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Install Reverse Engineer Anything (REA) in Claude Desktop

Get the exact commands to connect REA 6.8.0 to Claude Desktop. Your steps are below, ready to copy. The checklist is generated in your browser.

Tested by us on macOS 15.6.1 (Apple silicon) with Node.js 24.22.1 and REA 6.8.0 (2026-10-27): setup --dry-run planned the expected config file, and doctor and static JS analysis worked. Not yet run inside the agent itself.

1. Your AI agent pick one or more
2. Your OS
3. What to analyze
4. What you want to do
Advanced options
Install method

Used only for Ghidra. Paths stay in your browser.

Your setup steps

0/5

Official sources only: github.com/morluto/rea · rea.tools · npm rea-agents. REA 6.8.0. Legal use

  1. REA 6.8.0 needs Node.js 22.x (22.23.4 or later), 24.x (24.22.1 or later) or 26.12.1 or later. Node.js 23, 25 and prereleases are not supported.

    Terminal
    node -v
    My version is too old

    Install a supported release from nodejs.org or your version manager, open a new terminal, and run node -v again.

    REA uses the npm that comes with that Node.js and never upgrades Node.js for you.

  2. Setup shows the exact files it will change and waits for your approval.

    Terminal
    npx rea-agents setup --client claude_desktop

    Heads up: Quit Claude Desktop fully before approving setup. Closing its window is not enough; a running app can overwrite the change.

    Which files does setup change?

    It adds an rea entry to each selected agent's MCP configuration and, unless you turn it off, installs REA's workflow skill.

    Existing settings and other servers are kept, a backup is made, and nothing is written until you approve. Pressing Ctrl-C makes no changes.

    Full details: Review setup changes.

  3. Quit Claude Desktop fully before approving setup (closing the window is not enough), then start it again.

  4. Check only the parts you use. Each command reads your setup without changing anything.

    Terminal
    npx rea-agents doctor --client claude_desktop --json
    What should I see?

    A scoped report has scope.mode: "explicit", and healthy: true means the checks you asked for passed.

    If a check fails, follow the remediation in its output. Doctor checks files and prerequisites, not the live connection, so restart the agent after any fix.

    More in Check readiness for your task.

  5. Paste this into your agent and replace the path with your own.

    Prompt
    I own this software or am authorized to analyze it. Use REA to analyze the Electron/JavaScript app at /absolute/path/to/app. Map its main modules, IPC channels and the code path behind the feature I describe next. Cite the file, location and hash for every claim, and list what you could not confirm.

    Legal use: Analyze only software you own or are authorized to examine. What REA can and can't do

Uninstall REA

Removes only REA's agent registrations and skill files. --purge-data also clears REA's cache in ~/.rea.

Terminal
npx rea-agents uninstall
Terminal
npx rea-agents uninstall --purge-data
View my setup steps

Setup notes by OS and target with Claude Desktop

Everything the wizard above can show, in one place.

Windows with Claude Desktop

Run the commands in PowerShell.

PowerShell
npx rea-agents setup --client claude_desktop

Heads up: Quit Claude Desktop fully before approving setup. Closing its window is not enough; a running app can overwrite the change.

Note: If PowerShell blocks npx, run the same command with npx.cmd.

For native programs, set the Ghidra paths with $env: instead of export:

Download Ghidra 12.1.x and install a 64-bit full JDK 21 or newer. REA connects to an existing installation; it does not install either one.

Then set these variables in the same terminal you will run setup from, so setup can find and save the verified paths:

PowerShell
$env:GHIDRA_INSTALL_DIR = "C:\path\to\ghidra_12.1.4_PUBLIC"
$env:JAVA_HOME = "C:\path\to\jdk-21"

Heads up: Ghidra support on Windows is experimental and read-only. Windows scope

Heads up: Hopper is not available on Windows. Pick Ghidra or IDA instead.

macOS with Claude Desktop

For native programs with Ghidra, export both paths in the terminal you run setup from:

Download Ghidra 12.1.x and install a 64-bit full JDK 21 or newer. REA connects to an existing installation; it does not install either one.

