GhidraDocs/InstallationGuide.html

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<h1>Ghidra Installation Guide</h1>
<p>
The installation information provided is effective as of Ghidra 11.2 and is subject to change with
future releases.
</p>

<ul>
  <li><a href="#Platforms">Platforms Supported</a></li>
  <li><a href="#Requirements">Minimum Requirements</a></li>
  <li><a href="#Install">Installing Ghidra</a></li>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#InstallationNotes">Installation Notes</a></li>
    <li><a href="#JavaNotes">Java Notes</a></li>
  </ul>
  <li><a href="#Layout">Ghidra Installation Directory Layout</a></li>
  <li><a href="#Build">Building Native Components</a></li>
  <li><a href="#DebuggerPython">Installing the Debuggers' Python Dependencies</a></li>
  <li><a href="#Run">Running Ghidra</a></li>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#RunGUI">GUI Mode</a></li>
    <li><a href="#RunServer">Ghidra Server</a></li>
    <li><a href="#RunHeadless">Headless (Batch) Mode</a></li>
    <li><a href="#RunJar">Single Jar Mode</a></li>
  </ul>
  <li><a href="#Extensions">Extensions</a></li>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#GhidraExtensionNotes">Ghidra Extension Notes</a></li>
  </ul>
  <li><a href="#Development">Ghidra Development</a></li>
  <li><a href="#Upgrading">Upgrade Instructions</a></li>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#GeneralUpgrade">General Upgrade Instructions</a></li>
    <li><a href="#ServerUpgrade">Server Upgrade Instructions</a></li>
  </ul>
  <li><a href="#Troubleshooting">Troubleshooting & Help</a></li>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#LaunchIssues">Launching Ghidra</a></li>
    <li><a href="#GhidraHelp">Using Ghidra</a></li>
  </ul>
  <li><a href="#KnownIssues">Known Issues</a></li>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="#CommonIssues">All Platforms</a></li>
    <li><a href="#WindowsIssues">Windows</a></li>
    <li><a href="#LinuxIssues">Linux</a></li>
    <li><a href="#MacOSIssues">macOS (OS X)</a></li>
  </ul>
</ul>


<h2><a name="Platforms"></a>Platforms Supported</h2>
<ul>
  <li>Windows 10 or later (64-bit)</li>
  <li>Linux (64-bit)</li>
  <li>macOS 10.13 or later</li>
</ul>
<blockquote><p><b>NOTE: </b>All 32-bit OS installations are now deprecated. Please contact the
Ghidra team if you have a specific need.</p></blockquote>

<h2><a name="Requirements"></a>Minimum Requirements</h2>
<h3>Hardware</h3>
<ul>
  <li>4 GB RAM</li>
  <li>1 GB storage (for installed Ghidra binaries)</li>
  <li>Dual monitors strongly suggested</li>
</ul>
<h3>Software</h3>
<ul>
  <li>Java 21 64-bit Runtime and Development Kit (JDK) (see <a href="#JavaNotes">Java Notes</a>)</li>
  <ul>
    <li>Free long term support (LTS) versions of JDK 21 are provided by:</li>
    <ul>
      <li>
        <a href="https://adoptium.net/temurin/releases">
        Adoptium Temurin</a>
      </li>
      <li>
        <a href="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/corretto/latest/corretto-21-ug/downloads-list.html">
        Amazon Corretto</a>
      </li>
    </ul>
  </ul>
  <li>Python3 (3.9 to 3.12; for Debugger support)</li>
  <ul>
    <li>This is available from <a href="https://python.org">Python.org</a> or most operating system's
     app stores or software repositories.  For Linux it is recommended that the system's package
     repository be used to install a suitable version of Python.</li>
  </ul> 
</ul>
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h3>

<h2><a name="Install"></a>Installing Ghidra</h2>
<p>To install Ghidra, simply extract the Ghidra distribution file to the desired filesystem
destination using any unzip program (built-in OS utilities, 7-Zip, WinZip, WinRAR, etc)</p>

