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Decompiling Legacy Game Binaries with Claude Code Agentic Workflows
An engineering case study demonstrates using Claude Code to automate reverse engineering and C code reconstruction for legacy Game Boy Advance binaries, achieving over 50% matching accuracy in structured automated iterations.
August 17, 2026 3 min read
Curated by Oleksandr Kuzmenko, AI Product EngineerUpdated August 17, 2026Sources cited on every story
AI-assisted · editor-reviewedHow we use AI
Impact: Medium
Why it matters
Leverage Claude Code CLI agents to automate routine disassembly, symbol mapping, and binary-to-C translation.
TL;DR
- 01Claude Code can automate assembly analysis and C code reconstruction when paired with compiler feedback.
- 02Deterministic diff tools allow agents to iteratively converge toward binary-equivalent output.
- 03Agentic terminal workflows significantly accelerate legacy software reverse engineering.
Agentic Reverse Engineering Workflows
Decompilation projects require tight feedback loops between disassemblers, C compilers, and diffing tools. Claude Code operates within terminal sessions to run build pipelines, inspect assembly mismatches, and refine source code.
Key Workflow Steps
- Assembly Disassembly: Feed disassembler dumps directly to Claude Code to infer function control flow.
- Deterministic Compiler Loops: Execute local build scripts after every code iteration to compare output binaries.
- Iterative Type Recovery: Allow agents to rename local variables and reconstruct struct definitions based on stack offsets.
✓ When to use
- When porting legacy C/C++ codebases with missing source code using automated assembly verification
- When establishing terminal loop benchmarks for agentic coding tools
✕ When NOT to use
- When working on high-level garbage-collected dynamic languages without binary compilation targets
What to do today
- Set up deterministic build scripts with automated diff reporting before running Claude Code on legacy refactoring.
Sources