diff options
| author | blasty <blasty@local> | 2026-08-07 15:29:37 +0200 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | blasty <blasty@local> | 2026-08-07 15:29:49 +0200 |
| commit | 8fef561903e9501281ebcc58cdb33ee4d9116fd0 (patch) | |
| tree | 0edd3a430134fdddd5a4826b835360591e632507 /docs/CODEMODE_PORT.md | |
| parent | README: pure markdown, and a logo sized for a README (diff) | |
| download | ida-tui-8fef561903e9501281ebcc58cdb33ee4d9116fd0.tar.gz ida-tui-8fef561903e9501281ebcc58cdb33ee4d9116fd0.tar.xz ida-tui-8fef561903e9501281ebcc58cdb33ee4d9116fd0.zip | |
docs: drop two stale files, correct the two the README links, cut sharp edges
README: "Known sharp edges" removed.
docs/GRAPH_VIEW.md pointed the graph's one backend call at
server/patch_server.py, a file the port deleted. It is
idatui/codemode_client.py now. This matters because GRAPH_VIEW.md is one of
only two docs the README links -- a wrong path in a linked doc is worse than
no doc.
docs/RPC.md was missing five verbs rpc.py serves: ping/methods/quit (now a
Session table) and trace/binaries/switch (with the semantic verbs). The trace
verb drives a whole feature the README advertises, so its absence was the real
gap. Every verb in rpc.py's METHODS table is now documented, checked
mechanically -- the remainder of what looked missing turned out to be values
of the "move" verb's dir parameter, not verbs.
Deleted:
- docs/CODEMODE_PORT.md. Written mid-port, and its Result section claims the
port covered "the complete current TUI feature set". It did not: the graph
view was dead, the operand-format keys were dead, pseudocode comments never
appeared, and bulk rename was broken. Keeping a doc that states the opposite
of what we found is worse than having none, and docs/CODEMODE_UPSTREAM.md
carries the accurate account of the API limits.
- docs/TUI_DRIVING_BLUEPRINT.md. A design sketch for generalizing the
drive-a-TUI-over-a-socket pattern to other programs, with gdb as the main
example -- which now exists for real in ~/dev/gdb-driver. Superseded by the
thing it proposed.
Nothing linked either file. Both remain in git history.
Diffstat (limited to 'docs/CODEMODE_PORT.md')
| -rw-r--r-- | docs/CODEMODE_PORT.md | 175 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 175 deletions
diff --git a/docs/CODEMODE_PORT.md b/docs/CODEMODE_PORT.md deleted file mode 100644 index 4b4bc45..0000000 --- a/docs/CODEMODE_PORT.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,175 +0,0 @@ -# ida-tui → IDA Code Mode port - -This port is an experiment: can ida-tui be implemented as an ordinary client of -`ida_codemode`, sharing GUI databases and managed idalib workers instead of -owning a private worker and depending on ida-pro-mcp tool functions? - -## Result - -Yes for the database lifecycle and the complete current TUI feature set, with a -small number of operations implemented using IDAPython inside Code Mode's -`execute_python` sandbox because ida-domain does not yet expose the required -behavior. - -The old components are gone: - -- `idatui/worker.py` (private pickle/socket idalib process) -- `idatui/worker_client.py` -- `server/patch_server.py` (ida-pro-mcp tool injection) - -The replacement is `idatui/codemode_client.py`. - -## Lifecycle mapping - -`CodeModeClient.connect()` calls `ida_codemode.client.DatabaseHandle.open()`. -Resolution is therefore Code Mode's resolution, not ida-tui's: - -1. Match a registered GUI by executable path. -2. Otherwise match the owner of the expected IDB. -3. Otherwise serialize creation and start a managed `ida-codemode-worker`. -4. Establish an authenticated SSE lease. -5. Wait through the public autoanalysis route. - -The handle's registry entry supplies the backend, PID, executable path, IDB path, -and record ID used by the status/pool layers. - -Closing ida-tui closes only its lease. It never closes a GUI or kills an idalib -process. A managed worker saves and exits under Code Mode's own policy after its -last lease disappears. A second agent or TUI can keep using the same instance. - -This also changes project pooling semantics. `DatabasePool` is an LRU pool of -leases, not process ownership. Managed-IDB save-on-evict remains; budget eviction -does not implicitly save a GUI. Eviction cannot force a shared worker to exit, -and GUI process memory is only advisory. - -## ida-domain coverage - -The remote snippets receive Code Mode's preloaded `db` (`ida_domain.Database`). -The following TUI needs map to public ida-domain entities: - -| TUI need | ida-domain surface | -|---|---| -| Function paging, lookup, names, sizes | `db.functions` | -| Segments and names | `db.segments` | -| Instructions and plain disassembly | `db.instructions`, `db.functions.get_instructions()` | -| Heads and item classification | `db.heads`, `db.bytes` | -| Bytes and strings | `db.bytes`, `db.strings` | -| Symbol resolution and rename | `db.names`, `db.functions` | -| Comments | `db.comments` | -| Imports and exports | `db.imports`, `db.entries` | -| Xrefs and fine type predicates | `db.xrefs` / `XrefInfo` | -| Named types, members, parse/apply | `db.types` | -| Function