<h3><a name="InstallationNotes"></a>Installation Notes</h3>
<ul>
  <li>
    Ghidra does not use a traditional installer program.  Instead, the Ghidra distribution file is
    simply extracted in-place on the filesystem.  This approach has advantages and disadvantages.
    On the up side, administrative privilege is not required to install Ghidra for personal use.
    Also, because installing Ghidra does not update any OS configurations such as the registry on
    Windows, removing Ghidra is as simple as deleting the Ghidra installation directory.  On the
    down side, Ghidra will not automatically create a shortcut on the desktop or appear in
    application start menus.
  </li>
  <li>
    When launching Ghidra for the first time on macOS, the macOS Gatekeeper feature may attempt
    to quarantine the pre-built unsigned Ghidra native components. Two techniques can be used to 
    prevent this from happening:
    <ul>
      <li>
        Prior to extracting the Ghidra distribution file, running 
        <i>xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ghidra_&lt;version&gt;_&lt;date&gt;.zip</i>
        from a terminal.
      </li>
      <li>
        Prior to first launch, following the instructions in the 
        <a href="#Build">Building Native Components</a> section.
      </li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>
    Administrative privilege may be required to extract Ghidra to certain filesystem destinations
    (such as C:\), as well as install the Ghidra Server as a service.
  </li>
  <li>
    Ghidra relies on using directories outside of its installation directory to manage both
    temporary and longer-living cache files.  Ghidra attempts to use standard OS directories that
    are designed for these purposes in order to avoid several issues, such as storing large amounts
    of data to a roaming profile.  If it is suspected that the default location of these directories
    is causing a problem, they can be changed by modifying the relevant properties in the
    <i>support/launch.properties</i> file.
  </li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="JavaNotes"></a>Java Notes</h3>
<ul>
  <li>
    Ghidra requires a <a href="#Requirements">supported</a> version of a Java Runtime and 
    Development Kit on the PATH to run.  However, if there is a version of Java on the PATH that 
    Ghidra does not support, it will use that version of Java (if 1.8 or later) to assist in 
    locating a supported version on your system.  If one cannot be automatically located, the user 
    will be prompted to enter a path to the Java home directory to use (the Java home directory is 
    the parent directory of Java's <i>bin</i> directory).  This minimizes the impact Ghidra has on 
    pre-existing configurations of Java that other software may rely on.
  </li>
  <li>
    Depending on your operating system, it may be possible to find and install a 
    <a href="#Requirements">supported</a> version of a Java Runtime and Development Kit through 
    your package manager, without the need to set the Path environment variables as described 
    below.
  </li>
  <li>
    If Ghidra failed to run because <i>no versions</i> of Java were on the PATH, a 
    <a href="#Requirements">supported</a> JDK should be installed via a Linux package manager 
    (aptitude, yum, etc), Windows installer program (*.exe, *.msi), macOS Installer package 
    (*.pkg), or manually extracted and added to the PATH.  The following steps outline how to 
    manually extract and add a JDK distribution to the operating system's PATH.
    <ul>
      <li>
        <p><b>Windows: </b>Extract the JDK distribution (.zip file) to your desired location 
        and add the JDK's bin directory to your PATH:</p>
        <ol>
          <li>
            <p>Extract the JDK:</p>
            <ol>
              <li>Right-click on the zip file and click <b>Extract All...</b></li>
              <li>Click <b>Extract</b></li>
            </ol>
          </li>
          <li>
            <p>Open Environment Variables window:</p>
            <ol>
              <li>Right-click on Windows start button, and click <b>System</b></li>
              <li>Click <b>Advanced system settings</b></li>
              <li>Click <b>Environment variables...</b></li>
            </ol>
          </li>
          <li>
            <p>Add the JDK bin directory to the PATH variable:</p>
            <ol>
              <li>Under <b>System variables</b>, highlight <i>Path</i> and click <b>Edit...</b></li>
              <li>
                At the end of the the <i>Variable value</i> field, add a semicolon followed by 
                <i>&lt;path of extracted JDK dir&gt;\bin</i>, or use the <b>New</b> button in the
                <i>Edit environment variable</i> window to add a new entry to the <i>Path</i>.
              </li>
              <li>Click <b>OK</b></li>
              <li>Click <b>OK</b></li>
              <li>Click <b>OK</b></li>
            </ol>          
          </li>
          <li>
            Restart any open Command Prompt windows for changes to take effect
          </li>
