Edgar Arakelyan
41cf869949
* feat(environment): report what an environment serves with an environment-coverage view A new inspect_analysis_view kind over capture Evidence. It projects the state an environment derives with the given template rules and reports each tool as answered from state, replayed with its view reason, a served write, or a withheld write with its reason, the records behind it and a hint about what to record next. The hints cover every write reason, so a new reason without one fails to compile. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * feat(environment): build an environment bundle in one command rea environment-build <capture> [directory] inspects a HAR (or reads capture Evidence), projects the environment manifest from the in-memory Evidence, authenticates the pair, prepares the state and writes the bundle environment-export writes. Every bundle file is byte-identical to the three-step path for the same capture and options. The report adds the capture and manifest identities, the coverage summary, warnings (a loopback capture named after its file, credential-named body members by pointer) and the next command. --dry-run writes nothing. The default template rules are the four the published environments use. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * test(environment): cover environment-build and the coverage view Domain tests check the hint table against the state view's reasons, the summary, and the view against the environment-state view it summarizes. Service tests build the fixture capture and compare every file with the three-step path, a dry run, loopback naming and the refusals. A CLI test compares a HAR built in one step with the three CLI steps byte for byte, and an MCP test projects the view from every source kind. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * test(environment): build the real-agentenv lane's bundle with environment-build The lane now runs the command users run: it builds the Grafana-shaped HAR with environment-build and the packed checkout, checks the report, then runs the bundle with agent-env as before. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * docs(environment): document environment-build and the coverage view The agent environments guide opens with the one-step build: the report, the hint for each withheld write reason, and what a bundle ships. The CLI guide, the capture guide and the skill reference name the command and the environment-coverage view. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(environment): harden environment-build after review - The credential scan walks with its own stack, so a deeply nested body cannot crash the build, and it also reports credential-named header names, query names, form body members and string arrays. - The build checks SIGINT between stages: cancelled before the bundle stage it writes nothing, during the write it names the written bundle. - A dry run opens the package tarball, so it refuses what a build refuses. - Repeated template rules are refused, a HAR saved as .json gets a hint, file-derived names follow the bundle name rules, `localhost.` counts as a loopback origin, and the next command is shell-quoted. - --capture-timeout-ms passes through to the HAR inspection, and a missing directory is refused before inspection. - The no-observation hint covers updates and deletes of entities the state never held; the coverage view states that it does not apply the serve-time admission checks; the inspect_analysis_view description names the view. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * docs(environment): state the build's conditions and record its verification The guides now state when the one-step bundle equals the three-step one, which headers inspection excludes, what the credential warning scans, how cancellation behaves, and that the coverage view does not apply the serve-time admission checks. The spec folder records the census, the end to end runs, the gates and the review. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(environment): dispatch a pending interrupt before each build stage check The manifest, state and coverage stages run synchronously, so a SIGINT that arrived during them was only dispatched once the bundle write had begun. Each check now yields first, so an interrupt before the bundle stage cancels the build with nothing written. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(environment): scan scenario credentials, own the dry-run tarball and serialize Evidence once A browser scenario's retained header values and the query parameters of its recorded URLs are scanned for credential names as a HAR's are, through a review projection of its records. A dry run admits and releases the package tarball through the export's regular-file scope, so a close it cannot confirm keeps its owner, and checks for cancellation after that last await. Evidence is written into one exactly sized buffer instead of chunks joined by a copy. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * docs(environment): record the review round's checks Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * style(environment): format the build spec Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(environment): scan every form occurrence and MIME-less scenario bodies The build's credential scan collapsed form bodies with Object.fromEntries, so a repeated field kept only its last occurrence: `api_key=secret&api_key=` warned about nothing although the Evidence ships the value, and repeated values were undercounted. Form fields are now scanned as ordered name/value pairs, as headers and query strings already are. The review projection of a capture_browser_scenario dropped a request body recorded without a media type, so the scan never saw it. Review keeps such a body's text with an empty media type; the manifest projection still reads only bodies it can classify. