# idax
[](https://crates.io/crates/idax)
[](https://docs.rs/idax)
[](LICENSE)
Safe, idiomatic Rust bindings for the [IDA Pro](https://hex-rays.com/ida-pro/) SDK via the [idax](https://github.com/19h/idax) C++ wrapper library.
`idax` provides a concept-driven, fully opaque interface to IDA's analysis engine. All unsafe FFI is encapsulated — users of this crate never write `unsafe` code. Types that hold SDK resources implement `Drop` for automatic cleanup.
## Prerequisites
- **IDA Pro** with the IDA SDK (set the `IDASDK` environment variable to point to your SDK root)
- **idax C++ library** — build the [idax](https://github.com/19h/idax) project with CMake first to produce `libidax.a`
- **Rust 2024 edition** (nightly or stable 1.85+)
## Installation
```toml
[dependencies]
idax = "0.2"
```
## Quick start
```rust
use idax::{database, function, segment};
fn main() -> idax::Result<()> {
// Initialize the IDA library
database::init()?;
// Open a binary for analysis
database::open("/path/to/binary", true)?;
// Query metadata
let path = database::input_file_path()?;
let md5 = database::input_md5()?;
println!("Analyzing: {path} (MD5: {md5})");
// Iterate functions
let count = function::count()?;
for i in 0..count {
let func = function::by_index(i)?;
println!(" {:#x}: {}", func.start, func.name);
}
// Iterate segments
let seg_count = segment::count()?;
for i in 0..seg_count {
let seg = segment::by_index(i)?;
println!(" {}: {:#x}..{:#x}", seg.name, seg.start, seg.end);
}
database::close(false)?;
Ok(())
}
```
## Module overview
The crate is organized into modules that mirror the C++ `ida::` namespace hierarchy. Every module covers a distinct analysis domain:
### Core
| [`error`] | Error handling | `Error` (category + code + message + context), `Result<T>`, `Status` |
| [`address`] | Address primitives | `Address` (`u64`), `Range`, predicates (`is_code`, `is_data`, ...), navigation (`next_head`, `prev_head`), iterators (`HeadIterator`, `PredicateIterator`) |
| [`database`] | Database lifecycle | `init`, `open`, `open_binary`, `save`, `close`, metadata queries (`input_file_path`, `input_md5`, `image_base`, `processor_name`, ...), import enumeration, snapshots |
### Analysis objects
| [`segment`] | Segments | CRUD (`at`, `by_name`, `by_index`, `create`, `remove`), properties (`set_name`, `set_permissions`, `set_bitness`, `resize`, `move`), traversal (`next`, `prev`), comments |
| [`function`] | Functions | CRUD, chunks (`chunks`, `add_tail`, `remove_tail`), stack frames (`frame`, `frame_variable_by_name`, `define_stack_variable`), register variables, callers/callees, `item_addresses`, `code_addresses` |
| [`instruction`] | Instructions | `decode`, `create`, `text`, operand introspection (`operand_text`, `operand_byte_width`, `operand_register_name`), operand formatting (`set_operand_hex`, `set_operand_offset`, `set_operand_struct_offset_*`), xref conveniences (`code_refs_from`, `call_targets`, `is_call`, `is_jump`), navigation (`next`, `prev`) |
| [`data`] | Byte-level I/O | Read (`read_byte` .. `read_qword`, `read_bytes`, `read_string`, `read_typed`), write, patch, originals, define (`define_byte` .. `define_struct`, `undefine`), `find_binary_pattern` |
| [`name`] | Naming | `get`, `set`, `force_set`, `remove`, `demangled`, `resolve`, `all_user_defined`, properties (`is_public`, `is_weak`) |
| [`xref`] | Cross-references | `refs_from`, `refs_to`, code/data ref variants, range variants, `add_code`, `add_data`, `remove_code`, `remove_data` |
| [`comment`] | Comments | Regular/repeatable (`get`, `set`, `append`, `remove`), anterior/posterior lines (`add_anterior`, `set_anterior_lines`, `anterior_lines`, ...), `render` |
| [`entry`] | Entry points | `count`, `by_index`, `by_ordinal`, `add`, `rename`, forwarders |
| [`fixup`] | Fixups / relocations | `at`, `set`, `remove`, `in_range`, iteration (`first`, `next`, `prev`), custom fixup handler registration |
| [`search`] | Search | `text`, `binary_pattern`, `immediate`, `next_code`, `next_data`, `next_unknown`, `next_error`, `next_defined` |
