Set up REA.

• Windows: open the Start menu, type PowerShell and press Enter.
• macOS: press ⌘ Space, type Terminal and press Enter.
• Linux: press Ctrl Alt T on most desktops.

Paste a command with Ctrl V (macOS: ⌘ V; Linux terminals: Ctrl Shift V), then press Enter.

Commands go in the terminal. Prompts labeled “Your coding agent” go in the agent's chat.

Open a terminal and check:

node -v
npm -v

If node -v prints v22.19+, v24.11+ or v26+, you're ready. If it prints an older version or "not recognized" / "command not found", install Node.js 24 LTS:

winget install --exact --id OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

npx.cmd rea-agents@latest setup

brew install node

curl -fsSL https://fnm.vercel.app/install | bash

fnm install 24
fnm use 24
fnm default 24

Prefer a regular installer? Download the LTS version from nodejs.org.

In your terminal, make a folder for the exercise, then move into it:

mkdir rea-work
cd rea-work

Keep this terminal open for the next step. If you already have a working folder, open it instead.

Install Codex using the command for your operating system:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.ps1 | iex"

curl -fsSL https://chatgpt.com/codex/install.sh | sh

After installation, reopen your terminal and return to the working folder. Then start Codex:

codex

Choose “Sign in with ChatGPT”, complete the browser sign-in, then return to the terminal. When the message box appears, continue to step 3.

Codex installation and sign-in

1. Install the editor for your operating system and sign in.
2. Open the rea-work folder you made in step 1.
3. Open its AI chat and choose Agent mode. In Windsurf or Devin Desktop, open the agent chat; in VS Code, set up GitHub Copilot first.

Cursor setup · Windsurf / Devin Desktop setup · VS Code and Copilot setup

Install using the command for your operating system:

irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

Reopen your terminal, return to your working folder and run claude. Follow the sign-in prompts. Access uses an eligible Claude subscription or a configured API account.

Claude Code installation and account options

Install Claude Desktop on Windows or macOS and sign in. Quit it completely, then run this command in a terminal you opened outside Claude:

npx rea-agents@latest setup --client claude_desktop

Review and approve the plan, reopen Claude, then check the connection in step 3.

Download Claude Desktop · Claude Desktop connection details

npm install --global opencode-ai

Run opencode in your working folder. Use /connect in its chat to connect your model account, then select a model.

OpenCode installation and model setup

The npm 6.4.0 release supports the clients below. Use the ID with --client when choosing a client explicitly.

Qoder (qoder), Factory Droid (droid), Trae (trae), ZCode (zcode) and DeepSeek Harness (dsh) are available on repository main; use a source build or a release containing those integrations.

Client configuration and troubleshooting · Release availability

npx -y rea-agents@6.4.0 mcp

npx rea-agents@latest setup

For one specific client, add its setup ID:

npx rea-agents@latest setup --client codex

If npm asks to download the package, type y and press Enter. In REA's client list, use the arrow keys to move, Space to select your client and Enter to continue.

Desktop apps (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code): quit the app completely, then open it again. Closing the window isn't enough. On macOS press ⌘ Q; on Windows, also quit from the tray icon if there is one.

Terminal agents (Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI): exit the session and start it again.

Download example ZIP

If your agent can’t download files, unzip this archive yourself. Give it the path to the notes-example folder and the same export question.

Use REA to inspect the app at /absolute/path/to/app. Find how it exports data and show the relevant files and lines.

Install one analysis tool on the computer running REA. The host is your operating system; the target is the program you want to inspect.

npx -y rea-agents@latest doctor --provider hopper --json

java -XshowSettings:properties -version
javac -version

$env:GHIDRA_INSTALL_DIR = "C:/tools/ghidra_12.1.4_PUBLIC"
$env:JAVA_HOME = "C:/tools/jdk-21"
npx -y rea-agents@latest doctor --provider ghidra --json
npx rea-agents@latest setup

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

npx -y rea-agents@latest doctor --provider ghidra --json
npx rea-agents@latest setup

{
  "command": "idalib-mcp",
  "args": ["--stdio", "--max-workers", "1"],
  "mode": "headless"
}

$env:REA_IDA_MCP_CONFIG = "C:/analysis/ida-mcp.json"
$env:REA_ANALYSIS_PROVIDER = "ida"
npx -y rea-agents@latest doctor --provider ida --json
npx rea-agents@latest setup

export REA_IDA_MCP_CONFIG="/absolute/path/to/ida-mcp.json"
export REA_ANALYSIS_PROVIDER="ida"
npx -y rea-agents@latest doctor --provider ida --json
npx rea-agents@latest setup

Once connected, give your agent the original executable's full path and name your provider:

Use REA with my configured provider to inspect /absolute/path/to/program. List its functions and strings, then explain the part that handles user input with references to the code.

Follow a native analysis example

Open the guide for the target you have. Each guide gives the additional tools, supported hosts and first command.

Flutter guide · Packages and resources · EVM bytecode · All investigation guides

Analyze a JavaScript or Electron application folder or ASAR archive without running the app:

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

Replace the path with your extracted app directory or .asar file. On Windows, a path such as "D:/apps/example" works here.

The result identifies the app, shows connections between modules and gives their source locations. Connections REA cannot resolve are marked in the result.

If you'd like a permanent rea command in your shell:

npm install --global rea-agents

Continue with the JavaScript application guide

npx -y rea-agents@latest function "/absolute/path/to/program" main --provider ghidra --json

Replace main with a function name or address from the target's function list. Ghidra must be configured first.

On macOS or Linux, you can also use the curl installer after preparing Node.js:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/morluto/rea/main/install.sh | bash

Follow the setup prompts to connect your agent. If they don't appear, run rea setup.

If your shell can't find rea, use the executable path printed by the installer. On Linux, the default setup command is "$HOME/.local/bin/rea" setup.

Restart or reconnect the client after setup. Check its REA connection with doctor; for Codex:

Use the client check in step 3 with your setup ID. In editor clients, enable REA in MCP settings and allow its tools in the agent chat.

Check the provider you're using. For Ghidra:

npx -y rea-agents@latest doctor --provider ghidra --json

The report gives the failed check and a suggested next step.

Use Windows PowerShell for Windows clients and analysis tools. If your agent runs inside WSL, install Node.js and REA inside that Linux environment and use Linux paths there. Headless providers run on the same host as REA.

In a terminal, put quotes around a path that contains spaces.

Windows setup command:

npx.cmd rea-agents@latest setup

To refresh your agent connection, run the latest setup command again, review its plan and restart your client.

npx rea-agents@latest setup

If you installed the global CLI, update it with rea update. Use npx rea-agents@latest uninstall to remove REA's client configuration and skill.

Update and uninstall details