2 min read
3

Ghidra - Need is the mother of invention

Ghidra is a software reverse engineering (SRE) framework created and maintained by the National Security Agency Research Directorate.

What Ghidra actually is?

Ghidra is a software reverse engineering (SRE) framework created and maintained by the National Security Agency Research Directorate. I had been using for a few years now. My main computer currently is Apple Macbook Pro 16 from 2021. So far macOS installation requires to install JDK, unpack Ghidra package and run it by calling java file or executable shortcut from catalog. With such solution macOS features like Spotlight are not working, for me work experience with tools is pretty important, just because why not.

My motivation?

As everyone knows, need is the mother of invention. So I decided to make my usage of Ghidra even better. I found many tutorials, even wrappers for Ghidra to make native-like macOS app with Ghidra, but non of them was user-friendly, as you need to build it yourself.

But, what about results?

Finally I managed to create Ghidra App — current version is 10.1.5 combined with JDK 18 and provided it as public GitHub Repository for others. The main change is that, you no longer need to install all packages separately, but you just need to download .dmg file and install it like any other macOS application. With that solution you can easy search for it via Spotlight, pin it to the Dock, and use like any other app.

Just a few ending words.

If you will find any bug, problem etc. feel free to make an issue on github and I will do my best to fix that.