        </ol>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p><b>Linux and macOS (OS X): </b>Extract the JDK distribution (.tar.gz file) to your 
        desired location, and add the JDK's bin directory to your PATH:</p>
        <ol>
          <li>
            Extract the JDK:
            <blockquote><i>tar xvf &lt;JDK distribution .tar.gz&gt;</i></blockquote>
          </li>
          <li>
            Open ~/.bashrc with an editor of your choice. For example:
            <blockquote><i>vi ~/.bashrc</i></blockquote>
          </li>
          <li>
            At the very end of the file, add the JDK bin directory to the PATH variable:
            <blockquote><i>export PATH=&lt;path of extracted JDK dir&gt;/bin:$PATH</i></blockquote>
          </li>
          <li>
            Save file
          </li>
          <li>
            Restart any open terminal windows for changes to take effect
          </li>
        </ol>
      </li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>
    In some cases, you may want Ghidra to launch with a specific version of Java instead of the
    version that Ghidra automatically locates.  To force Ghidra to launch with a specific version of
    Java, set the <b>JAVA_HOME_OVERRIDE</b> property in the <i>support/launch.properties</i> file.  
    If this property is set to an incompatible version of Java, Ghidra will revert to automatically
    locating a compatible version.  Note that <i>some</i> Java must still be on the PATH in order 
    for Ghidra to use the <b>JAVA_HOME_OVERRIDE</b> property.  This limitation will be addressed in 
    a future version of Ghidra. 
  </li>
</ul>
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h2><a name="Layout"></a>Ghidra Installation Directory Layout</h2>
<p>When Ghidra is installed, the runnable software gets extracted to a new directory we will refer
to as <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>.  Below is a description of the top-level directories and
files that can be found in <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i> once extraction of the distribution file
is complete.</p>
<table border="0" width="80%">
  <col width="15%">
  <col width="85%">
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>Ghidra</b></td>
    <td valign="top">
      Base directory for Ghidra distribution.&nbsp; Contains files needed to run Ghidra.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>Extensions</b></td>
    <td valign="top">
      Optional components that can extend Ghidra's functionality and integrate Ghidra with other
      tools.<br>See the <a href="#Extensions">Extensions</a> section for more information.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>GPL</b></td>
    <td valign="top">
      Standalone GPL support programs.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>server</b></td>
    <td valign="top">
      Contains files related to Ghidra Server installation and administration.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>support</b></td>
    <td valign="top">
      Contains files useful for debugging Ghidra, running Ghidra in advanced modes, and controlling
      how Ghidra launches.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>docs</b></td>
    <td valign="top">
      Contains documentation for Ghidra, such as release notes, API files, tutorials, etc.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>ghidraRun(.bat)</b></td>
    <td valign="top">
      Script used to launch Ghidra.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>LICENSE.txt</b></td>
    <td valign="top">Ghidra license information.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>licenses</b></td>
    <td valign="top">Contains licenses used by Ghidra.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td valign="top"><b>bom.json</b></td>
    <td valign="top">Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) in CycloneDX JSON format.</td>
  </tr>
</table>
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h2><a name="Build"></a>Building Native Components</h2>
<p>Ghidra requires several native binaries to be present in order to successfully run.  An official
public Ghidra release includes native binaries for the following platforms.
</p>
<p>NOTE: For some non-public Ghidra releases macOS natives may be omitted.</p>
<ul>
  <li>Windows 10 or later, x86 64-bit</li>
  <li>Windows 10 or later, ARM 64-bit (using x86 emulation)</li>
  <li>Linux x86 64-bit</li>
  <li>macOS x86 64-bit</li>
  <li>macOS ARM 64-bit</li>
</ul>
<p>Ghidra supports running on the following additional platforms with user-built native binaries:
</p>
<ul>
  <li>Linux ARM 64-bit</li>
  <li>FreeBSD x86 64-bit (no debugger support)</li>
  <li>FreeBSD ARM 64-bit (no debugger support)</li>
</ul>
<p>For supported systems where native binaries have not been supplied, or those that are supplied
fail to run properly, it may be necessary to build the native Ghidra binaries.
In order to build native binaries for your platform, you will need the following installed on your
system:</p>
<ul>
  <li>A <a href="#Requirements">supported</a> version of a Java Development Kit</li>
  <li><a href="https://gradle.org/releases/">Gradle 8.5+</a> (or supplied Gradle wrapper with 
    Internet connection)
  </li>
  
