IDA Pro MCP servers: which one to use
Use Hex-Rays' official IDA MCP on IDA 9.4 or later. Use ida-pro-mcp for IDA 8.3 and up, or ida-mcp-rs for a headless server tuned for Apple binaries.
- Servers
- 13
- active
- Official
- 1
- by IDA Pro
- Local
- 5
- runs on your machine
Hex-Rays, the maker of IDA, publishes an official MCP server, and the author of ida-pro-mcp, the most-starred community server, now recommends it. Your IDA version decides the choice: the official server needs IDA 9.4 or later, ida-pro-mcp supports 8.3 and later, and ida-mcp-rs follows IDA releases from 9.2 to 9.5. All of them run on your own machine. The assistant can rename, retype and run scripts in your database, so keep a backup and use a VM for malware.
Good for
- Reverse engineers who want Claude Code or Cursor to decompile and annotate in IDA
- Malware analysts who need to run an assistant inside a VM or sandbox
- Researchers on macOS or iOS binaries
- Teams still on IDA 8.3 who cannot upgrade yet
Which IDA Pro MCP server to use
Use the official Hex-Rays server if you are on IDA 9.4 or later. On IDA 8.3 to 9.3, ida-pro-mcp is the most used choice, and ida-mcp-rs suits headless work on Mach-O and dyld shared cache files.
| Server | Official | IDA version | Headless mode | Sign-in | GitHub stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hex-Rays IDA MCPThis page | Yes | 9.4+ | Yes | No sign-in | 1.5K |
| ida-pro-mcp | No | 8.3+ | Yes | No sign-in | 13.2K |
| ida-mcp-rs | No | 9.2 to 9.5 | Yes | No sign-in | 890 |
| mcp-server-idapro | No | 8.3+ | – | No sign-in | 103 |
All IDA Pro MCP servers
13 active · 1 official · official first, then by GitHub stars
IDA MCPOfficialLocalNo sign-inOfficial Hex-Rays MCP server that lets AI agents open, decompile and annotate binaries in IDA, alongside you in the IDA GUI or headless.
1.5K GitHub stars
ida-pro-mcpLocalNo sign-inAI-powered reverse engineering assistant that bridges IDA Pro with language models through MCP.
13.2K GitHub stars
ida-mcp-rsLocalNo sign-inLets your AI assistant open programs in IDA Pro, decompile them, trace calls and rename or annotate what it finds. Needs your own IDA license.
890 GitHub stars- mcp-server-idapro
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants to interact with IDA Pro for reverse engineering and binary analysis tasks.
103 GitHub stars - ida-pro-mcp
Local-first, deterministic MCP server for IDA Pro/Home: 109 strict-schema reverse-engineering operations, evidence-backed findings, and policy-gated IDB edits.
15 GitHub stars - ida-fast-mcp
MCP server for IDA Pro. Built for automated reverse engineering.
10 GitHub stars 
IDA Pro MCP FusionLocalIDA Pro MCP fusion with cache queries and multi-binary headless analysis.
8 GitHub stars- ida-headless-mcp
Headless IDA Pro binary analysis via Model Context Protocol
6 GitHub stars - ida-pro-agent
AI-assisted reverse engineering plugin & MCP Gateway for IDA Pro Supports pseudocode analysis, caller argument tracing, and IDB ChangeSets.
5 GitHub stars - mcpyida
MCP server exposing IDA reverse-engineering tools to LLM clients.
5 GitHub stars - ph4ntom-ida-bridge
Secure local REST, CLI, MCP, and agent bridge for IDA Pro 9.x
3 GitHub stars - ida_mcp
A simple IDA Pro MCP Server for your reverse engineering needs!
2 GitHub stars 
ida-pro-mcp-enhancedLocalIDA Pro MCP bridge for DeepSeek Harness: connects the local ida-pro-mcp broker into ctx.tools as native mcp__ida__* tools (decompile, xrefs, survey, rename, ...)
1 GitHub stars
Questions
Is there an official IDA Pro MCP server?
Yes. Hex-Rays publishes IDA MCP. It needs IDA 9.4 or higher with idalib, Python 3.11 or later, uv and Git.
Official IDA MCP or ida-pro-mcp?
Use the official one on IDA 9.4 or later. ida-pro-mcp's README now recommends the official server, and it remains the option for IDA 8.3 and later.
Does it work with IDA Free?
No. ida-pro-mcp's README says IDA Free is not supported, and the official server needs IDA 9.4 or higher with idalib.
Can I run it without the IDA window?
Yes. The Hex-Rays server works headlessly, ida-pro-mcp has a headless idalib-mcp mode, and ida-mcp-rs is a headless server.
Is it safe to use on malware?
Only inside a VM or sandbox. ida-pro-mcp has a tool that runs arbitrary Python in IDA, and ida-mcp-rs has run_script, so a booby-trapped sample could steer the assistant.
Which one is best for macOS and iOS binaries?
ida-mcp-rs. Its README describes single-call Mach-O slice selection, dSYM and DWARF loading, and dyld shared cache loading.
Which assistants does it work with?
The Hex-Rays README has plugins for Claude Code, Codex CLI and GitHub Copilot CLI, plus a plain stdio setup for others. ida-pro-mcp's README lists Claude, Claude Code, Cline and Cursor among others.
Do I need an API key?
You need your own IDA license. The setup steps in the Hex-Rays and ida-pro-mcp READMEs configure a local stdio or HTTP server and do not include an API key or account.