ghidra
Ghidra is a software reverse engineering (SRE) framework
Runssource: GitHubJavaApache-2.0commit 04c4a202939a
Java, Apache-2.0 licensed. The project labels itself: disassembler, reverse engineering and software analysis.
ghidra runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 34 minutes and hit 3 errors and fixed every one without help on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
The full Ghidra 12.3 DEV build completed successfully, all 906 tests from DB and Generic modules passed with zero failures, and the headless analyzer imported and analyzed a real ELF binary producing 'Import succeeded'.
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 100 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
What went wrong, in the agent's own words
The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.
- No JDK found in environment2 minutes
- Build failed: invalid source release 25 when using JDK 212 minutes
- ghidraRun scripts had no execute permission after zip extraction
- Install time
- 34 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 37 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 3 hit, 3 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- gradlew :DB:test exited 0 (320 tests, 0 failures); gradlew :Generic:test exited 0 (586 tests, 0 failures); ./support/analyzeHeadless imported /tmp/test_binary (ELF x86-64) with exit 0 and 'Import succeeded'
- Model tokens used
- 253,305
- Exact commit tested
- 04c4a202939a
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
Watch the session
The whole run, from a clean machine, at the speed it actually happened. Nothing is cut and nothing is sped up.
A recording of attempt 1, run . The verdict above comes from a different attempt, so read this as one session and not as the current result. The terminal recording it was made from is the evidence, stored with a sha256 fingerprint; the video is a rendering of it. Nothing loads from the video host until you press play.
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
- **Error 1**: `java: not found` / `javac: not found` — initial environment had no JDK. **Fix**: do… - **Error 2**: `invalid source release: 25` with JDK 21 — the build requires JDK 25 as source level… - **Error 3**: `./ghidraRun: Permission denied` — scripts lacked execute bits after extraction. **F… - **Time tracking**: setup started around 19:16 UTC. Build finished at 19:32 (16 min). Tests finish… tokens used 253,305 Now I have all the data I need. Let me produce the final report. **Error tracking:** - **Error 1**: `java: not found` / `javac: not found` — initial environment had no JDK. **Fix**: do… - **Error 2**: `invalid source release: 25` with JDK 21 — the build requires JDK 25 as source level… - **Error 3**: `./ghidraRun: Permission denied` — scripts lacked execute bits after extraction. **F… - **Time tracking**: setup started around 19:16 UTC. Build finished at 19:32 (16 min). Tests finish…
Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Installed in 34 minutes.
- Recovered from all 3 errors without a human stepping in, which says the failures are documented well enough to solve.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Licensed Apache-2.0, as reported by its host.
- Measured 3 times, so the result is not a one-off.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
Run history
Topics (from GitHub)
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/ghidra)Questions
- Does ghidra run?
- Yes. ghidra runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 34 minutes, hitting 3 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test ghidra?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit 04c4a202939a. 3 attempts are recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test ghidra?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.10: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does ghidra take to install?
- 34 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does ghidra need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing ghidra?
- 3 things broke in the recorded run, and 3 were fixed without human help. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
- Where is the evidence for ghidra?
- All 3 recorded runs are on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.