YaCo is an Hex-Rays IDA plugin. When enabled, multiple users can work simultaneously on the same binary. Any modification done by any user is synchronized through git version control.

IDA does not allow multiple users to work on the same binary. During large malware analysis, we had to use a team of reversers and manual synchronization is a tedious and error-prone process.

YaCo goals are:

• to support all IDA events (renaming, structure mapping, ...)
• to be fast (users do not want to wait when working)
• to prevent conflicts between user modifications
• to be easy to setup and easy to use

As IDA is a 32bits software, YaCo must be built for 32 bits architecture.

Install dependencies

sudo apt install cmake

Add i386 architecture and install dependencies

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update
sudo apt install binutils:i386
sudo apt install gcc:i386
sudo apt install g++:i386
sudo apt install python2.7-dev:i386

Set IDA_DIR environment variable

export IDA_DIR=/opt/ida6.8/

Clone, configure & build YaCo

~/YaCo (master) $ cd build
~/YaCo/build (master) $ ./configure.sh
~/YaCo/build (master) $ pushd ../out/x86_64_Release
~/YaCo/out/x86_64_Release (master) $ make -j4
~/YaCo/out/x86_64_Release (master) $ pushd $IDA_DIR/plugin
$IDA_DIR/plugin $ ~/YaCo/build/deploy.sh

CMake must be installed and in the PATH Only visual studio 2015 is currently supported

Configure and build YaCo

set IDA_DIR=/your/ida/directory
build> configure_2015.cmd
out/x86> cmake --build . --config RelWithDebInfo
out/x86> ctest . --output-on-failure -C RelWithDebInfo -j4

To create the YaCo environment:

1. open binary or idb file as usual
2. click on Edit menu, Plugins, YaCo
3. enter path to git remote (could be a file system path, or empty to use current dir)
4. a warning will inform you that IDA have to be re-launch with correct idb
5. IDA auto close
6. launch IDA for your FILE_local.idb file
7. save database
8. start working as usual

Warning, to use with multiple user, YaCo project must be in a bare git project.

Setup YaCo environment:

1. clone a YaCo project
2. open idb/i64 file with ida
3. click on Edit menu, Plugins, YaCo
4. a warning will inform you that IDA have to be re-launch with correct idb
5. IDA auto close
6. launch IDA for your FILE_local.idb file
7. save database
8. start working as usual

• Benoît Amiaux
• Frederic Grelot
• Jeremy Bouetard
• Martin Tourneboeuf
• Valerian Comiti