Open-ReverseLab — AI Reverse Engineering Agent & MCP Lab
Open-source AI-powered reverse-engineering platform for autonomous binary analysis, built for Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode and any MCP-compatible agent.
Ghidra · Frida · x64dbg · Rizin · PE · APK · Malware Analysis · CTF · Binary Analysis
An open-source reverse-engineering lab — executable knowledge base, 100+ MCP tools, Agent-native.
From an input signal to an evidence chain, every step is runnable.
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:handshake: Sponsored by Sentry
Sentry supports openreverselab with a sponsored account — error monitoring and performance tracing for the lab's toolchain.
Since Aug 2026 — see SPONSORS.md for the full sponsor list and how to become one.
What is ReverseLab
ReverseLab is an opinionated, runnable attack-knowledge base for reverse engineers, security researchers, CTF players, and AI Agents. Every article is structured as Scenario → Input signal → Method → Attack chain → MCP tool mapping, so a human or an Agent can pick up at any entry signal and walk the chain to evidence.
- 5 boards spanning web, mobile, Windows, and cross-domain reverse work.
- 180+ articles organized by attack surface, not by tooling.
- 100+ MCP tools exposed through
reverse_lab_tools— curl, frida, ghidra, rizin, yara, triage, kb_router, … all callable from Claude Code, Codex, or any MCP-aware Agent. - Directory-as-convention: every artifact has a fixed home (
samples/,exports/,patches/,kb/,reports/). Drop-in a sample, follow the chain, ship the report.
The lab is built to be run, not browsed. If a step can't be executed, it doesn't belong in the KB.
Who is this for
| You are … | Start here |
|---|---|
| A CTF player stuck on a web/Android/PE challenge | Browse the CTF Website, APK Reverse, or PE Reverse board |
| A security researcher triaging a sample | Quick start → boards/<board>/AI-USAGE.md → sample_full_workup MCP tool |
| A reverse engineer who wants a workspace, not a tutorial | Repository layout — clone and start |
| An AI Agent developer wiring up reverse-engineering tools | For AI Agents — context chain, MCP smoke test, env snapshot protocol |
Quick links
:book: Knowledge Base :rocket: Quick start :handshake: Contributing :speech_balloon: Discord
Knowledge at a glance
kb/ 180+ articles, 5 boards
├── ctf-website/techniques/ 26 categories, 118 articles — Web attack surface
├── apk-reverse/techniques/ 8 categories, 23 articles — Android reverse
├── pe-reverse/techniques/ 9 categories, 24 articles — Windows PE / binary
├── general/techniques/ 5 categories, 17 articles — Crypto · Protocol · Cheat · IoT · SDR
└── windows/techniques/ platform-specific PE / config topics
| Board | Trigger signals | MCP entry points |
|---|---|---|
ctf-website |
URL · HTTP · JWT · SQLi · SSRF · CVE · API · CSP · OAuth · CAPTCHA · Cloudflare · ReDoS · Slowloris · DoS · Paywall | http_probe, run_ctf_tool, kb_router |
apk-reverse |
APK · DEX · adb · Frida · jadx · smali · SO · native | android_app_baseline, android_crypto_unpack_recipe, android_frida_* |
pe-reverse |
PE · EXE · DLL · x64dbg · Ghidra · Procmon · packer · malware | triage_pe, ghidra_headless_analyze, make_x64dbg_breakpoint_script, sample_full_workup |
general |
AES · DES · RSA · protobuf · game cheat · EAC / BE / Vanguard · firmware · JTAG · SDR | die_scan, ghidra_*, rizin_*, python_re_tool_* |
misc |
MCP config · skill install · env health check | mcp_smoke_check, ai_toolcheck, lab_healthcheck |
The complete directory tree is available under kb/.
Quick start
Pick the path that matches your role, not your platform — the platform differences are below the role split.
For humans
Windows (recommended for first run) — double-click START_HERE.bat (or START_HERE.cmd) in the repo root. It checks Python, uv, Git, the reverse_lab_tools MCP server, runs real MCP smoke calls, and writes reports/misc/first-run-report.json plus reports/misc/mcp-smoke-report.json.
macOS / Linux — run ./START_HERE.sh from the repo root. It does the same first-run checks using POSIX shell wrappers under tools/bin/. Windows-only GUI/PE tools are skipped or reported as such.