  <li>Software C/C++ build tools and library packages</li>
  <ul>
  	<li>macOS: <I>Xcode</I> or the abbreviated <I>Command Line Tools for Xcode</I> will supply the 
  	necessary build tools.  Assuming you are connected to the Internet, <I>Xcode</I> 
  	(which includes the command tools) may be installed directly from the App Store 
  	while <I>Command Line Tools for Xcode</I> may be installed using the following command:
  	<pre>    xcode-select --install</pre></li>
  	<li>Linux/FreeBSD: the 64-bit versions of the following packages should installed:
      <ul>
        <li>gcc 8.5 or later</li>
        <li>gcc-c++ / g++ 8.5 or later</li>
        <li>make</li>
      </ul>
  	</li>
    <li>Windows: 
      <a href="https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/community/">Microsoft Visual Studio</a>
      2017 or later, or <a href="https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/">
      Microsoft C++ Build Tools</a> with the following components installed:
        <ul>
          <li>MSVC</li>
          <li>Windows SDK</li>
          <li>C++ ATL</li>
        </ul>
    </li>
  </ul>
</ul>
<p>To build the native binaries for your current platform, execute the following commands:</p>
<blockquote>
  <pre>
    <i>cd &lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/support/gradle/
    gradle buildNatives
  </pre>
</blockquote>
<p>If you are connected to the Internet and do not have Gradle installed, execute:</p>
<blockquote>
  <pre>
    <i>cd &lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/support/gradle/
    ./gradlew(.bat) buildNatives
  </pre>
</blockquote>
<p>When the commands successfully complete, Ghidra will contain newly built native binaries in
the relevant modules' <i>build/os/&lt;platform&gt;/</i> subdirectories, which will override any
existing pre-built native binaries in the <i>os/&lt;platform&gt;/</i> subdirectories.</p> 
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h2><a name="DebuggerPython"></a>Installing the Debugger's Python Dependencies</h2>
<p>The Debugger now uses Python to connect to the host platform's native debuggers. This requires
Python3 (3.9 to 3.12) and some additional packages. These packages are included in the distribution,
but you may still install them from PyPI if you prefer:</p>
<ul>
<li>psutil</li>
<li>protobuf==3.20.3</li>
<li>Pybag&gt;=2.2.10 (for WinDbg support)</li>
</ul>
<p>Different native debuggers have varying requirements, so you do not necessarily have to install
all of the above packages. Each connector will inform you of its specific requirements and where
they must be installed. In some cases, you may need to install packages on the target system.</p>