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(environment): scan structured HAR form params and the request side of unattributed scenario transactions A HAR request recorded with postData.params and no text is scanned by those parameters, each occurrence counting, and the review projection keeps the request side of a scenario transaction whose response cannot be attributed, so the credential warning covers what evidence.json ships in both cases. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(environment): validate build paths and read dry-run tarballs * fix(environment): report bodies too large for the credential scan Text bodies over the scan's 4 MiB limit, including a response decoded only as a prefix, are reported as a credential-scan-incomplete warning by record and side, never by content, so an absent credential-named-members warning no longer reads as a complete check. The spec and agent-environments guide also state the path validation and dry-run tarball read thate52ae1cdadded. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(verification): release cold source transform services * fix(javascript): retain capture context along covered mutation paths * fix(environment): admit serialized exports and scan HAR form fallbacks * fix(environment): admit in-memory build inputs against heap headroom and scan SaveHar null-text forms The inspected HAR's Evidence and the projected manifest are checked against live heap headroom before they are serialized, with the same check the file route uses, so a capture too large to parse and seal is refused as resource_constraint before anything is written. A request whose postData text is SaveHar's null is scanned by its structured params. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(environment): measure the credential scan limit in UTF-8 bytes A body counts against the 4 MiB limit by its UTF-8 length, not its UTF-16 code units, so multibyte text over the limit is reported as unscanned instead of parsed. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(javascript): erase inline type imports before binding values * fix(environment): parse credential form bodies by their media type * fix(environment): review untyped retained form fields * fix(environment): bound request comparisons and preserve write proofs * fix(environment): keep write proofs and bundle review complete * fix(environment): finalize entity overrides with simulated views * test(environment): restore 0895c89b's untyped form tests and hint Integrating main took main's credential scan and coverage view, which dropped 0895c89b's tests and its body-unusable hint. Main's scan passes the tests, now reading the scenario by event. The hint names the response too, since extraction and serving also withhold a write as body-unusable when its recorded response cannot be read. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * test(environment): scan a scenario content event recorded twice Main's event scan reads both content events of a transaction whose content the capture recorded twice; the test fails on0895c89b, whose review projection dropped that transaction's response. The spec names event pointers among the first 20. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * docs(environment): record the review round's checks Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> * fix(environment): retain contradictions and trim retired state * fix(environment): distinguish mixed array order from changed values * fix(environment): keep dependent create state pinned * fix(environment): keep checking retired view observations --------- Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Co-authored-by: Kaoru0822 <208281322+kaoru0822-kitauji@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: morluto <76467478+morluto@users.noreply.github.com> Co-authored-by: gensokyo-dev <342580529+gensokyo-dev@users.noreply.github.com>
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REA: Reverse Engineer Anything
One MCP for reverse engineering across binaries, applications, and runtime behavior.
See a feature you like. Understand how it works, down to the binary level.
Quick start · How REA works · What you can analyze · Showcases · FAQ · Documentation
npx rea-agents setup
Important
Get REA from morluto/rea, rea.tools, or the rea-agents npm package. Follow the installation and release links from these official sources. A similar repository name or copied README does not establish that a download is official.
See a feature in an app that you want in your own product? Ask your agent to investigate it with REA. It can inspect the app without its source code, explain how the feature works, show the evidence, and build a version for your project.
REA connects your agent to tools for inspecting native binaries, JavaScript and Electron apps, .NET assemblies, and websites. You can also use the same tools from your terminal. Analysis runs locally, and results include the evidence and limitations behind each conclusion.
Setup registers REA with your agent and installs matching workflow instructions. Native analysis can use an existing Hopper, Ghidra, or IDA installation; setup can optionally install Hopper with approval. Static JavaScript analysis needs no native analysis engine.
Visit the REA website for setup instructions, illustrated guides, and real case studies.
Quick start
On Linux, Ghidra, JADX, firmware tool launches and static JavaScript/Electron
analysis require a procps-compatible ps on REA's PATH for process ownership
checks. Recovery steps are in docs/installation.md under
"Linux owned-process prerequisite".
Set up your agent
With Node.js and npm installed, run:
npx rea-agents setup
Choose your agents, review the proposed changes, and approve them. Setup adds REA's MCP server and matching workflow instructions, with backups of existing configuration. Restart your agent afterward.
Setup supports Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Grok Build and other agents. See installation and setup for provider configuration and manual MCP registration.
