Ghidra Headless Analysis

Perform automated reverse engineering using Ghidra's

analyzeHeadless

When to Use

• Decompiling a binary to C pseudocode for review
• Extracting function signatures, strings, or symbols from executables
• Analyzing call graphs to understand binary control flow
• Triaging unknown binaries or firmware images
• Batch-analyzing multiple binaries for comparison
• Security auditing compiled code without source access

When NOT to Use

• Source code is available — read it directly instead
• Interactive debugging is needed — use GDB, LLDB, or Ghidra GUI
• The binary is a .NET assembly — use dnSpy or ILSpy
• The binary is Java bytecode — use jadx or cfr
• Dynamic analysis is required — use a debugger or sandbox

Quick Reference

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./output binary

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportDecompiled.java -o ./output binary

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportFunctions.java -o ./output binary

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportStrings.java -o ./output binary

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportCalls.java -o ./output binary

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportSymbols.java -o ./output binary

{baseDir}/scripts/find-ghidra.sh

Prerequisites

• Ghidra must be installed. On macOS:

  brew install --cask ghidra

• Java (OpenJDK 17+) must be available

The skill automatically locates Ghidra in common installation paths. Set

GHIDRA_HOME

Main Wrapper Script

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh [options] <binary>

Wrapper that handles project creation/cleanup and provides a simpler interface to

analyzeHeadless

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

Runs summary, decompilation, function list, strings, and interesting-pattern exports. Does not include call graph or symbols — run ExportCalls.java and ExportSymbols.java separately if needed. 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 (plain text; use ExportStrings.java for JSON)

• {name}_interesting.txt

  — Functions matching security-relevant patterns

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./analysis firmware.bin

ExportDecompiled.java

Decompile all functions to C pseudocode.

Output:

{name}_decompiled.c

ExportFunctions.java

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

Output:

{name}_functions.json

ExportStrings.java

Extract all strings (ASCII, Unicode) with addresses.

Output:

{name}_strings.json

ExportCalls.java

Export function call graph showing caller/callee relationships. Includes full call graph, potential entry points, and most frequently called functions.

Output:

{name}_calls.json

ExportSymbols.java

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

Output:

{name}_symbols.json

Common Workflows

Analyze an Unknown Binary

mkdir -p ./analysis
{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -s ExportAll.java -o ./analysis unknown_binary
cat ./analysis/unknown_binary_summary.txt
cat ./analysis/unknown_binary_interesting.txt

Analyze Firmware

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh \
    -p "ARM:LE:32:v7" \
    -s ExportAll.java \
    -o ./firmware_analysis \
    firmware.bin

Quick Function Listing

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --no-analysis -s ExportFunctions.java -o . program
cat program_functions.json | jq '.functions[] | "\(.address): \(.name)"'

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

Architecture/Processor IDs

Common processor IDs for the

-p

x86:LE:32:default

x86:LE:64:default

ARM:LE:32:v7

AARCH64:LE:64:v8A

MIPS:BE:32:default

MIPS:LE:32:default

PowerPC:BE:32:default

Troubleshooting

Ghidra Not Found

{baseDir}/scripts/find-ghidra.sh
# Or set GHIDRA_HOME if in non-standard location
export GHIDRA_HOME=/path/to/ghidra_11.x_PUBLIC

Analysis Takes Too Long

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --timeout 300 -s ExportAll.java binary
# Or skip analysis for quick export
{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh --no-analysis -s ExportSymbols.java binary

Out of Memory

Set before running:

export MAXMEM=4G

Wrong Architecture Detected

Explicitly specify the processor:

{baseDir}/scripts/ghidra-analyze.sh -p "ARM:LE:32:v7" -s ExportAll.java firmware.bin

Tips

1. Start with ExportAll.java — gives everything; the summary helps orient
2. Check interesting.txt — highlights security-relevant functions automatically
3. Use jq for JSON parsing — JSON exports are designed to be machine-readable
4. Decompilation isn't perfect — use as a guide, cross-reference with disassembly
5. Large binaries take time — use

   --timeout

   and consider

   --no-analysis

   for quick scans