_{MP4 · WebM · Poster
🇨🇳 中文版 | 🇺🇸 English}

dsh-rea

English | 简体中文 · Releases · Changelog

Unofficial. This repository is an independent DeepSeek Harness bundle. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the REA project. It contains no REA source code: at runtime it installs the official rea-agents package from npm and connects its MCP server to the Harness. See NOTICE.md.

A configuration-only DeepSeek Harness bundle that connects the REA reverse-engineering MCP server. Once installed, the agent can call REA tools as mcp__rea__<tool> — inspect native binaries, app bundles, JavaScript/Electron applications, managed assemblies, websites, packet captures, firmware images, and runtime behavior.

Origin and provenance

• Upstream project: REA — Reverse Engineer Anything by morluto, MIT-licensed. The npm package is rea-agents; documentation lives at rea.tools.
• This repository: https://github.com/sqhc/dsh-rea, maintained by sqhc. It is a packaging layer, not a fork.
• Relationship: unofficial integration. It turns the rea-mcp registration that REA's own rea setup --client dsh writes into an installable DSH bundle with locale metadata and an icon. No REA source code, binaries, or artwork are copied; the official package is fetched from npm at runtime.
• Packaging contract: DeepSeek Harness's dsh.bundle.patch format and the harness-shipped @deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client.

What this bundle actually does

The bundle inserts one row into the Harness plugin composition:

- insert:
    - id: rea-mcp
      name: '@deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client'
      config:
        serverName: rea
        transport: stdio
        command: npx
        args: ['-y', 'rea-agents@6.7.0', 'mcp']

@deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client is shipped with DSH. REA is not vendored, forked, or rebuilt here — the official npm package runs as a local stdio MCP server.

Requirements

• DeepSeek Harness with the shipped @deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client (verified with 0.2.1-rc.2).
• Node.js and npm on the Harness process PATH. REA officially supports Node.js 22.x (>=22.19), 24.x (>=24.11), or 26+. Node.js 20 can start the server but is outside REA's supported range.
• Network access on the first launch so npx can fetch rea-agents@6.7.0.
• macOS is what this bundle was verified on. Linux should work the same way. Windows is untested; native REA providers also have their own prerequisites.

Version compatibility

REA version	Bundle version	DSH version (verified)	Notes
rea-agents@6.7.0	0.1.0	0.2.1-rc.2	Baseline; 207 tools, compact input schema, output schema off
rea-agents@6.x.x	0.1.x	0.2.x	Patch versions only; pin exact REA version in cordis.patch.yml

Always read REA release notes before upgrading. Tool names and schemas are part of the model-facing contract.

Install

Clone this repository, then ask the Harness agent to install the bundle directory with plugin_manager (action: install_bundle). The agent needs the absolute path to the checkout. Installing changes the current DSH profile and survives restarts.

Before installing, you can run the preflight script:

node scripts/preflight.mjs

It checks the Node version and npm cache, performs an MCP initialize + tools/list handshake against rea-agents@6.7.0, and reports the tool count and catalog size. It also warms the npx cache, which makes the first Harness launch much faster.

First launch

The first launch may take a while because npx downloads REA. The bundle starts with failOnStartupError: false and automatic reconnect, so a slow first download does not disable the row; calls fail until the server is ready. Check the Harness log if no REA tools appear after a few minutes.

Verify

Ask the agent to call mcp__rea__binary_session with no arguments. It reports the current target/provider/server identity without starting analysis. A healthy result identifies the REA server version (6.7.0).

Tool catalog and context cost

REA advertises 207 tools. Rendering the complete catalog would cost several megabytes, so this bundle always sets:

• REA_MCP_INPUT_SCHEMA_PROFILE=compact — bounded input schemas; REA still validates calls against the full canonical contract.
• REA_MCP_OUTPUT_SCHEMA_PROFILE=off — output schemas are omitted from discovery; REA still validates structured results server-side.

Measured at REA 6.7.0: about 215–230 KiB of tool JSON (~55–57k tokens). With deepseek-flash's 1M-token context this is acceptable, but it is a real fixed cost on every request while the plugin is enabled. Disable the bundle when you are not doing reverse engineering.

