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https://github.com/decomp/decomp

Components of a decompilation pipeline.
https://github.com/decomp/decomp

binary-analysis compositional-decompilation decompilation decompilation-pipeline decompiler go golang llvm llvm-ir reverse-engineering

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Components of a decompilation pipeline.

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README 

        
# The decomp project



[![Build Status](https://travis-ci.org/decomp/decomp.svg?branch=master)](https://travis-ci.org/decomp/decomp)

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[![GoDoc](https://godoc.org/github.com/decomp/decomp?status.svg)](https://godoc.org/github.com/decomp/decomp)



The aim of this project is to implement a decompilation pipeline composed of independent components interacting through well-defined interfaces, as further described in the [design documents](https://github.com/decomp/doc) of the project.



## Installation



```bash

git clone https://github.com/decomp/decomp

cd decomp

go install -v ./...

```



## Usage



See example usage at [examples/demo](examples/demo), and [this comment](https://github.com/decomp/decomp/issues/218#issuecomment-548506064) for further details.



## Decompilation pipeline



From a high-level perspective, the components of the decompilation pipeline are conceptually grouped into three modules. Firstly, the [front-end](#front-end) translates a source language (e.g. x86 assembly) into [LLVM IR](http://llvm.org/docs/LangRef.html); a platform-independent low-level intermediate representation. Secondly, the [middle-end](#middle-end) structures the LLVM IR by identifying high-level control flow primitives (e.g. pre-test loops, 2-way conditionals). Lastly, the [back-end](#back-end) translates the structured LLVM IR into a high-level target programming language (e.g. [Go](https://golang.org/)).



The following poster summarizes the current capabilities of the decompilation pipeline, using a composition of independent components to translate LLVM IR to Go.



[![Poster: Compositional Decompilation](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/decomp/doc/master/poster/poster.png)](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/decomp/doc/master/poster/poster.pdf)



### Front-end



Translate machine code (e.g. x86 assembly) to LLVM IR.



[Third-party front-end components](front-end.md).



### Middle-end



Perform control flow analysis on the LLVM IR to identify high-level control flow primitives (e.g. pre-test loops).



#### ll2dot



https://godoc.org/github.com/decomp/decomp/cmd/ll2dot



Control flow graph generation tool.



> Generate control flow graphs from LLVM IR assembly (*.ll -> *.dot).



#### restructure



https://godoc.org/github.com/decomp/decomp/cmd/restructure



Control flow recovery tool.



> Recover control flow primitives from control flow graphs (*.dot -> *.json).



### Back-end



Translate structured LLVM IR to a high-level target language (e.g. Go).



#### ll2go



https://godoc.org/github.com/decomp/decomp/cmd/ll2go



Go code generation tool.



> Decompile LLVM IR assembly to Go source code (*.ll -> *.go).



#### go-post



https://godoc.org/github.com/decomp/decomp/cmd/go-post



Go post-processing tool.



> Post-process Go source code to make it more idiomatic (*.go -> *.go).



## Release history



### Version 0.2 (2018-01-30)



Primary focus of version 0.2: *project-wide compilation speed*.



*Developing decompilation components should be fun.*



There seem to be an inverse correlation between depending on a huge C++ library and having fun developing decompilation components.



Version 0.2 of the decompilation pipeline strives to resolve this issue by leveraging an [LLVM IR library](https://github.com/llir/llvm) written in pure Go. Prior to this release, project-wide compilation could take several hours to complete. Now, they complete in less than 1 minute -- the established *hard limit* for all future releases.



### Version 0.1 (2015-04-21)



Initial release.



Primary focus of version 0.1: *compositional decompilation*.



*Decompilers should be composable and open source.*



A decompilation pipeline should be composed of individual components, each with a single purpose and well-defined input and output.



Version 0.1 of the decomp project explores the feasibility of composing a decompilation pipeline from independent components, and the potential of exposing those components to the end-user.



For further background, refer to the [Compositional Decompilation using LLVM IR](https://github.com/decomp/doc/raw/master/report/compositional_decompilation/compositional_decompilation.pdf) design document.



## Roadmap



### Version 0.3 (to be released)



Primary focus of version 0.3: *type-aware binary lifting*.



*Decompilers rely on high-quality binary lifting.*



The quality of the output IR of the binary lifting front-end fundamentally determines the quality of the output of the entire decompilation pipeline.



Version 0.3 aims to improve the quality of the output LLVM IR by implementing a type-aware binary lifting front-end.



### Version 0.4 (to be released)



Primary focus of version 0.4: *control flow analysis*.



*Decompilers should recover high-level control flow primitives.*



One of the primary differences between low-level assembly and high-level source code is the use of high-level control flow primitives; e.g. 1-way, 2-way and n-way conditionals (`if`, `if-else` and `switch`), pre- and post-test loops (`while` and `do-while`).



Version 0.4 seeks to recover high-level control flow primitives using robust control flow analysis algorithms.



### Version 0.5 (to be released)



Primary focus of version 0.5: *fault tolerance*.



*Decompilers should be robust.*



Decompilation components should respond well to unexpected states and incomplete analysis.



Version 0.5 focuses on stability, and seeks to stress test the decompilation pipeline using semi-real world software (see the [challenge issue series](https://github.com/decomp/decomp/labels/challenge)).



### Version 0.6 (to be released)



Primary focus of version 0.6: *data flow analysis*.



### Version 0.7 (to be released)



Primary focus of version 0.7: *type analysis*.