MCP uses compact input schemas by default to reduce context overhead. Set
REA_MCP_INPUT_SCHEMA_PROFILE=full in your MCP registration when you need the
complete advertised field guidance and nested validation details. Both profiles
keep the full tool set and canonical server validation. See
"Compact input schema profile" in the MCP contracts guide.
Ask your agent
Understand how search works in the Notes app, show me the evidence, and build a
similar feature for my project.
Replace Notes with your target app and the feature you want to understand.
Use the terminal
Inspect an extracted JavaScript/Electron app directory or ASAR:
npx -y rea-agents@latest analyze-javascript-application /absolute/path/to/app --json
The result includes modules, imports, Electron boundaries and their evidence.
Replace the path with your target, such as "D:/apps/example" on Windows.
To install the rea command for regular use:
npm install --global rea-agents
rea --help
For native analysis, configure a provider first. See the CLI and Evidence guide for native commands, provider selection, snapshots and scripting.
Update REA
REA changes quickly, and new releases include frequent bug fixes. Keep your installation up to date.
For a CLI installed with npm install --global or bun add --global:
rea update
rea --update is an alias for this verified workflow and accepts the same global
output flags. Use rea update when combining it with other command controls.
Updater commands retain at most 4 MiB of stdout and stderr combined. Oversized metadata replies are rejected after the command exits; verbose installs continue with bounded diagnostics. Human progress output respects terminal backpressure and waits for submitted writes to finish.
Bun global updates require Bun 1.2.17 or later. With an older Bun release,
upgrade Bun manually before running rea update.
To refresh your agent registrations and skill, run the setup command printed by the update.
If you use npx, update your agent setup with:
npx rea-agents@latest setup
Review the setup changes and restart your agent. For one-off CLI commands,
use npx rea-agents@latest followed by the command. With Bun, use
bunx rea-agents@latest in place of npx rea-agents@latest.
How REA works
Your agent calls REA through MCP to inspect the target and trace relevant code. REA returns findings with their evidence. The agent uses them to ask follow-up questions, explain the behavior, or write and test an implementation. CLI commands use the same workflows.
What you can analyze
REA requires Node.js 22.x (>=22.23.4), 24.x (>=24.22.1), or 26.12.1+, plus npm. Additional tools and host support depend on the target:
| Target | What REA returns | Requirements and guide |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop installations | Runtime candidates, supporting files, component markers and next probes | Built-in bounded directory/header inspection; desktop applications |
| Native binaries | Pseudocode, assembly, strings, symbols, calls and references | Hopper, Ghidra or IDA; native analysis |
| Offline ELF layout | Sections, segments, original symbols/relocations and static mitigation candidates | Caller-supplied pwntools on Linux x64; binary diagnostics |
| Go binaries | Embedded compiler version, modules, replacements and build settings | Built-in static ELF/PE/thin Mach-O inspection; no Go installation required |
| GPU code objects | CUDA/HIP targets, selected kernel parameters and resources, retained PTX text | Built-in static ELF/PE/fatbin/CUBIN/PTX inspection; GPU code objects |
| Model artifacts | GGUF / safetensors metadata, tensor declarations and derived totals | Built-in header inspection; optional full-file hash; model files |
| IL2CPP metadata | Unity global-metadata.dat assembly images, type and method names and index ranges | Built-in static decoding of versions 24, 27, 29, 31 and 39; no Unity required |
| Godot PCK | Archive inventory and extraction, original header/directory facts and selected content identities | Built-in static formats 2, 3 and 4; no Godot required |
| Rust binaries | Embedded cargo-auditable crate names, versions, sources and dependency edges | Built-in static ELF/PE/thin Mach-O inspection; Rust binaries |
| PE certificates | Authenticode WIN_CERTIFICATE entries and PKCS#7 signer/X.509 identity fields | Built-in static PE inspection; PE certificates |
| PE imports | Import and delay-load DLL names, ordinals, IAT RVAs and pefile import hash | Built-in static PE inspection; PE imports |