# Pick the boards you actually need — the lab is modular.
.\scripts\misc\bootstrap.ps1 # core script wrappers (no downloads)
.\scripts\misc\install_tools.ps1 -CTF # Web tools (sqlmap, nuclei, ffuf, jwt_tool, …)
.\scripts\misc\install_tools.ps1 -Android # APK tools (apktool, jadx, frida, uber-apk-signer, …)
.\scripts\misc\install_tools.ps1 -Windows # PE tools (cutter, pe-bear, procmon, …)
.\scripts\misc\install_tools.ps1 -Common # Ghidra + Maven
macOS / Linux equivalent:
./scripts/misc/bootstrap.sh
export PATH="$PWD/tools/bin:$PWD/tools/ctf-website/bin:$PATH"
python scripts/misc/ai_toolcheck.py --board misc # verify the fresh-clone core
Install only the boards you need. Don't dump the full toolchain if you're only doing web CTF.
After installing CTF / ExploitDB tools, Windows Defender may flag exploit samples or payload documentation — e.g. tools/ctf-website/exploitdb, kb/ctf-website/techniques/24-database/03-nosql-injection.md, docs/llms-full.txt. These contain security test payloads, webshells, shellcode, or ExploitDB samples and are expected components.
We recommend minimal path exclusions rather than excluding the entire repo:
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "D:\open-reverselab\tools\ctf-website\exploitdb"
If individual documents are flagged, handle them case-by-case.
For AI Agents
- Clone into a dedicated local directory, e.g.
<workspace>/open-reverselab. - Claude Code:
cd <workspace>/open-reverselab, then start your session. - Codex APP: Open the existing
open-reverselabfolder directly (no re-clone needed). - Automated AI install: send the contents of
templates/prompts/ai-install.en.mdto your Agent. - Create a task:
python scripts/misc/new_task.py --board ctf-website --name <name>. - Verify real MCP invocation whenever switching machines or updating configs:
uv run --project tools/skills/mcp/ReverseLabToolsMCP \ python scripts/misc/mcp_smoke_check.py --write-report
Context chain — Agents load context through this sequence:
CLAUDE.md → AGENTS.md → AI-USAGE.md → boards/<board>/AI-USAGE.md
Use codex-session-patcher for one-click configuration of project-level .codex/ and MCP servers.
When first opening this project with an AI Agent, it inspects your local environment (OS, toolchains, reverse-engineering libraries, devices, sanitized env vars, network, workspace) following the protocol in AGENTS.md, and caches a snapshot at ~/.open-reverselab/env/env.md (%USERPROFILE%\.open-reverselab\env\env.md on Windows).
This file is host-level and shared across sessions: subsequent sessions read it directly without re-probing, unless 7 days have passed or the protocol version has bumped. It remains local and is never committed. Sensitive variables are redacted (keys marked "SET", proxies stripped of credentials).
Post-install verification
python scripts/misc/lab_healthcheck.py
python scripts/misc/ai_toolcheck.py --board misc
python scripts/misc/public_release_check.py
--board misc checks the fresh-clone core Agent scripts and lightweight tools. Run full python scripts/misc/ai_toolcheck.py only after installing Android / Windows / CTF boards.
Repository layout
The repository uses directory-as-convention. Put artifacts where they belong and the tooling finds them automatically.
samples/ Original samples + _quarantine/ + unpacked/ — never modified
exports/ Tool outputs (triage / IOC / YARA / Sigma / Procmon / Ghidra summaries)
patches/ Patch artifacts (originals are never modified)
notes/ Analysis notes
reports/ Final reports
scripts/ Automation scripts
projects/ Ghidra project files
templates/ Note / report / rule templates · AI install prompts
kb/ Reusable attack knowledge base — see "Knowledge at a glance"
tools/ Toolchain (binaries, wrappers, registry, MCP)
cases/