or .i64.

• gui (bool, default: True): Launches ida64.exe (GUI) or idat64.exe (headless text mode).

• autonomous (bool, default: True): Passes -A to silence all interactive popups/dialogs.

• wait_ready (bool, default: True): Blocks until auto-analysis completes.

• timeout_sec (int, default: 180): Max wait time for analysis.

• force_new_database (bool, default: False): Ignores existing .i64 and starts fresh.

ida_switch

Atomic switch between binaries. Flushes the active database, closes IDA, frees port 13337, spawns the next target, and waits for analysis.

• Takes the same arguments as ida_open.

ida_close

Flushes the .i64 database and shuts down the active IDA instance.

• save (bool, default: True): Writes database to disk before closing.

• timeout_sec (int, default: 15).

ida_status

Queries IDA's server_health endpoint and reports loaded module, IDB path, PID, and whether auto-analysis has completed.

ida_save

Flushes current disassembly and decompilation changes to the .i64 database without closing IDA.

ida_list_targets

Scans a folder for candidate binaries (.dll, .exe, .sys, etc.) and indicates whether an .i64 database is already present for each file.

• directory (str, required).

• extensions (list[str], default: [".dll", ".exe", ".sys", ".so", ".bin"]).

• recursive (bool, default: False).

Example Prompt

Once configured, you can give your AI prompts like:

"Look inside D:\programs\my_program\. Use ida_list_targets to see what DLLs are there, then open test.dll and test1.dll sequentially. For each one, summarize its exported interfaces and string references, then close IDA when done."

The AI will handle opening, analyzing, saving, and switching targets completely on its own.

Details & Edge Cases

• Autonomous Mode (-A): By default, ida-auto-mcp passes -A so IDA won't halt on prompt dialogs (like PDB download confirmations or compiler signature choices).

• Existing Databases & Binary Updates: If a .i64 or .idb file exists, ida-auto-mcp checks binary fingerprints (file size, high-resolution modification timestamp, and SHA-256 content hash). If the binary hasn't changed, it reuses the database for instant loading. If the binary was updated on disk after the database was saved, ida-auto-mcp automatically archives the database and any loose working files (.id0, .id1, etc.) to a verified backup in ida_backups with metadata sidecars before generating a fresh database.

• Automatic 14-Day Backup Retention: Automatically generated database backups older than 14 days (14 × 24 hours) are cleanly pruned. Original binaries, primary databases, loose recovery files, active files, and foreign files are strictly protected and never deleted.

• Process Ownership & Port Conflict Handling: When multiple IDA instances run or when instances restart, ida-auto-mcp uses exact process creation time and verified executable checks to prevent PID reuse issues, waits for ports to release from TIME_WAIT, and targets each IDA instance by its actual registered port rather than assuming port 13337.

• Cross-Process Synchronization: Uses in-process reentrant locking paired with an OS-level Windows Named Mutex to ensure target switching and save operations are strictly serialized without races or deadlocks.

License

MIT