If you prefer the full advertisement and your model route accepts it, change REA_MCP_INPUT_SCHEMA_PROFILE to full. Do not combine full input with output schemas unless you have measured the cost: the complete catalog is ~3.4 MB.

Configuration

Edit cordis.patch.yml in the checkout and reinstall/reload the bundle.

Key	Value	Why
serverName	rea	Tool prefix mcp__rea__
toolCallTimeoutMs	600000	Native analysis and provider startup can exceed the 60 s default
failOnStartupError	false	A slow first npx download should reconnect, not fail the row
NPM_CONFIG_CACHE	!!js → $DSH_HOME/cache/dsh-rea/npm	Avoid EPERM from a root-owned ~/.npm; override with DSH_REA_NPM_CACHE
REA_MCP_INPUT_SCHEMA_PROFILE	compact	Keep the advertised catalog bounded
REA_MCP_OUTPUT_SCHEMA_PROFILE	off	Remove multi-megabyte output schemas

Troubleshooting

npm error code EPERM / root-owned npm cache

The NPM_CONFIG_CACHE expression in the patch points npx at $DSH_HOME/cache/dsh-rea/npm (or <profile>/cache/dsh-rea/npm when the profile directory is available), falling back to ~/.dsh/cache/dsh-rea/npm. In the verified Desktop profile it resolved to ~/.dsh/cache/dsh-rea/npm. If you need a different directory, set DSH_REA_NPM_CACHE in the environment of the Harness process (requires a Harness restart), or replace the !!js expression with a literal path. We do not recommend sudo chown -R on your whole npm cache just for this plugin.

No mcp__rea__* tools

• Run node scripts/preflight.mjs; it isolates Node/npm/REA problems from DSH.
• Check that npx resolves to a Node version REA supports.
• Check that the rea-mcp row is active and not disabled.
• If the row failed to load, reload the bundle or restart the Harness.

Duplicate REA registration

Do not also run rea setup --client dsh for this profile. Both registrations would use serverName: rea; the MCP client rejects the duplicate and one tool set disappears. Pick one integration and remove the other.

Use a specific Node installation

The patch runs npx from PATH. To pin a Node 24 installation instead, replace the command with that Node binary and point args at the installed REA launcher (<npm root -g>/rea-agents/scripts/rea.mjs, then mcp). Restart the Harness after editing.

Optional: REA workflow skill

REA also publishes an agent skill. Its own setup can install it into ~/.agents/skills, which DSH discovers:

npx -y rea-agents@6.7.0 setup --skill --dry-run
npx -y rea-agents@6.7.0 setup --skill --yes

This is independent of the MCP connection provided by this bundle.

Upgrade REA

1. Read the REA release notes for MCP tool changes.
2. Change the pinned version in cordis.patch.yml (for example rea-agents@6.7.1).
3. Reinstall/reload the bundle and re-run node scripts/preflight.mjs.

Tool names and schemas are part of the model-facing contract; changing them invalidates prompt caches and may break saved sessions that reference old tool names.

Uninstall

Ask the Harness agent to remove the dsh-rea bundle with plugin_manager (action: remove_bundle), or disable it with set_bundle when you only want to pause it. Uninstalling the bundle does not remove npm's npx cache or the optional ~/.agents/skills copy; remove those separately if you want them gone.

Limitations

• MCP prompt templates are not supported by dsh-mcp-client; REA's six guided prompts are not exposed through this bundle. Tools work normally.
• dsh-mcp-client exposes tools only after discovery; a crashed npx child keeps the last tool set listed until reconnect exhausts its budget.
• REA native providers (Hopper, Ghidra, IDA, JADX, Frida, …) require their own installations. The bundle does not install or license them.
• Windows behavior is untested here.

Security and legal

REA analyzes local artifacts and can launch external helper programs. Only use it on software you are authorized to inspect, and review REA's own DISCLAIMER and SECURITY policies. This bundle adds no telemetry and stores no credentials.

REA is MIT-licensed by its authors. This repository's configuration, docs, and artwork are MIT-licensed as well; see LICENSE and NOTICE.md.