<h2><a name="Run"></a>Running Ghidra</h2>
<h3><a name="RunGUI"></a>GUI Mode</h3>
<ol>
  <li>
    Navigate to <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>Run <i>ghidraRun.bat</i> (Windows) or <i>ghidraRun</i> (Linux or macOS)</p>
    <p>If Ghidra failed to launch, see the <a href="#Troubleshooting">Troubleshooting</a> section.
    </p>
  </li>
</ol>

<h3><a name="RunServer"></a>Ghidra Server</h3>
<p>Ghidra can support multiple users working together on a single project. Individual Ghidra users
launch and work on their own local copies of a particular Ghidra project but check changes into a
common repository containing all commits to that repository. For detailed information on
installing/configuring the Ghidra Server see the
<i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/server/svrREADME.html file.</p>

<h3><a name="RunHeadless"></a>Headless (Batch) Mode</h3>
<p>Ghidra is traditionally run in GUI mode. However, it is also capable of running in headless batch
mode using the command line. For more information, see the
<i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/support/analyzeHeadlessREADME.html file.</p>

<h3><a name="RunJar"></a>Single Jar Mode</h3>
<p>Normally, Ghidra is installed as an entire directory structure that allows modular inclusion or
removal of feature sets and also provides many files that can be extended or configured. However,
there are times when it would be useful to have	all or some subset of Ghidra compressed into a
single jar file at the expense of	configuration options. This makes Ghidra easier to run from the
command line for headless operation or to use as a library of reverse engineering capabilities for
another Java application.</p>
<p>A single ghidra.jar file can be created using the
<i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/support/buildGhidraJar script.</p>
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h2><a name="Extensions"></a>Extensions</h2>
<p>Extensions are optional components that can:</p>
<ul>
  <li>
    Extend Ghidra's functionality with experimental or user-contributed Ghidra plugins or
    analyzers.
  </li>
  <li>Integrate other tools with Ghidra, such as Eclipse or IDAPro.</li>
</ul>
<p>Ghidra comes with the following extensions available for use (and by default uninstalled), which
can be found in the <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/Extensions directory.</p>
<ul>
  <li>
    <b>Eclipse: </b>The GhidraDev Eclipse plugin for a pre-existing Eclipse installation. For
    information on installing and using the GhidraDev Eclipse plugin, see
    <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/Extensions/Eclipse/GhidraDev/GhidraDev_README.html.
  </li>
  <li>
    <b>Ghidra: </b>Ghidra extensions (formerly known as contribs). See
    <a href="#GhidraExtensionNotes">Ghidra Extension Notes</a> for more information.
  </li>
  <li>
    <b>IDAPro: </b>IDAPro plugins/loaders for transferring items with Ghidra.
  </li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="GhidraExtensionNotes"></a>Ghidra Extension Notes</h3>
<ul>
  <li>
    <p>Ghidra extensions are designed to be installed and uninstalled from the Ghidra front-end GUI:
    </p>
    <ol>
      <li>Click <b>File &#8594; Install Extensions</b></li>
      <li>Check boxes to install extensions; uncheck boxes to uninstall extensions</li>
      <li>Restart Ghidra for the changes to take effect</li>
    </ol>
  </li>
  <li>
    Extensions installed from the Ghidra front-end GUI get installed at 
    <i>&lt;UserSettings&gt;</i>/Extensions, where <i>&lt;UserSettings&gt;</i> can be looked up in
    the Ghidra front-end GUI under <i>Help -> Runtime Information -> Application Layout ->
    Settings Directory.
  </li>
  <li>
    <p>It is possible to install Ghidra extensions directly into the Ghidra installation directory.
    This may be required if a system administrator is managing extensions for multiple users that
    all use a shared installation of Ghidra.  It may also be more convenient to manage extensions
    this way if a Ghidra installation is only ever used headlessly.<p>
    <p>To install an extension in these cases, simply extract the desired Ghidra extension archive
    file(s) to the <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/Ghidra/Extensions directory.  For example, on
    Linux or macOS:</p>
    <ol>
      <li>Set current directory to the Ghidra installed-extensions directory:</li>
      <blockquote><i>cd &lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;/Ghidra/Extensions</i></blockquote>
      <li>Extract desired extension archive file(s) to the current directory:</li>
      <blockquote><i>unzip ../../Extensions/Ghidra/&lt;extension&gt;.zip</i></blockquote>
      <li>The extension(s) will be installed the next time Ghidra is started.</li>
    </ol>
    <p>To uninstall extensions, simply delete the extracted extension directories from
    <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/Ghidra/Extensions.  The extension(s) will be uninstalled
    the next time Ghidra is started.</p>
    <p><b>NOTE: </b>It may not be possible to uninstall an extension in this manner if there is an
    instance of Ghidra running that holds a file lock on the extension directory that is trying to
    be deleted.</p>
  </li>
</ul>
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h2><a name="Development"></a>Ghidra Development</h2>
<p>Users can extend the functionality of Ghidra through the development of custom Ghidra scripts,
plugins, analyzers, etc.</p>
<p>Ghidra supports development in Eclipse by providing a custom Eclipse plugin called
<b>GhidraDev</b>, which can be found in the <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/Extensions/Eclipse
directory. For more information on installing and using the GhidraDev Eclipse plugin, see
<i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/Extensions/Eclipse/GhidraDev/GhidraDev_README.html.</p>
<p><b>NOTE: </b>Eclipse is not provided with Ghidra.  The GhidraDev Eclipse plugin is designed to
be installed in a pre-existing Eclipse installation.</p>
<p>Ghidra scripting API javadocs can be found at 
<i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/docs/GhidraAPI_javadoc.zip.</p>
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h2><a name="Upgrading"></a>Upgrade Instructions</h2>
<h3><a name="GeneralUpgrade"></a>General Upgrade Instructions</h3>
<ol>
  <li>
    <b><font color="red">!!!Important!!!</font> BACKUP YOUR OLD PROJECTS FIRST!!<font color="red">
    !!!Important!!!</font></b>
  </li>
  <ul>
    <li>
      Backup by manually copying the <i>.rep</i> directory and <i>.gpr</i> file from any Ghidra
      project directories to a safe location on your file system.
    </li>
  </ul>
  <li>
    New installations of Ghidra will, by default, use the saved profile from a user's most recent
    version of Ghidra. This allows any saved tool configurations to be automatically ported to new
    projects. However, this may also prevent new tool options and features from automatically being
    configured in some cases. To open new tools containing the latest configurations, users should,
    from the Project Manager Window, choose <b>Tools &#8594; Default Tools...</b>
  </li>
  <li>
    When you open a program that was created using a previous version of Ghidra, you will be
    prompted to upgrade the program before it can be opened. The upgrade will not overwrite your old
    file until you save it. If you save it (to its original file), you will no longer be able to
    open it using an older version of Ghidra. You could, however, choose to perform a
    &ldquo;Save As&rdquo; instead, creating a new file and leaving the old version unchanged. Be
    very careful about upgrading shared program files since everyone accessing the file must also
    upgrade their Ghidra installation.
  </li>
</ol>