| ELF notes | PT_NOTE/SHT_NOTE owners, types, GNU build-id and ABI-tag fields | Built-in static ELF inspection; ELF notes |
| Apple IPS crashes | .ips metadata, threads, images, registers and documented crash classes | Built-in static JSON inspection; Apple IPS |
| Linux kernel modules | .modinfo keys, __versions CRCs, this_module presence, and signature trailer | Built-in static ELF inspection; kernel modules |
| Erlang BEAM | IFF chunks, atoms, exports, imports, lambdas and the Code header | Built-in static BEAM inspection; Erlang BEAM |
| WASM artifact | Validation, sections, exact import/export WAT forms and decoded WAT | Caller-supplied WABT 1.0.42; inspect_wasm_artifact |
| EVM bytecode | Dispatch selectors, byte offsets, inferred arguments and mutability | Local raw/hex carrier on Linux x64; offline EVM guide |
| SQLite databases | Tables, columns, indexes, views, triggers and selected ordinary-table rows | Local database/WAL snapshot; Node.js 24.x >=24.15 or 26+ with native SQLite limits |
| Recorded Linux crashes | Raw notes, every recorded thread's registers/signals and optional mapping candidates | Caller-supplied pwntools on Linux x64; optional GDB/pwndbg; recorded crashes |
| JavaScript / Electron | Modules, imports, source maps, routes, IPC and native add-on relationships | Node.js and npm; Linux: procps-compatible ps; application analysis |
| Websites | Page structure, scripts, network observations and requested screenshots | A Chrome-family browser; browser analysis |
| Saved network captures | Requests, responses, exposed payloads and source locations | HAR or Fiddler Everywhere SAZ; mitmdump on Linux for native mitmproxy; capture guide |
| .NET assemblies | Metadata, CIL instructions, declared native dependencies and build comparisons | None (static only); managed-code guide |
| Android APKs | Manifest declarations, classes, decompiled methods and references | Headless JADX and a full JDK on Linux/macOS/Windows x64; Android guide |
| APK signatures | v1/v2/v3/v3.1 signers, certificate fingerprints, key rotation and digest self-consistency | None (static only); inspect_apk_signature |
| Android devices | Devices, packages, processes, logs, dumps, screen captures, and APK/file transfers | Caller-supplied adb (emulator or hardware); ADB guide |
| JEB projects | Engine-backed project units, artifact digests and type/method pseudo-code | A caller-started JEB client serving MCP, selected with REA_JEB_MCP_URL; JEB guide |
| Android resources | Decoded manifest, string tables, locales and version facts | Caller-supplied Apktool launcher; resource guide |
| Flutter apps | Dart snapshot hash, per-ABI library digests and engine build provenance | None (static APK parsing); Flutter guide |
| Firmware | Regions, extraction results and native-analysis handoffs | Binwalk / Unblob on Linux; firmware guide |
| Recorded packets | Selected fields, repeated values, filters and decode-as rules | Linux: TShark 4.x + prlimit; capture guide |
| Packet summaries | Endpoints, DNS, TLS SNI, protocol distribution and HTTP requests | Caller-supplied tshark and capinfos (Linux-verified); pcap guide |
| Recorded logic signals | Decoder annotations, sample ranges and diagnostics | Linux: sigrok-cli 0.7.2 + prlimit; signal recordings |
| Packages and resources | File inventories, digests, plists, Apple bundle anatomy and extracted resources | Artifact and JavaScript guide, Apple applications |
| Process behavior | Terminal output, interactions, exit and filesystem observations, and run comparisons | Linux/macOS with a native PTY; process capture |
| PyInstaller executables | CArchive members, Python version, entry scripts and extracted bytecode | None (static only); Python packaged applications |
Static JavaScript and .NET inspection read the supplied files without running the application. Runtime capture runs or interacts with the selected target using your user permissions; each runtime guide describes its effects.
For offline native-binary inspection, REA also supports caller-supplied GNU objdump and Rizin. See the reverse-engineering tools guide for provider setup, CLI commands, and Evidence limitations. REA does not install or update either provider.
Native formats and host support vary by provider. See
Hopper and Ghidra setup, the
IDA guide (including an optional native MCP bridge), the
Kuna decompiler guide, and
experimental Windows Ghidra support.
Ghidra also supports 16-bit DOS analysis.
For large binaries, raise the provider's startup deadline with
REA_GHIDRA_STARTUP_TIMEOUT_MS or REA_HOPPER_STARTUP_TIMEOUT_MS.
