REA section · reverse engineering with AI agents
REA. Your agent opens a program without its source code and explains how it works.
The REA (Reverse Engineer Anything) connects your AI agent, such as Claude Code or Codex, to expert reverse engineering tools. It takes apart an app or a binary, shows the evidence behind what it found, and helps rebuild something similar in your project. Here’s everything INEMA has put together about it: the guide in three languages, the step-by-step instructions, our real-world test, the videos, and the precautions. All open and free.
Guide in PT, EN, and ES. Videos in Portuguese.
01 · What it is
A bridge between your agent and expert tools.
Reverse engineering means figuring out how a program works by examining the finished program, without its source code. Before, this required an expert and weeks of work with tools like Ghidra, from the NSA. REA gives these tools to your agent, which does the heavy lifting and explains everything in plain language.
Reads the finished program
JavaScript and Electron apps directly through Node; native binaries with a decompiler (Ghidra, Hopper, or IDA).
Builds the map
Modules, functions, connections, and data flow, saved as verifiable facts.
Shows the evidence
Each finding points to its source, and anything it couldn’t read becomes a stated limitation.
Helps you make your own
With the map in hand, the agent creates something similar in your project, however you ask.
Works as a CLI and as an MCP server using the same core: you can run a command in the terminal or let Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and other agents call REA on their own.
02 · Why it works
The original program is the specification.
When AI tries to create an app from scratch, it guesses what you want. With the original program alongside it, it has a correct answer to compare against: run the original, run its version, see the difference, and fix it. It’s a closed validation loop. That’s why an agent can rebuild an old game byte for byte or understand an app’s search feature in minutes.
| Without REA | With REA |
|---|---|
| The agent reads whatever it can find and guesses the rest | The agent consults a program map with facts and the source for each fact |
| Doesn’t say what it doesn’t know | States the limitations: what it didn’t read and why |
| Native binaries are a black box | Uses Ghidra (free), Hopper, or IDA under the hood |
Honestly. None of this is new: Ghidra dates back to 2019, and IDA to the ’90s. What’s changed is that your agent can now operate these tools. And in a third-party test recreating a photo viewer, the agent without REA finished first: for simple apps, sometimes it isn’t even necessary. The video “the detail no one tells you” shows this.
03 · Step by step
Get started in 4 steps.
For JavaScript and Electron apps, all you need is Node.js (22.19+, 24.11+, or 26+; versions 23 and 25 are not supported) and an agent with MCP. For native binaries, you’ll need a decompiler. REA changes almost every day: check the version first.
1 · Try it without installing anything
Static analysis of an Electron app doesn’t require Ghidra or MCP, and it doesn’t run the app.
npx -y rea-agents@latest analyze-javascript-application /caminho/absoluto/app.asar \ --max-heap-mb 1024 --analysis-timeout-ms 60000 --json
2 · Connect REA to your agent
Setup shows you the plan, backs up your configuration, and asks before making changes.
npx rea-agents setup --dry-run # mostra o que vai gravar npx rea-agents setup # reinicie o agente depois
3 · Check only what you’ll use
The scoped doctor checks a specific agent or engine.
rea doctor --client claude_code --json rea doctor --provider ghidra --json
4 · Ask the agent
In plain language, using a program you own or are authorized to analyze.
"Entenda como a busca funciona no app X, me mostre a evidência e faça algo parecido no meu projeto."
The full walkthrough, with prerequisites, costs for each decompiler, and examples, is in the guide. The script we used to run it in isolation is in pratica/.
04 · Tested here
Before and after: the app that froze, in 94 seconds.
We ran REA on our isolated ARM64 Linux server (agent configuration untouched, with memory and time limits). In 6.3.0, an Electron app froze; in 6.4.0, the same app was fully analyzed.
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Electron app (210 files) on 6.3.0, 10/10/2026 | Frozen: 100% CPU for over 20 minutes on a single file; it had to be forcibly stopped. |
| The same app on 6.4.0, 12/10/2026 | 94.5 s, 1.26 GB peak: 202 files read, 0 failures, 13,500 findings. The file that caused the freeze became a declared limitation (377 in total). |
| Small Node project | 19.7 s: graph with 998 nodes and 1,260 connections. |
| Go binary (inspection) | 1.4 s: file format, hash, and inventory. |
The full results are in RESULTADOS-6.4.0.md and in the 6.4.0 test section of the guide.