<h3><a name="ServerUpgrade"></a>Server Upgrade Instructions</h3>
<ul>
  <li>
    Please refer to the<i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/server/svrREADME.html file for details on
    upgrading your Ghidra Server.
  </li>
</ul>
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h2><a name="Troubleshooting"></a>Troubleshooting & Help</h2>
<h3><a name="LaunchIssues"></a>Launching Ghidra</h3>
<p>When launching Ghidra with the provided scripts in <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i> and
<i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/support, you may encounter the following error messages:
<ul>
  <li>
    <b><font color="red">Problem: </font></b><i>Java runtime not found.</i>
    <ul>
      <li>
        <p><b><font color="green">Solution: </font></b>A Java runtime (java/java.exe) is required to
        be on the system PATH.  Please see the <a href="#Requirements"> Requirements</a> section for
        what version of Java must be pre-installed for Ghidra to launch.</p>
      </li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>
    <b><font color="red">Problem: </font></b><i>Failed to find a supported JDK.</i>
    <ul>
      <li>
        <p><b><font color="green">Solution: </font></b>The Ghidra launch script uses the Java
        runtime on the system PATH to find a supported version of a Java Development Kit (JDK) that
        Ghidra needs to complete its launch.  Please see the <a href="#Requirements">
        Requirements</a> section for what version of JDK must be pre-installed for Ghidra to launch.
        </p>
      </li>
    </ul>
  </li>
  <li>
    <b><font color="red">Problem: </font></b><i>Exited with error.  Run in foreground (fg) mode for 
    more details.</i>
    <ul>
      <li>
        <p><b><font color="green">Solution: </font></b>Ghidra failed to launch in the background and
        the error message describing the cause of the failure is being suppressed.  Rerun Ghidra in
        the foreground by setting the LAUNCH_MODE variable in the launch script you ran to 
        <b>fg</b>. Alternatively, you can use the 
        <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/support/ghidraDebug script to run Ghidra in debug mode, 
        which will also allow you to see the error message as well as additional debug output.  
        <b>NOTE:</b> By default, running Ghidra in debug mode listens on 127.0.0.1:18001.</p>
      </li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="GhidraHelp"></a>Using Ghidra</h3>
<p>There are several ways you can get help with using Ghidra:</p>
<ul>
  <li>
    Tutorials and other documentation can be found in <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/docs.
  </li>
  <li>
    When Ghidra is running, extensive context sensitive help is available on many topics.&nbsp; To
    access Help on a topic, place your mouse on a window, menu or component and press
    &lt;F1&gt;.&nbsp; Help for that window/menu/component will be displayed.
  </li>
  <li>
    When Ghidra is running, indexed help can be found under <b>Help &#8594; Topics...</b>
  </li>
</ul>
<p>(<a href="#top">Back to Top</a>)</p>

