Ecosyste.ms: Awesome

An open API service indexing awesome lists of open source software.

Awesome Lists | Featured Topics | Projects

https://github.com/aarant/luvdis

Pure-Python Game Boy Advance Disassembler
https://github.com/aarant/luvdis

disassembler gba gba-development python3

Last synced: about 3 hours ago
JSON representation

Pure-Python Game Boy Advance Disassembler

Awesome Lists containing this project

README

        

# Luvdis
[![PyPI - Python Version](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/luvdis?logo=python&style=for-the-badge)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
[![PyPI](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/luvdis?logo=pypi&logoColor=yellow&style=for-the-badge)](https://pypi.org/project/Luvdis/)
[![GitHub](https://img.shields.io/github/license/arantonitis/luvdis?style=for-the-badge)](https://github.com/arantonitis/luvdis/blob/master/LICENSE)
![GitHub Workflow Status](https://img.shields.io/github/workflow/status/arantonitis/luvdis/test-build-publish?style=for-the-badge)

A smart Pure-Python GBA (Game Boy Advance) disassembler.

Luvdis is a tool for disassembling GBA ROMs, mostly for the purpose of creating buildable, matching disassemblies.

Features include:
* **Configurable output**: Disassemble to `stdout`, a single file, or separate output into modules based on configuration.
* **Platform accuracy**: Other disassembly engines like Capstone recognize instructions that are not legal in ARMv4 on the GBA's processor. Luvdis' custom decoder & disassembler solves this problem by attempting to replicate hardware behavior as closely as possible and only supporting ARMv4.
* **Function discovery**: Detect likely THUMB functions and differentiate between code and data.
* **Matching output**: Even if something goes wrong and a label overlaps with data, etc, Luvdis' disassembled output should assemble identically to the original ROM.
* **ROM detection**: Unsure if you have a good copy of a ROM? Luvdis can let you know with `luvdis info`!

### Contents

- [Installation](#installation)
- [From PyPI](#from-pypi)
- [From Releases](#from-releases)
- [From latest source](#from-latest-source)
- [Usage](#usage)
- [FAQ](#faq)
- [Options](#options)
- [ROM detection](#rom-detection)

## Installation

### From PyPI
Luvdis requires Python 3.6 or later.

```sh
$ python3 -m pip install luvdis --user
```

### From Releases
Arbitrary stable [releases](https://github.com/arantonitis/luvdis/releases/latest) can be downloaded from GitHub and installed:
```sh
$ python3 -m pip install --user
```

For Windows users, [prebuilt binaries](https://github.com/arantonitis/luvdis/releases/latest) are also available.

### From latest source
```sh
$ python3 -m pip install git+git://https://github.com/arantonitis/luvdis#egg=luvdis
```

## Usage
The simplest way to use Luvdis is to simply give it a ROM and output file:
```sh
$ luvdis -o rom.s
```

To assist in function discovery/labeling, a list of functions can be provided:
```sh
$ luvdis -c functions.cfg rom.gba -o rom.s
```

This list should have the following structure:
```
# '#' starts a comment line.
# Function names are not mandatory; unknown funcs are named sub_

when output.
arm_func 0x80000D0
thumb_func 0x800024C AgbMain
# If 'thumb_func' or 'arm_func' is omitted, the type is assumed to be 'thumb_func'.
# A module path may also be provided. Each time a new module is encountered, output switches to that path.
# Omitting the module will continue outputting to the same path.
0x80003b0 main.s CallCallbacks
```

To disassemble only part of a ROM, say, up to the start of read-only data, provide start and stop addresses:
```sh
$ luvdis rom.gba --start 0x0800024C --stop 0x0x81b32b4 -o rom.s
```

### FAQ

#### How can I get rid of large blocks of raw bytes in the disassembly?

By default, Luvdis treats areas of a ROM that it can't determine are executable as byte data. You can change this behavior
with the `default_mode` option:

```sh
$ luvdis rom.gba --default_mode THUMB -o rom.s
```

### Options

```
Usage: luvdis disasm [OPTIONS] ROM

Analyze and disassemble a GBA ROM.

Options:
--version Show the version and exit.
-o, --output FILE Disassembly output path. If configuration
contains module information, this is only the
initial output path.
-c, --config FILE Function configuration file.

-co, --config-out FILE Output configuration. If any functions are
'guessed' by Luvdis, they will appear here.
-D, --debug Turn on/off debugging behavior.
--start INTEGER Starting address to disassemble. Defaults to
0x8000000 (the start of the ROM).
--stop INTEGER Stop disassembly at this address. Defaults to
0x9FFFFFF (maximum ROM address).
--macros FILE Assembler macro file to '.include' in
disassembly. If not specified, default macros
are embedded.
--guess / --no-guess Turn on/off function guessing & discovery.
Default is to perform guessing.
--min-calls INTEGER RANGE Minimum number of calls to a function required
in order to 'guess' it. Must be at least 1,
defaults to 2.
--min-length INTEGER RANGE Minimum valid instruction length required in
order to 'guess' a function. Must be at least 1,
defaults to 3.
--default-mode [THUMB|BYTE|WORD]
Default disassembly mode when the nature of
an address is unknown. Defaults to 'BYTE'.
--help Show this message and exit.
```

### ROM Detection
To display information about a ROM and check if its hash is in the database:
```
$ luvdis info unknown_rom.gba
ROM detected: 'Pocket Monsters - Ruby (Japan)' ✔
```