idb-bind

name

idb-bind

description

Use when you need the v95 IDA database (the ida-pro/idalib MCP) to decompile/look up an original-client function but it may be unavailable — busy/locked by another IDA GUI or idalib session, or the MCP server is disconnected. Binds the database, or waits in the background until it frees and then continues. Owns the canonical procedure for binding the locked .i64 (free check, background wait, copy-to-temp fallback, alignment verification). Never prints or commits the local .i64 path.

idb-bind

The authoritative v95 client reverse-engineering source is the live IDA Pro database exposed through the ida-pro/idalib MCP server. It has demangled names (CUIStat::Draw), StringPool resolution, struct offsets, and on-demand decompilation — strictly higher fidelity than the static text dumps that [disasm-lookup] reads.

Two distinct things can stop you from using it. Diagnose which one before acting:

1. MCP server disconnected — the mcp__plugin_ida-pro_idalib__* tools are not present at all (a ToolSearch for them returns no match). This is a Claude Code MCP connection, not a file lock. You cannot fix it from a tool — ask the user to (re)start the ida-pro/idalib MCP server, then retry. The watcher below does not help here.
2. Database busy / locked — the tools exist but idalib_open fails with "Failed to open database" because the IDA GUI or another idalib session holds an exclusive lock on the .i64. This is what the watcher and copy-to-temp trick are for.

The path (never commit it)

The .i64 path lives in the gitignored CLAUDE.local.md as IDA_IDB. Read it from there at runtime and pass it as an argument. Never hard-code it in a committed file, and never print it into a PR/commit/issue. Translated values (coordinates, offsets, formulas) may land in committed C#; the path and filenames may not.

Procedure

1. Confirm the MCP is connected. ToolSearch for select:mcp__plugin_ida-pro_idalib__idalib_open,mcp__plugin_ida-pro_idalib__decompile. If nothing matches → failure mode 1: tell the user to restart the idalib MCP server and stop here.

2. Check the lock. Run the watcher (path from CLAUDE.local.md):

   & ".claude/skills/idb-bind/idb-watch.ps1" -Path "<IDA_IDB>" -Mode Check
   

   IDB_STATUS=FREE (exit 0) → go to step 4. IDB_STATUS=LOCKED (exit 2) → step 3.

3. Wait in the background until it frees, then get re-invoked. Launch the watcher in Wait mode as a background Bash job (run_in_background: true); the harness re-invokes you when it exits, so keep working on other tasks meanwhile — do not poll:

   & ".claude/skills/idb-bind/idb-watch.ps1" -Path "<IDA_IDB>" -Mode Wait -IntervalSeconds 20
   

   It exits 0 (IDB_STATUS=FREE) the moment the other session releases the file. (-TimeoutSeconds N to bound the wait; 0 = forever.)

4. Bind. Prefer opening the real database when it is free:

   idalib_open(input_path="<IDA_IDB>", session_id="v95", run_auto_analysis=false)
   

   If it must run while the GUI still holds a shared (read-only) lock, fall back to the copy-to-temp trick — copy the .i64 to $env:TEMP\v95_<purpose>.i64 and open the copy (the legacy .idb will not load in idalib 9.x; always use .i64).

5. Verify alignment before trusting any address. decompile 0x602140 must show result->left = 66 * (nIdx % 5) + 23 (CUIChannelSelect::GetRect). If it does not, the addresses are stale — re-derive symbols by name via lookup_funcs / list_funcs rather than by hard-coded address.

6. When done, leave the session open for follow-ups, or idalib_close if you started it solely for a one-off lookup and the user may want the GUI back.

Privacy

Same rules as [disasm-lookup]: never paste the .i64 path, filenames, or any private project name into committed files, PR bodies, commits, or issues. Run git diff before committing and abort if any path fragment appears.

Known follow-ups that need this skill

• Stat detail window (StatDetailInfo.cs): the live IDB dropped mid-port, so the detail rows are best-effort. Revisit CUIStatDetail::Draw (≈0x8625f0) for the exact DrawText (x,y) per row and CUIStatDetail::GetCriticalProp (≈0x861bf0) for the crit formula. See [[stat-window-cuistat]].