IDA Pro MCP for Claude Desktop: Setup & Config

What you can do with IDA Pro in Claude Desktop

Choose it for IDA-native binary analysis with explicit database sessions and persistent headless workers.

• Inspect binary functions through decompilation, disassembly, and cross-references.
• Document findings by editing comments and type definitions.

Before you start: IDA Pro in Claude Desktop

• Python 3.11 or newer
• IDA Pro 8.3 or newer; version 9 recommended
• Installed idalib for headless operation
• uv for the documented launch command
• An MCP-compatible client

The selected command uses the recommended headless direction. Install the package or Claude Code plugin as documented and activate idalib as required. IDA Free is unsupported. Database tools require explicit session identifiers.

IDA Pro Claude Desktop configuration

1. Choose Claude Desktop configuration scope

   For IDA Pro MCP, open macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json. Merge under mcpServers via Settings → Developer → Edit Config when available.

2. Add IDA Pro MCP to Claude Desktop

   Use the ida-pro-mcp entry below in mcpServers. Keep IDA Pro MCP's documented stdio connection fields and your other Claude Desktop entries.

3. Check IDA Pro MCP in Claude Desktop

   IDA Pro MCP: Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop; check developer diagnostics.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ida-pro-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "idalib-mcp",
        "--stdio"
      ],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

IDA Pro tools available to Claude Desktop

IDA Pro's stored tool list documents 35 tools; compare it with Claude Desktop's connected tool list, because the stored list is not a live check.

idb_open

When Claude Desktop requests idb_open from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Open or adopt a binary database and return its session identifier.

idb_list

When Claude Desktop requests idb_list from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Inspect open sessions and discovered IDA GUI instances.

idb_save

When Claude Desktop requests idb_save from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Save a session’s analysis database to disk.

server_health

When Claude Desktop requests server_health from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Inspect health for an explicitly selected database.

lookup_funcs

When Claude Desktop requests lookup_funcs from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Resolve functions by name or address.

int_convert

When Claude Desktop requests int_convert from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Convert numeric values among decimal, hexadecimal, bytes, ASCII, and binary formats.

list_funcs

When Claude Desktop requests list_funcs from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

List functions with filtering and pagination.

list_globals

When Claude Desktop requests list_globals from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Browse global variables with pagination and filters.

imports

When Claude Desktop requests imports from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

List imported symbols and their modules.

decompile

When Claude Desktop requests decompile from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Produce decompiler output for a function address.

disasm

When Claude Desktop requests disasm from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Inspect a function’s assembly and related details.

xrefs_to

When Claude Desktop requests xrefs_to from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Find references targeting one or more addresses.

xrefs_to_field

When Claude Desktop requests xrefs_to_field from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Find references to specified structure fields.

callees

When Claude Desktop requests callees from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

List functions called from selected function addresses.

add_bookmark

When Claude Desktop requests add_bookmark from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Create or replace an IDA bookmark at an address.

set_comments

When Claude Desktop requests set_comments from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Write comments in assembly and decompiler views.

patch_asm

When Claude Desktop requests patch_asm from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Replace instructions using assembly patches.

declare_type

When Claude Desktop requests declare_type from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

Add C type declarations to the local type library.

define_func

When Claude Desktop requests define_func from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

define_code

When Claude Desktop requests define_code from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

undefine

When Claude Desktop requests undefine from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

get_bytes

When Claude Desktop requests get_bytes from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

get_int

When Claude Desktop requests get_int from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

get_string

When Claude Desktop requests get_string from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

get_global_value

When Claude Desktop requests get_global_value from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

stack_frame

When Claude Desktop requests stack_frame from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

declare_stack

When Claude Desktop requests declare_stack from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

delete_stack

When Claude Desktop requests delete_stack from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

read_struct

When Claude Desktop requests read_struct from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

search_structs

When Claude Desktop requests search_structs from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

dbg_start

When Claude Desktop requests dbg_start from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

dbg_exit

When Claude Desktop requests dbg_exit from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

dbg_continue

When Claude Desktop requests dbg_continue from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

dbg_run_to

When Claude Desktop requests dbg_run_to from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

dbg_step_into

When Claude Desktop requests dbg_step_into from IDA Pro, review the action before approving it.

IDA Pro: full stored tool descriptions

Troubleshooting IDA Pro in Claude Desktop

• Fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop for IDA Pro MCP. If uv is missing, check the desktop process's PATH, which may differ from your terminal.
• IDA Pro MCP uses stdio here: Claude Desktop must keep the configured process running; protocol output belongs on stdout and diagnostics on stderr.
• Known limitation: Requires IDA Pro; IDA Free is unsupported.
• Known limitation: The GUI plugin path is no longer recommended.
• Known limitation: The README warns that hallucinations and obfuscation can reduce model accuracy.
• General Claude Desktop troubleshooting lives in the /clients/claude-desktop guide.

Frequently asked questions