How to Set Up the Tool Index on Windows, Linux, and macOS in reverse-skill

Run the platform-specific refresh script to generate skills/tool-index.md, a machine-local catalog that records which reverse-engineering utilities are installed.

The zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill repository ships without a tool index, requiring you to initialize it immediately after cloning. This generated file acts as a routing layer that detects existing installations of IDA Pro, Ghidra, Burp Suite, and other utilities without requiring re-installation.

What Is the Tool Index?

The tool index (skills/tool-index.md) is a Markdown catalogue populated by platform-specific scripts located in skills/scripts/. It stores boolean availability flags (✓ for installed, ✗ for missing) that the routing logic uses to determine which capabilities are available on your machine. The repository provides a template at skills/tool-index.md.template that the refresh scripts copy and populate during first-run setup.

Prerequisites

Before generating the index, ensure you have:

• Windows: PowerShell 5.1 or later (no administrative elevation required)
• Linux/macOS: Bash 4.0+ with standard POSIX utilities
• Kali Linux: Bash environment (uses a specialized script path)

Navigate to the repository root in your terminal:

cd /path/to/reverse-skill

Platform-Specific Setup Instructions

Windows (PowerShell)

On Windows, the refresh script scans C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files (x86), and other common locations for tool executables.

Execute the PowerShell script from the repository root:

powershell -File skills/scripts/refresh-tool-index.ps1

For execution policy bypass in restricted environments, use:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File skills/scripts/refresh-tool-index.ps1

Linux and macOS (Bash)

The generic Unix script checks /usr/local/bin, /opt, and Homebrew prefixes on macOS.

Run the Bash implementation:

bash skills/scripts/refresh-tool-index.sh

Pipe the output to less for paginated review:

bash skills/scripts/refresh-tool-index.sh | less

Kali Linux (Specialized Script)

Kali distributions include a dedicated script that accounts for penetration-testing tool paths and Kali-specific package locations.

Execute the Kali-specific variant:

bash kali/scripts/refresh-tool-index.sh

What the Scripts Detect

Each refresh script performs discovery by scanning known installation directories and registry locations (Windows) or binary paths (Unix) for:

• IDA Pro and IDA Free
• Ghidra (including versioned directories)
• Burp Suite Community and Professional editions
• JEB Decompiler
• Binary Ninja
• GDB, LLDB, and Radare2

The scripts populate skills/tool-index.md with a status table where each tool receives a ✓ (detected) or ✗ (not found) marker.

Verifying Your Configuration

After execution, confirm the index was generated correctly by inspecting the status markers:

cat skills/tool-index.md | grep -E '✓|✗'

You should see output similar to:

- Tool: Ghidra                     ✓
- Tool: IDA Pro                    ✗
- Tool: Burp Suite                 ✓

If the file is missing, the scripts automatically create it from skills/tool-index.md.template before populating entries.

Maintaining the Index

Whenever you manually install a new reverse-engineering utility, re-run the same refresh command for your platform to update skills/tool-index.md. The scripts are idempotent—running them multiple times overwrites the previous index with current system state, ensuring the routing logic always reflects your actual installed toolset.

Summary

• The tool index (skills/tool-index.md) is required for reverse-skill routing but excluded from version control
• Windows users run skills/scripts/refresh-tool-index.ps1 via PowerShell
• Linux/macOS users run skills/scripts/refresh-tool-index.sh via Bash
• Kali Linux uses the specialized script at kali/scripts/refresh-tool-index.sh
• Re-execute your platform's script after installing new tools to keep the catalog synchronized

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't the repository include tool-index.md by default?

The file is machine-specific by design. Because installation paths differ between systems (e.g., C:\Program Files\IDA Pro vs /opt/idapro), maintaining a universal index is impossible. The skills/tool-index.md.template provides the structure, while the refresh scripts populate it with your local paths according to the source code in zhaoxuya520/reverse-skill.

Can I run the refresh script without installing new tools?

Yes. The scripts are read-only discovery tools that scan for existing installations. They do not download, install, or modify any software—they only update the Markdown catalog at skills/tool-index.md with detection results.

What if a tool is installed but marked with ✗?

Verify the tool is in your system PATH or installed in a standard location listed in the script source. For custom installation paths, you may need to manually edit skills/tool-index.md after generation, or re-install the tool to a directory the script scans, such as /usr/local/bin on Linux/macOS or C:\Program Files on Windows.

How often should I refresh the tool index?

Refresh immediately after cloning the repository, then again whenever you install, uninstall, or upgrade reverse-engineering utilities. The routing logic references this file to determine capability availability, so stale data may cause task routing to fail for newly installed tools.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}