Entrpiandgensokyo-dev
64196b08ca
* feat(artifacts): inventory and extract ESP32 firmware images ESP32-family app and bootloader images (magic 0xE9) had no reader, so open_binary refused OTA downloads, app partitions and bootloaders. Add the esp-image container format behind inspect_artifact and extract_artifact. A pure decoder reads each byte once and keeps only fixed-size fields. Derived facts cover the chip, from a table cited to ESP-IDF v6.1; segment classification as ESP-IDF's should_map and should_load; checksum and appended SHA-256 results; app and bootloader descriptors; Secure Boot v2 signature blocks, observed and unverified; and undescribed trailing byte ranges. Truncation and undescribed bytes make coverage unknown. ESP8266 images are refused with a specific reason, and ciphertext stays unrecognized. Add the format to every target, Evidence, snapshot, live-summary and artifact vocabulary, document it, and add an optional verify:esp-images lane that compares esptool-built images with esptool image-info and espsecure signature-info-v2. Refs #3615 * test(artifacts): run the ESP image lane on esptool v5.6.0 The lane compared descriptor fields only when esptool image-info printed one, so a descriptor that REA reports and esptool does not print passed without comparison. Compare the descriptor kind in both directions. Record that the lane passed for all 13 images with esptool and espsecure v5.6.0, the version the layout facts cite, as well as with 4.12.0. * refactor(artifacts): define ESP image layout sizes once The decoder and the derived facts each defined the segment-header, appended-digest and flash-sector sizes, the erased-byte scan and the offset formatter. Define them once with the other fixed-layout structures and import them in both places. The signature slot count is the one constant that drives the slot scan. Correct the observedEnd comment: it is the end of the last chunk read. * fix(artifacts): report ESP-IDF's segment length limit by chip ESP-IDF's verify_segment_header rejects a segment of 16 MiB or more unless the chip maps flash through 32-bit cache addresses (SOC_SPI_MEM_SUPPORT_CACHE_32BIT_ADDR_MAP: ESP32-S3, P4, C5, C61, H4 and S31 in v6.1). Record that capability in the chip table and add a limitation for such segments; unknown chips get none. `loaded` repeats should_load. It does not mean the bootloader accepts the segment: verify_load_addresses still rejects one outside the chip's RAM, which REA does not model. Say so in the docs, the skill reference and the inventory limitation. * test(artifacts): check ESP lane tools first and verify extraction The lane started work before checking its tools, so a missing RISC-V target, ld.lld, esptool or espsecure surfaced as a raw spawn or command error. Check each one before building and name the variable to set. Warn when esptool is not v5.6.0, the release the layout facts cite. Assert each segment's class for the ESP32-C3 app, its variants and the bootloader, as the Xtensa image already did. Extract the app and the signed image through the CLI and compare every file with the bytes at esptool's segment offsets or in the appended signature sector; the source's SHA-256 must be unchanged and equal the reported root_sha256. * docs(artifacts): state what the ESP image lane does not establish The Verification section listed the lane's checks but not its gaps: only ESP32-C3 and ESP32 images come from a real producer, no real project build, OTA download or flash dump is inspected, no signature is verified, and the lane does not run in CI. Record the timing of the final lane run on esptool v5.6.0. * fix(artifacts): compare ESP segment declarations Segment entries hash only their data, so compare_artifacts reported a segment that moved to another load address with the same bytes as unchanged; only the image itself changed. Compare each segment's load_addr and data_len as its declaration, as Node SEA and PyInstaller members are compared, and count a changed declaration as a metadata change, also when content is unavailable. Header offsets are layout and the classification is derived, so neither is compared. * test(artifacts): run ESP lane commands as owned process trees The lane ran its tools through execFile. A timeout killed only the direct child, so a linker or assembler that Clang or GCC had started could keep running while the lane removed its workspace. Run every command through createVerifierCommands, check the tools inside withVerifierCleanup, and remove the workspace only after commands.close() has stopped every tree; a failed close keeps the workspace. Only a nonzero exit now counts as a refusal or an expected esptool failure; timeouts and spawn failures propagate. Supervising each command roughly doubles the lane's run time. * test(artifacts): cancel ESP decoding after its first decoded chunk The cancellation test requested cancel or close on setImmediate, which can land while the file is still being opened and checked, so it never showed that decoding had started. It also passed against a reader that ignored both requests while decoding. Acknowledge the decoder's first chunk, then cancel or close, join the operation, and assert that no later chunk reaches the decoder and that the reader ends closed. * docs(artifacts): record which ESP metadata comparison ignores Segments are compared by their declaration. The image's and the signature blocks' format_metadata are not: every field comes from their own bytes, which content comparison already covers, and a block's image_digest_matches follows the image's content. * docs(artifacts): state that ESP mmu_page_size is a base-2 logarithm The app descriptor's mmu_page_size keeps ESP-IDF's name and value, the MMU page size in log base 2 as esp_app_desc_t declares it, so 16 means 64 KiB. Say so in docs/esp-image.md and the schema comment; a reader could otherwise take 16 as 16 KiB. * fix(esp-image): retain member consumption