ida-codex-mcp

Local MCP (Model Context Protocol) server plus an IDA 9.2 plugin to expose common reverse engineering capabilities to MCP clients.

• ida_bridge.py: an IDA plugin that exposes core analysis features (function list, call graph, Hex-Rays pseudocode, disassembly, imports/exports, xrefs, strings, memory reads, navigation, naming/typing helpers, etc.) over a local TCP JSON interface (default 127.0.0.1:31337).
• mcp_ida_server.py: a local MCP server that talks to the IDA plugin, then re-exposes features as MCP tools and resources over STDIN/STDOUT so MCP clients (e.g., Codex CLI) can use them directly.

Features

• Functions and calls
  • List functions: ida_list_functions
  • Call graph: ida_call_graph(name, max_depth)
  • Analyze and optionally rename: ida_analyze_function(name, max_depth, rename, rename_locals)
• Decompile/Disassemble
  • Pseudocode (Hex-Rays): ida_get_pseudocode(name|ea, offset, limit)
  • Disassembly: ida_get_disassembly(name|ea, offset, limit)
  • Add pseudocode comment: ida_add_pseudocode_comment(name|ea, line, comment, repeatable)
  • Rename function: ida_rename_function(old_name, new_name)
• Program info
  • Imports: ida_get_imports
  • Exports: ida_get_exports
  • Cross-references: ida_get_xrefs(target) (name or address)
  • Globals: ida_list_globals(offset, count)
  • Memory read: ida_read_memory(address, size)
  • Strings: ida_get_strings(min_length, offset, count)
• Navigation & typing
  • Jump to address: ida_jump_to_address(address)
  • Set data type: ida_set_data_type(address, data_type) (byte/word/dword/qword/float/double/ascii/unicode)
  • Set function pointer type: ida_set_function_pointer_type(address, function_signature) (supports simplified signatures like NTSTATUS __fastcall)
  • Smart name: ida_set_name(address, name) (auto-detects function pointers and applies QWORD + function type)
  • Create function pointer: ida_create_function_pointer(address, name, function_signature) (jump + QWORD + function type + name; supports simplified signatures)
• MCP resources
  • resources/list: export top functions as resources (first 500)
  • resources/read: fetch pseudocode (or fallback to disassembly) via ida://function/{ea}/{name}
  • resources/templates/list: provide ida_function template

Repository Layout

ida-codex-mcp/
├─ ida_bridge.py        # IDA plugin: local TCP JSON bridge
├─ mcp_ida_server.py    # MCP local process server: bridge MCP <-> IDA
└─ __pycache__/         # cache generated at runtime

Requirements

• IDA Pro 9.2 (Hex-Rays recommended for pseudocode features)
• Python 3.9+
• Windows/Linux/macOS

Installation & Startup

1. IDA side (plugin)

• Copy ida_bridge.py into IDA's plugins directory and restart IDA.
• When a target is open, the plugin spawns a local listener at 127.0.0.1:31337 (auto-increments port if taken).

2. MCP side (local process)

• From this repo folder, run:

python mcp_ida_server.py

• To override the IDA bridge address/port, set environment variables:

# Default: 127.0.0.1:31337
set IDA_HOST=127.0.0.1
set IDA_PORT=31337

• The process communicates over STDIN/STDOUT. Register it in your MCP client (e.g., Codex CLI) to use tools and resources.

Codex CLI Integration (config.toml)

Add this server to Codex CLI's config.toml so the tools appear in the client. The exact location of the config file depends on your setup, for example:

• Windows: %AppData%\\Codex\\config.toml
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Codex/config.toml
• Linux: ~/.config/codex/config.toml

Example configuration using stdio transport:

# Register an MCP server named "ida"
[mcp.servers.ida]
type = "stdio"
command = "python"
# Use an absolute path to the server script; single quotes are safe for Windows paths
args = ['D:\\Code\\ida-codex-mcp\\mcp_ida_server.py']

# Optional environment overrides (match your IDA bridge address/port)
env = { IDA_HOST = "127.0.0.1", IDA_PORT = "31337" }

# Optional stability knobs
enabled = true
restart_on_exit = true
timeout_ms = 15000

Unix-like path variant:

[mcp.servers.ida]
type = "stdio"
command = "python3"
args = ["/path/to/ida-codex-mcp/mcp_ida_server.py"]
env = { IDA_HOST = "127.0.0.1", IDA_PORT = "31337" }
enabled = true
restart_on_exit = true
timeout_ms = 15000

Verification steps:

• Ensure IDA is running with ida_bridge.py loaded and a database open.
• Restart Codex CLI so it picks up the new server.
• In Codex CLI, list tools and confirm ida_* tools (e.g., ida_list_functions, ida_get_pseudocode) are available.

Quick Check (two ways)

Option A: Direct TCP to the IDA plugin (simple self-test)

# quick_test.py
import json, socket

HOST, PORT = "127.0.0.1", 31337
req = {"method": "list_functions", "params": {}}

s = socket.create_connection((HOST, PORT), timeout=5)
s.sendall((json.dumps(req) + "\n").encode("utf-8"))
data = s.recv(65536)
print("IDA reply:", data.decode("utf-8", "ignore"))

python quick_test.py

Option B: Through MCP (recommended via an MCP client)

• Initialize:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":"1","method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05"}}

• List tools:

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":"2","method":"tools/list"}

• Call example (list functions):

{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":"3","method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"ida_list_functions","arguments":{}}}

Tip: Sending single JSON lines via a pipe is only for smoke tests—register this process in an MCP client for the best experience.

FAQ

• If Hex-Rays is not installed, ida_get_pseudocode and ida_add_pseudocode_comment will error; use ida_get_disassembly instead.
• If port 31337 is occupied, the plugin increases the port number automatically; set IDA_PORT accordingly on the MCP side to match.
• Transport encoding is UTF-8; each request/response is a single JSON line ending with a newline.

License

TBD. Contributions welcome—please mention license intentions in PRs.

Demo