How to launch remote debugging

1. Launch a remote IDA debugger server on the remote host. The remote server is started from the command line and accepts command line parameters. You can specify a password if you want to protect your debugger server from strangers. For example, to launch the server under MS Windows, you could enter:

       win32_remote -Pmy_secret_password

2. Specify the remote debugger parameters in the Debugger, Process options. The file paths must be valid on the remote host. Do not forget to specify the same password as you have specified when launching the server. For example, to debug notepad.exe on the remote computer remote.host.com:

       Application: c:\windows\notepad.exe
       Input file:  c:\windows\notepad.exe
       Directory:   c:\windows
       Hostname:    remote.host.com
       Port:        23946
       Password:    my_secret_password

3. The rest of debugging is the same as with local debugging.

NOTE

The debugger server can handle one debugger session at once. If you need to debug several applications simultaneously, launch several servers at different network ports.

The following debugger servers are shipped with IDA

File name             Target system         Debugged programs
------------------    ------------------    ----------------------------
android_server        ARM Android           32-bit ELF files
android_server64      AArch64 Android       64-bit ELF files
android_x64_server    x86 Android 32-bit    32-bit ELF files
android_x86_server    x86 Android 64-bit    64-bit ELF files
armlinux_server       ARM Linux             32-bit ELF files
linux_server          Linux 32-bit          32-bit ELF files
linux_server64        Linux 64-bit          64-bit ELF files
mac_server            Mac OS X              32-bit Mach-O files (x86)
mac_server64          Mac OS X/macOS 11     64-bit Mach-O files (x64)
mac_server_arm64      ARM macOS 11          64-bit Mach-O files (arm64)
mac_server_arm64e     ARM macOS 11          64-bit Mach-O files (arm64e)
win32_remote.exe      MS Windows 32-bit     32-bit PE files
win64_remote64.exe    MS Windows 64-bit     64-bit PE files

An appropriate server must be started on the remote computer before starting a debug session.