and share lifecycle regressions * test(artifacts): scope MCP catalogs and budget full-schema validation * test(artifacts): verify compact output profiles and document bounded catalogs * test(artifacts): close readers when cleanup-test admission fails * test(artifacts): compare ESP image limitations with their owners The decoder and reader tests froze complete limitation sentences, so a harmless rewording failed them. The wording now has two owners: ESP_IMAGE_LIMITATIONS in espImageFacts.ts, which the decoder, the inventory and the reader use, and ESP_DESCRIPTOR_LIMITATIONS beside the descriptor decoder. Tests compare delivered limitations with the owner, called with the facts each case establishes (segment index, declared and available bytes, offsets, chip, page range), next to the structured assertions they already make. Delivered text is unchanged. * test(esp-image): assert structured facts and owned guidance * fix(esp-image): keep spi_flash_mode and descriptor fields before a truncated tail ESP-IDF v6.1's esp_app_desc_t declares spi_flash_mode at byte 181, after mmu_page_size, as the committed reference layout shows; the descriptor now keeps it as stored. The decoder also required all 256 descriptor bytes, though it reads none past byte 181, so a file ending in the reserved tail lost the version, project, digest and revision facts it does hold. The app descriptor now needs only its fields; the segment's truncation is reported as before. * test(esp-image): pin the P-192 public key digest to espsecure's layout espsecure packs ECDSA signature blocks as "<BBBx32sB64s64s1031x" and zero-pads a 48-byte P-192 point to 64 bytes, so the signature starts at byte 101 for every SHA-256 curve. signature_info_v2 hashes sig_block[36:101] and _digest_sbv2_public_key the curve ID with the padded point. No test built a P-192 block; this one checks public_key_sha256 against that definition. * fix(esp-image): keep each app descriptor field the file holds in full A file can end anywhere inside the 256-byte esp_app_desc_t. The decoder needed every field byte, so a cut at byte 176 dropped the version, project and app_elf_sha256 it does hold. Once the 4-byte magic identifies an app descriptor, each field is now kept when the file holds all of its bytes and is null otherwise; observed_length records where the descriptor ends, so a cut field is told apart from text that is not UTF-8. The fields after the magic become nullable in the metadata schema. * fix(esp-image): report a signature block whose image digest does not match A CRC-valid Secure Boot v2 block can carry another image's digest. The block recorded image_digest_matches false, but no limitation said so, unlike a checksum or appended-SHA mismatch, so CLI and MCP summaries showed only the generic unverified note. The mismatch is now a limitation; coverage stays complete and signature_status stays unverified. The three other signature-sector limitations move into ESP_IMAGE_LIMITATIONS with their text unchanged, so all ESP image wording has one owner. * refactor(esp-image): remove redundant descriptor byte guards --------- 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 · Build RL environments · 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 records the selected runtime and REA entry script directly. If acquired through a package runner, keep its cache entry available. Run package acquisition from a trusted directory outside the target project. Installation and recovery details are in the setup guide below.
Setup supports Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Grok Build and other agents. See installation and setup for provider configuration and manual MCP registration and Claude Code/Codex plugin installation.
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.
Complete output schemas are advertised by default. If your client caps the
complete tools/list frame, set REA_MCP_OUTPUT_SCHEMA_PROFILE=compact to
bound each advertised output schema, or off to omit output schemas entirely.
Both settings keep canonical server-side validation and complete structured
results. See "Output schemas" 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
Build RL environments with REA
Record a web app session, turn its API into tools, and export an environment an AI agent can use. Run it with AgentEnv, then add tasks and reward checks for RL training or evaluation.
Read the guide · Watch the video
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.
Build RL environments
Give an AI agent a local environment to practice tasks such as finding an issue or creating a folder, without running the original app. Use it for reinforcement learning (RL) or to test how well an agent completes tasks.
REA turns recorded API requests and responses into tools the agent can call. The environment uses the recorded data and supports changes only when the recording confirms their effects.
With REA set up in your agent, replace the example URL and folder tasks below with your own:
Use REA to build an RL environment from my test web app at
http://127.0.0.1:3000.
Cover listing, creating, renaming, and deleting folders. You may create and
remove test folders. Leave existing data unchanged.
Save it in a folder named my-env. Check which operations work and tell me
how to run it.
Use the command line instead
Use these commands if you already have a file containing the app’s recorded browser requests and responses. Running the result also requires AgentEnv and Docker.
rea environment-build ./session.har ./my-env --name my-env --json
agent-env run ./my-env
REA exports a runnable environment with a basic test to check that it starts and responds. Use it with your RL framework to define task goals, add reward checks, and run training.
Build an environment · Environment reference · Watch the demo on X
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
🎉 400,000 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.