What is ida_rpc?

IDA Pro is a professional tool used to analyze compiled software (binaries) when you don't have the original source code. This project adds a layer that lets you control IDA Pro from other programs by sending commands over a local socket connection and receiving structured JSON responses back. The main use case described in the README is connecting AI language model agents or automation scripts to IDA Pro's analysis capabilities. Instead of clicking through the IDA interface manually, you send commands from a script or agent and get back structured data you can work with programmatically. The README notes the design was inspired by a similar project called ghidra-rpc, and the two are protocol-compatible where possible. Commands cover a wide range of reverse engineering tasks: listing functions in a binary, decompiling a function to readable pseudo-code, disassembling instructions at a given address, finding all places in the code that reference a particular function or address, renaming functions and symbols, adding comments, defining data types such as structs and enums, patching bytes in the binary, and querying memory layout. Every response comes back as JSON. The plugin can run in two modes. Headless mode opens and analyzes a binary in the background with no graphical interface, which works for automated pipelines and CI systems. GUI mode lets the daemon run alongside an interactive IDA Pro session while you are working. You can point it at a raw binary file and specify the processor architecture manually if IDA cannot detect it automatically. Installation involves copying a plugin file into IDA Pro's plugin directory, then using the included command-line tool to open a binary, start the daemon, and send commands. A project path can be set as an environment variable so you don't need to type it on every command.