For provider selection, see the CLI guide.
Check release availability
for features added since the latest npm release.
Showcases
DX-Ball: reconstruct a sound-pan calculation
Follow a sound call into its position-to-pan helper, inspect the instructions, and turn incomplete pseudocode into C. The reconstruction passes 3,205 original-x86 cases and reproduces all 63 compiled function bytes.
Read the case study · Reconstruction repository
Notion: trace the Electron clipboard bridge
Find the renderer's clipboard API, follow it through preload and IPC into the main process, and inspect the rich clipboard format.
TH04: recover a DOS bullet-ring calculation
Inspect the original PC-98 game's 16-bit instructions, recover the fixed and aimed angle calculations, and compare the reconstructed C++ with the historical compiler output.
Read the case study · Reconstruction repository
If you've used REA on something interesting, we'd love to see it. Share your case in an issue or a pull request, including the target, your question, how REA helped, and what you found.
FAQ
Which agents can use REA?
Any agent that supports local MCP servers. Setup configures the supported agents; other clients can use manual MCP registration.
Do I need Hopper, Ghidra or IDA?
Deep native analysis uses one of them. Static JavaScript and .NET inspection work without a native analysis engine. Setup can install Hopper after approval; Ghidra and IDA use your existing installations. See provider setup.
Do I need to start Hopper first?
REA starts Hopper when an operation needs it. On macOS, a first-run dialog may ask you to choose demo mode or activate your license. Complete that prompt in the same user session before your first CLI/MCP operation or unattended job. Open Hopper manually if needed. See Hopper startup and troubleshooting.
What does installing the skill from skills.sh do?
The skill supplies investigation instructions for your agent. Use npx rea-agents setup
to register REA's MCP server and install the matching instructions, then restart
your agent. See skill-only installation.
What code does REA return?
Native analysis returns pseudocode and assembly. JavaScript/Electron analysis recovers modules and their relationships. Your agent uses these findings to write and test an implementation; the showcases give worked examples.
Does REA upload my app?
REA analyzes targets locally. Your agent receives the tool results, and its model provider has its own data policy.
What should I do if I hit a bug?
Update first; a recent release may already fix it.
For a CLI installed with npm install --global or bun add --global:
rea update
For agent setup through npx:
npx rea-agents@latest setup
If you're using an agent, complete the setup refresh and restart it. Retry the same task. If the problem persists, open an issue with your REA version, target type, steps to reproduce and error output.
Documentation
Start with the website's worked guides. For exact options, prerequisites and result contracts:
- Installation and setup: agent registration, provider configuration, updates and uninstall.
- Readiness and troubleshooting: diagnose one agent or analysis engine.
- CLI and Evidence: commands, provider selection, snapshots, import/export and exit statuses.
- MCP contracts and agent prompts: tool results, sessions and guided investigations.
- Tool catalog: generated inventory of tools, providers and CLI commands.
- Roadmap: planned work and capability trackers.
Report vulnerabilities through SECURITY.md.
Star history
🎉 300,000 GitHub stars — thank you!
Thanks to everyone using REA, reporting bugs, requesting features, testing builds, and contributing fixes.
Disclaimer
See DISCLAIMER.md for responsible-use guidance.
The project's position on illegal or unauthorized use covers all REA versions, distribution channels, and platforms; each copy retains its applicable licenses.
REA is for lawful research, education, interoperability, software preservation, and analysis of software you own or are authorized to examine.
Contributing
We'd love your help with REA! Open an issue to report a bug or suggest a feature, or send a pull request to improve the code or docs.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and checks, testing for verification lanes, and the architecture map for selected layers and dependency paths.
License
REA-authored code is licensed under MIT. Third-party material retains its own licenses and copyright notices; see Third-party notices for the dependency inventory, preserved license texts, and external-tool terms.
You must legally obtain and be authorized to use commercial tools, including IDA Pro / Hex-Rays decompilers, Hopper, and JEB, under their applicable licenses. REA grants no tool license, key, or activation entitlement. Trials and demos remain subject to vendor terms, including user, feature, automation, and output sharing restrictions. Cracked copies, stolen keys, unauthorized key sharing, and bypassing license restrictions are not authorized. This guidance does not amend MIT or third-party licenses.