<h2><a name="KnownIssues"></a>Known Issues for current release</h3>
<h3><a name="CommonIssues"></a>All Platforms</h3>
<ul>
  <li>
    Displaying the correct processor manual page for an instruction requires the installation of
    Adobe Reader 8.0.x or later.&nbsp; Adobe broke the goto page in Reader version 7.x.&nbsp; If a
    newer version of Reader is not installed, then the manual for the processor will display at the
    top of the manual.&nbsp; Using an Adobe Reader version later than 8.0.x works for most
    platforms, but some platforms and version of the reader still have issues.
  </li>
  <li>
    Some actions may block the GUI update thread if they are long running.
  </li>
  <li>
    Project archives only store private and checked out files within the archive.&nbsp; Project
    archives do not support server-based repositories.
  </li>
  <li>
    When using a Ghidra server, all clients and the server must have a valid Domain Name Server
    (DNS) defined which has been properly configured on the network for both forward and reverse
    lookups.
  </li>
  <li>
    Image base may not be changed to an address which falls within an existing memory block.
  </li>
  <li>
    Language versioning and migration does not handle complex changes in the use of the context
    register.
  </li>
  <li>
    Ghidra will not launch when its path contains a "!" character.  This is to avoid issues that 
    Java's internal libraries have parsing these paths ("!" is used as a jar-separator by Java).
  </li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="WindowsIssues"></a>Windows</h3>
<ul>
  <li>
    Older versions of 7-Zip may not be able to unpack the Ghidra distribution file if it contains
    any files with a 0-byte length.  Upgrade to a newer version of 7-Zip to fix this problem.
  </li>
  <li>
    Ghidra will fail to launch when its path contains a "^" character.
  </li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="LinuxIssues"></a>Linux</h3>
<ul>
  <li>
    Ghidra may not display correctly when run from a Linux remote desktop session that uses 32-bit 
    color depth.  Setting the remote desktop application's color depth to 24-bit has been known to 
    improve this issue. 
  <li>
    Some users have reported Ghidra GUI rendering issues on multi-monitor thin client setups.  
    These problems are attributed to reported bugs in Java, which will hopefully be fixed in the 
    future.  Disabling the 2nd or 3rd monitor may be necessary to work around the issue.
  </li>
  <li>
    GUI icons may not render correctly in some configurations of Linux. Setting 
    <i>VMARGS=-Dsun.java2d.opengl</i> to <b>true</b> in 
    <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/support/launch.properties may fix this issue.
  </li>
</ul>
<h3><a name="MacOSIssues"></a>macOS (OS X)</h3>
<ul>
  <li>
    Building new Ghidra module extensions on macOS (OS X) using a network drive (including a
    network-mapped home directory) throws a Java exception.  This issue is known to the Java/macOS
    community but a fix has not yet been released.  See
    <i>&lt;GhidraInstallDir&gt;</i>/Extensions/Eclipse/GhidraDev/GhidraDev_README.html for more
    information on building Ghidra module extensions from Eclipse.
  </li>
</ul>
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