Building from source

How to build Malimite from source using Maven

Malimite uses a standard Maven build. The build generates the ANTLR parser sources and produces a single self-contained JAR with all dependencies bundled.

Prerequisites

• Java 11 or later — the project targets Java 11 (maven.compiler.source=11, maven.compiler.target=11)
• Maven 3.x — used to compile, generate sources, and package the application
• Ghidra — required to run the tool after building; Malimite calls Ghidra’s analyzeHeadless during analysis

Build steps

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/LaurieWired/Malimite.git
   
2. Navigate to the project directory

   cd Malimite
   
3. Build with Maven

   mvn package
   

   This runs two key phases automatically:

   1. Source generation — antlr4-maven-plugin reads CPP14Lexer.g4 and CPP14Parser.g4 from src/main/antlr4/ and writes the generated Java sources to src/main/java/com/lauriewired/malimite/decompile/antlr/.
   2. Packaging — maven-shade-plugin compiles all classes and bundles every dependency into a single shaded JAR at target/malimite-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar.
4. Run the built JAR

   java -jar target/malimite-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar
   

   The shade plugin sets the manifest Main-Class to com.lauriewired.malimite.Malimite, so no -cp flag or explicit class name is needed.

Maven plugins

Plugin	Version	Role
antlr4-maven-plugin	4.13.1	Generates CPP14Lexer and CPP14Parser Java sources from the ANTLR grammars during the generate-sources phase
build-helper-maven-plugin	3.3.0	Adds the ANTLR output directory to the compile source root so the generated classes are picked up by the compiler
maven-compiler-plugin	3.13.0	Compiles all Java sources targeting Java 11 (--release 11)
maven-shade-plugin	3.5.0	Creates an uber-JAR with all dependencies merged; excludes signature files (META-INF/*.SF, *.DSA, *.RSA) to prevent security exceptions at runtime

Key dependencies

Dependency	Version	Purpose
dd-plist	1.27	Apple binary and XML plist parsing
gson	2.10.1	JSON serialization and deserialization
sqlite-jdbc	3.44.1.0	Local SQLite project database
org.json	20231013	JSON object construction (used in the Ghidra bridge)
antlr4-runtime	4.13.1	Runtime support for the generated CPP14 lexer/parser
rsyntaxtextarea	3.4.0	Syntax-highlighting code editor component
flatlaf	3.5.2	Modern flat look and feel for the Swing UI
bcprov-jdk15on	1.70	BouncyCastle cryptographic provider for provisioning profile decoding
bcpkix-jdk15on	1.70	BouncyCastle PKIX/CMS support for key handling
flexmark-all	0.64.8	Markdown rendering for AI-generated responses in the UI

The DecompilerBridge

DecompilerBridge/ghidra/DumpClassData.java is a Ghidra headless script, not a standard Java class. It is not compiled by Maven and does not appear in the shaded JAR.

Malimite invokes it by passing its path to Ghidra’s analyzeHeadless command-line tool. Ghidra compiles and runs the script in its own runtime environment, communicating results back to Malimite over a local socket connection.

Do not move or rename DumpClassData.java without updating the path that Malimite uses to locate it. GhidraProject.java resolves the script directory at runtime as <user.dir>/DecompilerBridge/ghidra, so the file must remain at that relative path from wherever the JAR is launched.

IDE setup

The project follows a standard Maven layout and imports cleanly into IntelliJ IDEA and Eclipse.

IntelliJ IDEA:

1. Open the repository root as a Maven project (File → Open → select pom.xml).
2. IntelliJ will download dependencies and index the project automatically.
3. Run com.lauriewired.malimite.Malimite directly from the IDE.

Eclipse:

1. Use File → Import → Existing Maven Projects and point it at the repository root.
2. Eclipse will configure the build path from pom.xml.

The first build may take a few minutes while Maven downloads dependencies and ANTLR generates the parser sources. Subsequent builds are significantly faster.