xrefs

name	xrefs
description	Trace callers, callees, call graph edges, and string references with ghidrasql.
allowed-tools	["Bash","Read","Glob","Grep"]

Xrefs

Trigger Intents

Use this skill when the user asks about:

• who calls a function
• what a function calls
• call graph structure
• which functions reference a string or import

Route to:

• decompiler once a specific function becomes interesting
• analysis for broader graph ranking
• re-source for recursive bottom-up annotation that consumes call-graph edges

Performance Contract

Surface	Predicate	Pushdown?	Notes
xrefs	WHERE from_addr = X or to_addr = X	No (post-filter scan)	Cached flat list; filter narrows result, not work
xref_index	WHERE src_func_addr = X or dst_func_addr = X	No (post-filter scan)	Same, with function-attribution columns. xref_index is a TABLE, not a view.
callgraph_edges	any	View over disasm_calls	Pre-attributed; cheap when query already has func_addr
callers, callees	WHERE func_addr = X	View	Pre-attributed; preferred for "who calls X" / "what does X call"
string_refs	WHERE func_addr = X or string_value LIKE ...	View	Pre-attributed function ↔ string

For function-scoped questions, prefer the views (callgraph_edges, callers, callees, string_refs) over rebuilding joins on raw xrefs — they materialise the function attribution.

Do This First

Confirm the graph is populated:

SELECT COUNT(*) AS edges FROM callgraph_edges;
SELECT COUNT(*) AS xref_edges FROM xref_index;
SELECT COUNT(*) AS string_hits FROM string_refs;

Then narrow to the target function, import, or string.

Common Patterns

Callers of a function. The view exposes caller_name (the source's function name) and caller_func_addr (the source function's start addr), keyed by func_addr (the callee):

SELECT caller_name, printf('0x%X', caller_func_addr) AS addr
FROM callers
WHERE func_addr = 0x401000
ORDER BY caller_name;

Callees from a function:

SELECT callee_name, printf('0x%X', callee_addr) AS addr
FROM callees
WHERE func_addr = 0x401000
ORDER BY callee_name;

Functions referencing a string:

SELECT func_name, printf('0x%X', func_addr) AS addr, string_value
FROM string_refs
WHERE string_value LIKE '%password%'
ORDER BY func_addr;

Recursive callers of a function:

WITH RECURSIVE callers_cte(func_addr, depth, path) AS (
    SELECT caller_func_addr, 1, printf('%lld', caller_func_addr)
    FROM callers
    WHERE func_addr = 0x401060

    UNION ALL

    SELECT c.caller_func_addr,
           callers_cte.depth + 1,
           callers_cte.path || '>' || printf('%lld', c.caller_func_addr)
    FROM callers c
    JOIN callers_cte ON c.func_addr = callers_cte.func_addr
    WHERE callers_cte.depth < 5
      AND instr(callers_cte.path, printf('%lld', c.caller_func_addr)) = 0
)
SELECT printf('0x%X', func_addr) AS caller,
       MIN(depth) AS distance
FROM callers_cte
GROUP BY func_addr
ORDER BY distance, caller;

Path between function A and B:

WITH RECURSIVE path(root_func, current_func, depth, path) AS (
    SELECT src_func_addr,
           dst_func_addr,
           1,
           printf('%lld>%lld', src_func_addr, dst_func_addr)
    FROM callgraph_edges
    WHERE src_func_addr = 0x401030

    UNION ALL

    SELECT path.root_func,
           c.dst_func_addr,
           path.depth + 1,
           path.path || '>' || printf('%lld', c.dst_func_addr)
    FROM path
    JOIN callgraph_edges c ON c.src_func_addr = path.current_func
    WHERE path.depth < 6
      AND instr(path.path, printf('%lld', c.dst_func_addr)) = 0
)
SELECT printf('0x%X', current_func) AS func_addr,
       depth,
       path
FROM path
WHERE current_func = 0x401060
ORDER BY depth;

Raw xref neighborhood around a function:

WITH neighborhood AS (
    SELECT *
    FROM xref_index
    WHERE src_func_addr = 0x401030

    UNION

    SELECT *
    FROM xref_index
    WHERE dst_func_addr = 0x401030
)
SELECT printf('0x%X', from_addr) AS from_addr,
       printf('0x%X', to_addr) AS to_addr,
       kind,
       printf('0x%X', src_func_addr) AS src_func_addr,
       printf('0x%X', dst_func_addr) AS dst_func_addr
FROM neighborhood
ORDER BY from_addr, to_addr;

Critical Rules

• Prefer callgraph_edges, callers, callees, and string_refs over rebuilding joins by hand.
• Prefer xref_index when the query needs raw edges plus src_func_addr or dst_func_addr.
• Keep recursive CTEs target-specific, bound depth, and track visited nodes in the path string.
• Avoid correlated subqueries over xrefs/xref_index; aggregate once in a CTE and join back.
• Avoid repeated range joins on funcs; use callgraph_edges, callers, callees, or xref_index first.
• Decompiler-backed tables such as pseudocode, decomp_lvars, and decomp_tokens must be filtered before joining graph results into them. Use func_addr; exact func_name is also pushed down for pseudocode and decomp_lvars.
• Use resolved function addresses from these views to hand off cleanly to decompiler or annotations.