ghidra mcp

This project lets you use Ghidra in headless mode to extract rich binary analysis data (functions, pseudocode, structs, enums, etc.) into a JSON file, and expose it to LLMs like Claude via Model Context Protocol (MCP).

It turns Ghidra into an interactive reverse-engineering backend.

? Features

• Decompiles a binary using Ghidra headless mode
• Extracts:
• Function pseudocode, names, parameters, variables, strings, comments
• Data structures (structs), enums, and function definitions
• Outputs to ghidra_context.json
• MCP server exposes tools like:
• list_functions(), get_pseudocode(name)
• list_structures(), get_structure(name)
• list_enums(), get_enum(name)
• list_function_definitions(), get_function_definition(name)

⚙️ System Requirements

• macOS (tested)
• Python 3.10+
• Ghidra 11.3.1+
• Java 21 (Temurin preferred)
• MCP client (e.g. Claude Desktop)
• mcp CLI (install via pip install mcp)

? Installation & Setup

✅ 1. Install Java 21 (REQUIRED by Ghidra 11.3.1)

brew install --cask temurin@21

Then set it:

export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 21)
echo 'export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 21)' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Check it:

java -version

Should say: openjdk version "21.0.x"...

✅ 2. Install Ghidra

Download and extract Ghidra 11.3.1

✅ 3. Set up the project

cd ghidra_mcp
gcc -Wall crackme.c -o crackme

✅ 4. Install the server via MCP CLI

mcp install main.py

This registers the MCP server so Claude or other clients can access it.

✅ 5. Run in dev mode (for testing)

mcp dev main.py

This enables hot reload and developer logs.

?️ Tools Available

Sample Promot

Analyze the binary file located at using Ghidra installed at . First, set up the analysis context using both paths, then list all functions in the binary. Examine the main entry point function and provide a high-level overview of what the program does.

? Common Issues & Fixes

❌ Ghidra fails with “unsupported Java version”

➡️ Fix: Install Java 21, not 17 or 24:

brew install --cask temurin@21
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 21)

❌ spawn uv ENOENT (Claude Desktop can't find your UV binary)

➡️ Claude can't locate uv by name. To fix:

1. Run in your terminal:

which uv

Example output:

/Users/yourname/.cargo/bin/uv

1. Open your Claude Desktop config file:

open ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

1. Update it like so:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ghidra": {
      "command": "/Users/yourname/.cargo/bin/uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/Users/yourname/Documents/ghidra_mcp",
        "run",
        "main.py"
      ]
    }
  }
}

1. Restart Claude Desktop. You should now see your custom MCP tools.

❌ The operation couldn’t be completed. Unable to locate a Java Runtime.

➡️ Fix: Java not installed or JAVA_HOME is unset. Follow setup instructions above.

? Project Structure

?‍? Author

Tomi Bamimore
Ghidra by the NSA
MCP by Anthropic