Then set these variables in the same terminal you will run setup from, so setup can find and save the verified paths:

Terminal
export GHIDRA_INSTALL_DIR="/absolute/path/to/ghidra_12.1.4_PUBLIC"
export JAVA_HOME="/absolute/path/to/jdk-21"

REA checks the JDK range declared by your Ghidra installation. It was verified with Ghidra 12.1.4 and JDK 21.

The JDK must match your CPU: on Apple silicon, an x86_64 JDK running under Rosetta fails the check.

More in REA's Ghidra guide.

Linux with Claude Desktop

Note: On Linux, REA also needs a procps-compatible ps on its PATH (install procps or procps-ng). Details

Electron and JavaScript apps

No extra tools are needed beyond Node.js and npm. You can also run a static analysis straight from the terminal, without an agent:

Terminal
npx -y rea-agents@latest analyze-javascript-application /absolute/path/to/app --json

Android APKs

APK analysis needs a full JDK 17 or newer (with its compiler module) and the jadx-headless-mcp 0.7.1 JAR, a headless JADX build. REA installs neither.

Download the JAR, check it against the SHA-256 that REA pins, and point REA_JADX_MCP_JAR at it in the terminal you run setup from. Set JAVA_HOME too if java on your PATH isn't the JDK you want. Commands from REA's Android guide:

Terminal
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/share/rea/android" && cd "$HOME/.local/share/rea/android"
curl -fL -o jadx-headless-mcp-0.7.1-all.jar https://github.com/1013503897/jadx-headless-mcp/releases/download/v0.7.1/jadx-headless-mcp-0.7.1-all.jar
echo '6e5eacf500b64292bfb73c49797c1958f6ee44646e43e868039ae7feb573ff75  jadx-headless-mcp-0.7.1-all.jar' | shasum -a 256 -c -
export REA_JADX_MCP_JAR="$PWD/jadx-headless-mcp-0.7.1-all.jar"

For decoded resources (manifest, strings, locales), also install Apktool 3.0.2 or newer; earlier 3.0.x versions have a security advisory. REA uses apktool on your PATH, or the launcher in REA_APKTOOL_COMMAND. See REA's Apktool guide.

Native programs with Hopper

If Hopper is already installed, setup reuses it. If not, setup can propose installing the official Hopper package and asks for a separate approval first.

Legal use: Hopper is commercial software with its own license. Its free demo has vendor-defined limits; use only a license you obtained legally.

macOS 12+ and x86_64 Linux. See REA's Hopper guide.

Native programs with IDA

Install IDA yourself, then follow REA's IDA guide to connect it.

Legal use: IDA is commercial software. REA grants no license or key; use only a license you obtained legally.

Where REA lives in Claude Desktop

Setup adds a mcpServers.rea entry to claude_desktop_config.json. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/. Linux: ~/.config/Claude/. Windows: depends on the installed build; let setup pick the file.

REA's client id for Claude Desktop is claude_desktop, which is the value used in --client claude_desktop. Quit Claude Desktop fully before approving setup (closing the window is not enough), then start it again.

Claude Desktop tips

  • Quit Claude Desktop fully before you approve setup; closing its window is not enough. A running app can rewrite its configuration from memory and drop the rea entry. Start it again after setup finishes.
  • On Windows, the Microsoft Store (MSIX) build of Claude Desktop can read a private copy of claude_desktop_config.json instead of the one in %APPDATA%. Setup, doctor and uninstall find the file the installed app actually reads, so let setup write it rather than editing a copy by hand.
  • Run setup from an ordinary terminal, not one opened inside Claude Desktop (such as its Code tab). On Windows, setup refuses to change Claude Desktop's configuration from there, because that terminal sees the app's private storage.

Sources

Configuration details last checked 2026-10-27.