GhidraMCP vs ida-pro-mcp — MCP bridges for authorized RE

Last updated: · By the BinBench editorial team · Stars and releases checked via the GitHub API
For legal, authorized and educational use only. Only analyze software you own or have written permission to examine.
Quick answer

GhidraMCP and ida-pro-mcp let MCP-capable AI agents call into existing reverse-engineering hosts. They do not ship Ghidra or IDA, and they do not grant commercial licenses. BinBench compares the bridge projects; install/usage deep-dives for REA itself belong on RepoRead.

On this page

Snapshot

DimensionGhidraMCPida-pro-mcp
RepoLaurieWired/GhidraMCPmrexodia/ida-pro-mcp
Bridge licenseApache-2.0MIT
Host toolGhidra (free/open)IDA Pro (commercial)
Host noteREADME pins recent Ghidra (e.g. 12.1.4 line)README: IDA Pro 8.3+; IDA Free not supported
Latest cited2.0 (2026-10-10 UTC)1.4.0 non-prerelease (2025-10-06 UTC)
Cash cost (bridge)$0$0
Cash cost (host)Ghidra $0IDA per Hex-Rays pricing

How to think about them

Which to pick
  • Pick GhidraMCP when your lab standardizes on Ghidra and wants an Apache-licensed bridge.
  • Pick ida-pro-mcp when you already have a legal IDA Pro seat and want an MIT MCP server aimed at that host.
  • For multi-provider agent workflows (Hopper/Ghidra/IDA/JS/Android/… ), evaluate REA separately on RepoRead — do not conflate project names.
  • Star counts measure attention, not safety or correctness of decompilation.
  • Obtain Ghidra from official NSA/GitHub channels; obtain IDA only from Hex-Rays.
  • Cracked IDA, stolen keys and license bypass are out of scope.
  • Agents inherit your authorization: only analyze targets you may examine.
  • BinBench does not host plugins, IDA installers or MCP binaries.

For legal, authorized and educational use only.

FAQ

Do these projects replace Ghidra or IDA?

No. They expose MCP tools so an AI agent can drive an existing legal Ghidra or IDA Pro install.

Versions checked?

GhidraMCP release 2.0 (2026-10-10 UTC per BinBench facts; README historically pins Ghidra 12.1.4). ida-pro-mcp latest non-prerelease 1.4.0 (2025-10-06 UTC per facts table) — re-check Releases; README requires IDA Pro 8.3+ and states IDA Free is not supported.

Licenses?

GhidraMCP Apache-2.0; ida-pro-mcp MIT. Host tools keep their own licenses (Ghidra Apache-2.0; IDA proprietary).

Is this the same as REA?

Related idea (agents + RE tools), different projects. REA how-tos live on RepoRead (rea-github.com). This BinBench page only compares these two MCP bridges.

Can I pair them with cracked IDA?

No. Legal IDA/Ghidra only. Cracked hosts are not authorized.

Sources