ghidra

name	ghidra
description	Use Ghidra headless analysis for authorized binary reverse engineering, decompilation, function/string/symbol export, and call graph analysis without a GUI.

ghidra

Use Ghidra's analyzeHeadless tool through the bundled wrapper for automated reverse engineering. Import binaries, run analysis, decompile to C code, and export functions, strings, symbols, and call graphs.

Help First

Before constructing commands, run the wrapper help and use it as the source of truth:

.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --help

Resource Paths

• Wrapper script: .agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh
• Built-in export scripts: .agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra_scripts
• Headless analyzer: /usr/local/bin/analyzeHeadless

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Full analysis with all exports	.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./output binary
Decompile to C code	.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportDecompiled.java -o ./output binary
List functions	.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportFunctions.java -o ./output binary
Extract strings	.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportStrings.java -o ./output binary
Get call graph	.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportCalls.java -o ./output binary
Export symbols	.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportSymbols.java -o ./output binary

Usage Rules

.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh [options] <binary>

Always call the wrapper with its .agents/skills/ghidra/... path. It handles project creation/cleanup and provides a simpler interface to analyzeHeadless.

• Work only on provided binaries or explicitly authorized artifacts.
• Prefer ExportAll.java for first-pass analysis unless the task needs a narrower export.
• Use task-scoped output directories and save logs instead of streaming large decompiler output into the conversation.
• Specify --processor and --cspec when auto-detection is wrong or firmware context is known.
• Use --timeout for large or hostile samples and --keep-project only when the task requires later project reuse.

Options:

• -o, --output <dir> - Output directory for results (default: current dir)
• -s, --script <name> - Post-analysis script to run (can be repeated)
• -a, --script-args <args> - Arguments for the last specified script
• --script-path <path> - Additional script search path
• -p, --processor <id> - Processor/architecture (e.g., x86:LE:32:default)
• -c, --cspec <id> - Compiler spec (e.g., gcc, windows)
• --no-analysis - Skip auto-analysis (faster, but less info)
• --timeout <seconds> - Analysis timeout per file
• --keep-project - Keep the Ghidra project after analysis
• --project-dir <dir> - Directory for Ghidra project (default: /tmp)
• --project-name <name> - Project name (default: auto-generated)
• -v, --verbose - Verbose output

Built-in Export Scripts

ExportAll.java

Comprehensive export - runs all other exports and creates a summary. Best for initial analysis.

Output files:

• {name}_summary.txt - Overview: architecture, memory sections, function counts
• {name}_decompiled.c - All functions decompiled to C
• {name}_functions.json - Function list with signatures and calls
• {name}_strings.txt - All strings found
• {name}_interesting.txt - Functions matching security-relevant patterns

.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./analysis firmware.bin

ExportDecompiled.java

Decompile all functions to C pseudocode.

Output: {name}_decompiled.c

.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportDecompiled.java -o ./output program.exe

ExportFunctions.java

Export function list as JSON with addresses, signatures, parameters, and call relationships.

Output: {name}_functions.json

{
  "program": "example.exe",
  "architecture": "x86",
  "functions": [
    {
      "name": "main",
      "address": "0x00401000",
      "size": 256,
      "signature": "int main(int argc, char **argv)",
      "returnType": "int",
      "callingConvention": "cdecl",
      "isExternal": false,
      "parameters": [{"name": "argc", "type": "int"}, ...],
      "calls": ["printf", "malloc", "process_data"],
      "calledBy": ["_start"]
    }
  ]
}

ExportStrings.java

Extract all strings (ASCII, Unicode) with addresses.

Output: {name}_strings.json

.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportStrings.java -o ./output malware.exe

ExportCalls.java

Export function call graph showing caller/callee relationships.

Output: {name}_calls.json

Includes:

• Full call graph
• Potential entry points (functions with no callers)
• Most frequently called functions

ExportSymbols.java

Export all symbols: imports, exports, and internal symbols.

Output: {name}_symbols.json

Common Workflows

Analyze an Unknown Binary

# Create output directory
mkdir -p ./analysis

# Run comprehensive analysis
.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./analysis unknown_binary

# Review the summary first with bounded reads
sed -n '1,160p' ./analysis/unknown_binary_summary.txt

# Look at interesting patterns (crypto, network, dangerous functions)
sed -n '1,160p' ./analysis/unknown_binary_interesting.txt

# Check specific decompiled functions
grep -A 50 "encrypt" ./analysis/unknown_binary_decompiled.c

Analyze Firmware

# Specify ARM architecture for firmware
.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh \
    -p "ARM:LE:32:v7" \
    -s ExportAll.java \
    -o ./firmware_analysis \
    firmware.bin

Quick Function Listing

# Just get function names and addresses (faster)
.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --no-analysis -s ExportFunctions.java -o . program

# Parse with jq
jq '.functions[] | "\(.address): \(.name)"' program_functions.json

Find Specific Patterns

# After running ExportDecompiled, search for patterns
grep -n "password\|secret\|key" output_decompiled.c
grep -n "strcpy\|sprintf\|gets" output_decompiled.c

Analyze Multiple Binaries

for bin in ./samples/*; do
    name=$(basename "$bin")
    .agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o "./results/$name" "$bin"
done

Architecture/Processor IDs

Common processor IDs for the -p option:

Architecture	Processor ID
x86 32-bit	x86:LE:32:default
x86 64-bit	x86:LE:64:default
ARM 32-bit	ARM:LE:32:v7
ARM 64-bit	AARCH64:LE:64:v8A
MIPS 32-bit	MIPS:BE:32:default or MIPS:LE:32:default
PowerPC	PowerPC:BE:32:default

Find all available processors:

ls /opt/ghidra/Ghidra/Processors/

Troubleshooting

Ghidra Not Found

Inside the sandbox, GHIDRA_HOME is /opt/ghidra and the wrapper should find /usr/local/bin/analyzeHeadless. If running the skill outside the image, set GHIDRA_HOME explicitly:

export GHIDRA_HOME=/path/to/ghidra_PUBLIC
.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh ...

Analysis Takes Too Long

# Set a timeout (seconds)
.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --timeout 300 -s ExportAll.java binary

# Skip analysis for quick export
.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --no-analysis -s ExportSymbols.java binary

Out of Memory

Set a larger Ghidra heap before running the wrapper:

export MAXMEM=4G

Wrong Architecture Detected

Explicitly specify the processor:

.agents/skills/ghidra/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -p "ARM:LE:32:v7" -s ExportAll.java firmware.bin

Tips

1. Start with ExportAll.java - It gives you everything and the summary helps orient you
2. Check the interesting.txt file - It highlights security-relevant functions automatically
3. Use jq for JSON parsing - The JSON exports are designed to be machine-readable
4. Decompilation isn't perfect - Use it as a guide, cross-reference with disassembly
5. Large binaries take time - Use --timeout and consider --no-analysis for quick scans

Output

Report the artifact path, wrapper command used, output directory, key exported files, architecture or processor assumptions, relevant findings, and limitations such as timeout, decompiler failures, or unresolved processor selection.