05 · Videos
From concept to technical details, in Portuguese.
Explainers featuring Nei’s avatar and voice. The longer videos have a chaptered player and captions on the REA videos page.
REA: the AI that reverse engineers
What it is, Ghidra, the vault opened by AI, the DX-Ball recreation, and precautions. Start here.
Watch → Practical · 2 minREA in practice: clone an app in 4 steps
Prepare your machine, install it, make a request in Portuguese, and check the evidence—with the error that froze our test.
Watch → Technical · 2 minInside REA 6.4
Why it works, the CLI + MCP architecture, the evidence contract, and the before-and-after test.
Watch → YouTube · 3 minYou can clone the app you use
The race with and without REA, and why code is no longer a moat for companies.
Watch → YouTube · 2 minCan REA recreate almost any app? The detail no one tells you
The internet hype and what’s actually true.
Watch → YouTube · technicalInside REA 6.4 (YouTube)
The technical version on the INEMA Tec channel.
Watch →Reels, to watch on your phone
Now anyone can clone any software
The agent takes the program apart, understands it, and rebuilds it.
Watch → Reel · 36 sThis blows your mind: copy any software
Make your own version of any program without knowing how to code.
Watch → Reel · 33 sYour own app in 4 steps
Install it, choose the agent, ask in Portuguese, and check the result.
Watch → Reel · 36 sYou don’t even need a tool to recreate an app
The agent finished first on its own. Create your own instead of paying for someone else’s.
Watch → Short · 25 sClone the app you use
The short version of the race video, with and without REA.
Watch →06 · Repositories
The official one, our guide, and what people have already done with it.
REA is a third-party project under the MIT license. INEMA is not the author: our repository brings together the guide, videos, and tests.
morluto/rea
REA: a reverse engineering MCP + CLI for agents, written in TypeScript. Version 6.4.0, over 149,000 stars (12/10/2026).
Open on GitHub → Official · siterea.tools
Official site, with illustrated guides (native, JavaScript, browser) and case studies.
Open → INEMA · PT · EN · ESREA reverse engineering guide
INEMA’s one-stop resource on REA: what it is, how it works, step by step, testing, videos, and precautions.
Open the guide → INEMA · repositoryinematds/rea-engenharia-reversa
The guide, the video page, the test results, and the script to run it in isolation.
Open on GitHub → Decompiler · freeGhidra (NSA)
The open source decompiler that REA uses under the hood for native binaries.
Open on GitHub → Real caseDX-Ball reconstructed
DX-Ball 1.07 rebuilt in C/C++ with REA + Ghidra, tested byte by byte.
Open on GitHub → Real caseth04 (PC-98)
Reconstruction of a segment from a 16-bit DOS game.
Open on GitHub → Real case · clean roomPhotoCraft
A Photoshop-style editor rebuilt from scratch in Rust, without copying code.
Open on GitHub → ResearchSRE-Bench
Columbia University benchmark: agents reverse engineering protected binaries.
Open →07 · Precautions
Before pointing it at a program.
Only analyze what you’re allowed to
Programs you own or have permission to analyze. Terms of use may prohibit reverse engineering; rebuilding isn’t the same as copying code or a brand.
Run it separately
Use a test folder and set memory and time limits. The setup --dry-run shows what would be written before writing it.
Check what it claims
Read the source for each finding and the stated limitations. REA will tell you what it couldn’t read; the agent may overstate its findings.
The full list of precautions and who REA is useful for (and who it isn’t) is in the guide.
08 · At Eventos
Areas that pair well with REA.
09 · Get started now
Choose a program you own and ask the agent to explain how it works.
You don’t need to know reverse engineering; you need an agent, Node, and a program you’re allowed to analyze.
REA Guide
Everything we’ve made about REA, in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.
Open the guide →morluto/rea
The official repository, with the code, releases, and author’s documentation.
Open on GitHub →REA videos
From concepts to technical details, with chapters and subtitles.
Watch the videos →Want to chat with people who are testing it? Join the Telegram groups or check out the community at INEMA.PRO.