reverse-engineering

1# Reverse engineering for mods
2 
3Rule zero: **read the real thing, don't guess.** Decompiled code, the actual data, a live memory view or a
4GPU capture is the spec. Write what you learn into `MODLOG.md` (names, IDs, offsets, formats) as you go.
5 
6Keep all decompiled output and extracted assets **outside** the mod repo (e.g. `~/<game>-decomp/`) and never
7publish them. Single-player, offline or servers the user runs. Never attach debuggers or scanners to games
8with anti-cheat (see `skills/mod-any-game/references/safety.md`).
9 
10## Pick the tool by what the code is (`um scan` tells you)
11 
12If [REA](https://github.com/morluto/rea) (Reverse Engineer Anything, `npx rea-agents setup`) is connected as an MCP
13server, start there: one server covers native binaries (through an existing Ghidra, IDA or Hopper install), .NET
14assemblies and JavaScript/Electron apps, and its answers come with the evidence behind them. The tools below are
15the fallback, and the way to go deeper.
16 
17**Managed .NET** (XNA/FNA, Unity Mono, most indie C#)
18- `dotnet tool install -g ilspycmd`, then `ilspycmd -p -o ~/<game>-decomp <Game>.exe` (or
19  `Assembly-CSharp.dll`). This gives a full C# project you can grep.
20- dnSpyEx: step through with a debugger, set breakpoints, edit methods.
21- MCP: ILSpy-MCP / dnspy-mcp let an agent query types and methods directly.
22 
23**Unity IL2CPP**
24- Cpp2IL (or Il2CppDumper) on `GameAssembly.dll` + `global-metadata.dat` gives types, fields, method
25…