ghidraMCP

ghidraMCP

ghidraMCP is an Model Context Protocol server for allowing LLMs to autonomously reverse engineer applications. It exposes numerous tools from core Ghidra functionality to MCP clients.

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/36080514-f227-44bd-af84-78e29ee1d7f9

Features

MCP Server + Ghidra Plugin

• Decompile and analyze binaries in Ghidra
• Automatically rename methods and data
• List methods, classes, imports, and exports

Installation

Prerequisites

• Install Ghidra
• Python3
• MCP SDK

Ghidra

First, download the latest release from this repository. This contains the Ghidra plugin and Python MCP client. Then, you can directly import the plugin into Ghidra.

1. Run Ghidra
2. Select File -> Install Extensions
3. Click the + button
4. Select the GhidraMCP-1-2.zip (or your chosen version) from the downloaded release
5. Restart Ghidra
6. Make sure the GhidraMCPPlugin is enabled in File -> Configure -> Developer
7. Optional: Configure the port in Ghidra with Edit -> Tool Options -> GhidraMCP HTTP Server

Video Installation Guide:

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/75f0c176-6da1-48dc-ad96-c182eb4648c3

MCP Clients

Theoretically, any MCP client should work with ghidraMCP. Three examples are given below.

Example 1: Claude Desktop

To set up Claude Desktop as a Ghidra MCP client, go to Claude -> Settings -> Developer -> Edit Config -> claude_desktop_config.json and add the following:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ghidra": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": [
        "/ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO/bridge_mcp_ghidra.py",
        "--ghidra-server",
        "http://127.0.0.1:8080/"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Alternatively, edit this file directly:

/Users/YOUR_USER/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

The server IP and port are configurable and should be set to point to the target Ghidra instance. If not set, both will default to localhost:8080.

Example 2: Cline

To use GhidraMCP with Cline, this requires manually running the MCP server as well. First run the following command:

python bridge_mcp_ghidra.py --transport sse --mcp-host 127.0.0.1 --mcp-port 8081 --ghidra-server http://127.0.0.1:8080/

The only required argument is the transport. If all other arguments are unspecified, they will default to the above. Once the MCP server is running, open up Cline and select MCP Servers at the top.

Then select Remote Servers and add the following, ensuring that the url matches the MCP host and port:

1. Server Name: GhidraMCP
2. Server URL: http://127.0.0.1:8081/sse

Example 3: 5ire

Another MCP client that supports multiple models on the backend is 5ire. To set up GhidraMCP, open 5ire and go to Tools -> New and set the following configurations:

1. Tool Key: ghidra
2. Name: GhidraMCP
3. Command: python /ABSOLUTE_PATH_TO/bridge_mcp_ghidra.py

Building from Source

1. Copy the following files from your Ghidra directory to this project's lib/ directory:

• Ghidra/Features/Base/lib/Base.jar
• Ghidra/Features/Decompiler/lib/Decompiler.jar
• Ghidra/Framework/Docking/lib/Docking.jar
• Ghidra/Framework/Generic/lib/Generic.jar
• Ghidra/Framework/Project/lib/Project.jar
• Ghidra/Framework/SoftwareModeling/lib/SoftwareModeling.jar
• Ghidra/Framework/Utility/lib/Utility.jar
• Ghidra/Framework/Gui/lib/Gui.jar

2. Build with Maven by running:

mvn clean package assembly:single

The generated zip file includes the built Ghidra plugin and its resources. These files are required for Ghidra to recognize the new extension.

• lib/GhidraMCP.jar
• extensions.properties
• Module.manifest