### Type system
| [`types`] | Type introspection & construction | `TypeInfo` (RAII handle with `Drop`), primitives (`void`, `int8` .. `uint64`, `float32`, `float64`), compound types (`pointer_to`, `array_of`, `create_struct`, `create_union`, `function_type`, `enum_type`), introspection (`is_pointer`, `pointee_type`, `members`, ...), application (`apply`, `retrieve`, `save_as`), type libraries (`load_library`, `import`) |
### Advanced
| [`decompiler`] | Hex-Rays decompiler | `decompile` / `decompile_range` returning `DecompiledFunction` (RAII), pseudocode (`pseudocode_lines`, `pseudocode_text`), ctree traversal (`ctree_items`, `find_ctree_item_at`), microcode (`microcode` returning `MicrocodeFunction`), ctree/microcode modification, event subscriptions (`on_decompiled`, `on_ctree_modified`, ...) |
| [`debugger`] | Debugger control | Process lifecycle (`start`, `attach`, `detach`, `suspend`, `resume`, `step_*`, `terminate`), breakpoints (`add_breakpoint`, `remove_breakpoint`, `enable_breakpoint`, `breakpoints`), memory (`read_memory`, `write_memory`), registers (`register_value`, `set_register_value`), threads, appcall (`call_function`), module/exception/event subscriptions, custom executor registration |
| [`storage`] | Netnode storage | `Node` (RAII handle), typed value stores: altval (`set_altval` / `altval`), supval (`set_supval` / `supval`), hashval (`set_hashval` / `hashval`), blob (`set_blob` / `blob`), `create` / `open` / `remove` |
| [`lumina`] | Lumina server | `pull`, `push` |
| [`analysis`] | Auto-analysis | `is_enabled`, `set_enabled`, `is_idle`, `wait`, `schedule`, `schedule_range`, `schedule_function`, `cancel`, `revert_decisions` |
| [`event`] | IDB event subscriptions | Typed callbacks for segment/function/rename/patch/comment events, filtered subscriptions, `ScopedSubscription` (RAII unsubscribe on drop) |
### Extension points
| [`plugin`] | Plugin lifecycle | Action registration (`register_action` / `register_action_ex`), menu/toolbar/popup attachment, `ActionContext` for context-aware handlers |
| [`loader`] | Loader modules | `InputFileHandle` (seek, read, filename), `LoadFlags` decode/encode, `file_to_database`, `memory_to_database`, `set_processor`, `abort_load` |
| [`processor`] | Processor modules | `Processor` trait (5 required + 15 optional methods), `InstructionFeature` / `RegisterInfo` / `AssemblerInfo` types |
| [`graph`] | Custom graphs | `Graph` (RAII handle), `GraphCallback` trait for interactive event handling, `flow_chart` for function CFG extraction |
| [`ui`] | UI utilities | `message`, `warning`, `error`, `info` dialogs, `ask_*` input prompts, `ChooserImpl` trait for custom list dialogs, widget management, timer scheduling, clipboard, UI event subscriptions |
| [`lines`] | Color tags | `strip_color_tags`, `has_color_tags` |
| [`diagnostics`] | Logging | `log`, `log_error`, `performance_counter`, `reset_performance_counter`, `dump_performance_counters`, `is_verbose`, `set_verbose` |
## Error handling
All fallible operations return `idax::Result<T>` (alias for `std::result::Result<T, idax::Error>`) or `idax::Status` (alias for `Result<()>`). The `Error` type carries:
- **`category`** — `ErrorCategory` enum: `Validation`, `NotFound`, `Conflict`, `Unsupported`, `SdkFailure`, `Internal`
- **`code`** — numeric error code (0 when unspecified)
- **`message`** — human-readable description
- **`context`** — additional context (e.g. which SDK function failed)
```rust
use idax::{function, Error};
use idax::error::ErrorCategory;
match function::at(0xDEAD) {
Ok(func) => println!("Found: {}", func.name),
Err(e) if e.category == ErrorCategory::NotFound => {
println!("No function at that address");
}
Err(e) => return Err(e),
}
```
## RAII / Drop
Types that hold SDK resources implement `Drop` for automatic cleanup:
| `TypeInfo` | `types` | Opaque type handle |
| `Node` | `storage` | Netnode handle |
| `DecompiledFunction` | `decompiler` | Decompilation result |
| `Graph` | `graph` | Interactive graph handle |
| `ScopedSubscription` | `event`, `decompiler`, `debugger` | Unsubscribes on drop |
## Architecture
```
Your Rust code
|
[ idax ] safe, idiomatic Rust API
|
[ idax-sys ] raw extern "C" FFI bindings (generated by bindgen)
|
[ C shim ] idax_shim.h / idax_shim.cpp (thin C bridge)
|
[ libidax.a ] idax C++ wrapper library
|
[ IDA SDK ] ida.dylib / ida.so / ida.dll
```
## License
MIT