prototypes and local variables | `db.pseudocode`, `PseudocodeFunction.local_variables` | -| Decompilation text and object references | `db.pseudocode` | - -All values are reduced to JSON primitives inside the database process. No SWIG -or ida-domain object crosses the Code Mode boundary. - -## Remaining IDAPython gaps - -Code Mode intentionally allows regular Python imports, so these features still -work, but they identify useful additions to ida-domain: - -1. **Rich continuous listing** - - ida-domain enumerates defined heads and renders plain disassembly. - - ida-tui also needs coalesced undefined runs, IDA colour-tag spans, function - banners, code-label rows, file-region offsets, and expanded struct members. - - The `heads` operation uses `ida_bytes`, `ida_lines`, and related modules for - this presentation model. - -2. **Instruction/function carving** - - Creating an instruction and walking a speculative decode run requires - `ida_ua.create_insn` and processor flow/return checks. - - Function creation exists in ida-domain; the explicit-end fallback still - needs lower-level item boundaries. - -3. **ARM/Thumb state** - - T-register ranges and segment addressing use `ida_segregs`, `ida_idp`, and - `ida_segment`. There is no equivalent ida-domain operation. - -4. **Detailed decompiler diagnostics and line maps** - - Pseudocode text, ctree objects, and the address map are available through - ida-domain. - - Reproducing IDA's per-rendered-line coverage uses - `cfunc.get_line_item`; obtaining the exact Hex-Rays failure description - uses `hexrays_failure_t`. - -5. **A few type/item primitives** - - Deleting a named local type and some exact item-undefinition/data-creation - behavior still use `ida_typeinf`/`ida_bytes` directly. - -These uses are isolated in `idatui/codemode_client.py`; the paging and Textual -layers do not import IDAPython. - -## API limitations exposed by the port - -### No rollback or close-without-save - -A Code Mode lease has no rollback operation. Closing a GUI handle leaves the GUI -state as-is. A managed idalib worker currently saves when its final lease closes. -Consequently ida-tui's old “discard & quit” guarantee cannot be implemented. -The UI now labels this choice “leave as-is & quit” and does not explicitly save, -but managed-worker policy may still persist the changes. - -A true discard action would need a Code Mode/database API for transaction-like -rollback, a close policy on a newly-owned worker, or a TUI-managed disposable DB -copy. - -### Typed loader options only - -`DatabaseHandle.open()` supports processor, natural loading address, file type, -output database, and fresh-database selection. It does not support ida-tui's -arbitrary `ida_args` escape hatch. The adapter rejects unsupported switches -rather than silently loading at the wrong architecture/base. - -### No database-change notification stream - -The lease reports liveness, not mutations. If a GUI user or another Code Mode -client renames/retypes content while ida-tui is open, already-materialized TUI -caches are not invalidated automatically. TUI-originated edits invalidate their -own caches correctly. A database revision counter or change feed would make -shared interactive editing robust. - -### Discovery requires a path for ambiguity - -`ida-tui` with no path attaches automatically when exactly one database is -registered. With several registrations it lists them and requires an explicit -executable/IDB path. There is not yet a pre-connection database picker in the -Textual UI. - -### `DatabaseHandle` import stability - -The usable library primitive currently lives at -`ida_codemode.client.DatabaseHandle`; `ida_codemode.__init__` exports nothing. -The port therefore depends on a submodule path. Exporting the handle and public -client exceptions from the package root would make the supported library API -clearer. - -## Safety differences - -ida-tui no longer removes `.id0/.id1/.id2/.nam/.til` files before opening. That -was only defensible when the TUI exclusively owned a private process; it is -unsafe when a GUI or another client may own the database. Code Mode registry -locks, health probes, and IDA itself now arbitrate ownership. - -The old pane “reap private workers” behavior is obsolete. A TUI crash closes its -lease at the socket/kernel boundary; Code Mode decides whether a managed worker -still has clients and when it should stop. - -## Verification surfaces - -The non-IDA suite verifies project staging, LRU lease behavior, load-option -translation, and adapter response/error normalization. The existing live suites -remain the end-to-end contract: - -```sh -uv run python tests/test_codemode_client.py -uv run python tests/test_pool.py -uv run python tests/test_project.py -uv run python tests/test_scenarios.py /path/to/binary -``` - -For GUI reuse, open the same binary in an IDA with the Code Mode plugin, confirm -it appears in `ida_codemode.registry.discover_instances()`, then launch -`ida-tui /path/to/binary`. The TUI status/`CodeModeClient.backend` should report -`gui`, and closing the TUI must leave IDA open. |
