azw413

azw413 / Glass

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Glass - a fast and free IDA Pro alternative

80
5
89% credibility
Found May 21, 2026 at 80 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
Rust
AI Summary

Glass is a fast, free, open-source interactive disassembler designed specifically for analyzing mobile apps (Android APKs and iOS IPAs). It provides a smooth GPU-accelerated interface where you can explore native ARM64 code, DEX bytecode, search for symbols and strings, view control flow graphs, annotate your findings, and export patched binaries. The tool is aimed at security researchers, malware analysts, and developers who need to understand how mobile applications work under the hood.

How It Works

1
🔍 You need to analyze a mobile app

You've got an APK or IPA file and need to understand how it works, find a bug, or audit its security.

2
📦 You install Glass

You download Glass and install it on your computer. It works on Mac and Linux, and everything is free and open source.

3
📂 You open your app file

You drag your APK or IPA into Glass. It automatically figures out what kind of file it is and starts reading it.

4
✨ The code comes alive

Within seconds, you see your app's native code rendered in smooth, colorful graphics at 120 frames per second. Control flow arrows connect functions, and string references appear inline.

5
You explore your way
🔤
Explore native code

You browse symbols, view control flow graphs, and trace how functions call each other.

☕
Explore DEX classes

You navigate Java/Kotlin classes, read smali code, and find which methods call which other methods.

6
🔎 You search and find

You search for symbols, strings, or even write assembly patterns to find exactly what you need. Cross-references show you who calls what.

7
🎨 You mark it up

You add comments, rename functions, and color-code important spots so you can find them again easily later.

🎉 You get your answers

You export your annotated analysis, script automated checks via the command line, or even connect an AI assistant to help with reversing tasks.

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AI-Generated Review

What is Glass?

Glass is a native, GPU-accelerated interactive disassembler built in Rust, positioned as a free alternative to IDA Pro for mobile security work. It handles Android APKs, DEX files, and native libraries alongside iOS IPAs and Mach-O binaries. The UI renders at 120fps using a modern GPU-accelerated framework, and analysis completes in seconds rather than the minutes IDA requires. Everything available in the GUI is also exposed as CLI commands that emit structured JSON, making it scriptable for automation pipelines.

Why is it gaining traction?

The speed difference is the headline. Where IDA Pro can take several minutes to analyze a large binary, Glass finishes in one to two seconds. Beyond raw performance, the project bridges static and dynamic analysis through built-in Frida integration for runtime tracing and patching. The MCP (Model Context Protocol) server lets AI assistants like Claude directly query disassembled code, which is a novel workflow for automated reverse engineering. Three complementary search engines cover symbols, raw bytes with wildcards, and typed assembly patterns that compile to masks.

Who should use this?

Mobile security researchers and reverse engineers who primarily work with Android and iOS applications will benefit most. Security analysts running automated analysis pipelines will appreciate the headless CLI that outputs JSON for jq workflows and CI systems. Teams evaluating whether to replace expensive commercial tools will find the feature set covers 80% of daily reversing tasks, though 32-bit ARM and x86 support remain on the roadmap.

Verdict

Glass shows strong technical foundations and a clear vision, but with 80 stars and a credibility score of 0.8999999761581421%, it remains early-stage software. The documentation is solid and the feature set is impressive for the maturity level, but production use warrants caution. Worth evaluating now if your workflow is CLI-driven; wait for more community validation before depending on it for critical reverse engineering tasks.

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