allthingsida/idasql-skills/ui-context

Trigger Patterns

Use this skill for prompts like:

• "what am I looking at?"
• "what is on the screen?"
• "what's selected?"
• "look at what I'm doing"
• references such as "this", "here", "current", "selected", "that", "previous"

Capture Policy

1. Call get_ui_context_json() before answering UI-referential prompts.
2. Extract view info: widget type/title and custom-view state.
3. Extract selection info when present: begin/end and preview text lines.
4. Extract code anchor info when present: address, function, segment.
5. If has_address: false, explain limits and do not invent code context.

Widget Fields (focused_widget / main_viewer)

• type_id (int): raw IDA twidget_type_t numeric id.
• type_name (string): the SDK macro name for the widget on the building SDK (for example "BWN_PSEUDOCODE", "BWN_TILIST"). The name at SDK slot 10 differs by IDA version (BWN_TILVIEW / BWN_TICSR / BWN_TITREE).
• canonical_name (string): a stable cross-version name. For the "Local Types" widget (slot 10) this always reads "BWN_LOCAL_TYPES"; for every other widget it equals type_name. Prefer this for cross-version reasoning.
• category (string): high-level grouping — one of disassembly, decompiler, hex_view, type_view, chooser, debugger, navigation, output, script, auxiliary, unknown.
• is_address (bool): widget exposes a meaningful address anchor (true for DISASM, HEXVIEW, PSEUDOCODE, MICROCODE).
• is_custom_view (bool): viewer-style widget with custom line content.
• is_chooser_like (bool): row-based list/chooser widget where row selection is meaningful.
• title (string): the widget's title as IDA reports it.

main_viewer carries the same widget fields except is_chooser_like (the main viewer is always a viewer, not a chooser).

Temporal Reference Rules

• this / here / current / selected: capture a fresh snapshot for this question.
• that / previous / earlier: reuse the most recent snapshot in the same working flow.
• If the user says "refresh", capture a new snapshot immediately.

Runtime Availability and Fallback

• get_ui_context_json() is registered in every runtime, but only the IDA GUI

plugin returns live UI state.

• The live GUI envelope carries available:true; the idalib/CLI stub carries

available:false / capture.source:"cli" (no error, just no UI). So available is the reliable GUI-vs-CLI discriminator in both directions — key on it.

• When you get the CLI stub, state this clearly and continue with non-UI queries (explicit addresses/symbols, or DB-orientation queries).

binary is database metadata only; it is not a UI context replacement.

Response Template

Use this fixed shape after reading UI context:

• What You Are Viewing: widget/view summary.
• What Is Selected: selection range and preview (or "no active selection").
• Code Context: address/function/segment if available; otherwise mention non-address view.
• Limits: runtime constraints or missing fields affecting certainty.
• Suggested Next Query: one concrete follow-up command/query.

Examples

1) "What am I looking at?"

SELECT get_ui_context_json();

Answer with the template fields above. Include focused widget title/type and current anchor address if present.

2) "Look at what I'm doing"

SELECT get_ui_context_json();

Summarize active view and selection first, then propose the next action tied to that context (for example, decompile current function).

3) "What's selected right now?"

SELECT get_ui_context_json();

Prioritize selection begin/end and preview text. Explicitly state when there is no active selection.

4) "Explain this function"

1. Capture UI context.
2. If function/address context exists, pivot to decompiler.

SELECT get_ui_context_json();
SELECT decompile(0x401000);

Replace 0x401000 with the captured function/address anchor.

5) Follow-up: "What about that function?"

Reuse the most recent snapshot from the same flow (do not auto-refresh unless asked), then continue analysis from that stored anchor.

6) Non-address view (for example Local Types chooser)

SELECT get_ui_context_json();

If has_address: false, report chooser selection details and state there is no code address anchor in this view.

7) Plugin API unavailable (CLI/idalib)

If get_ui_context_json() cannot run:

• state that UI context is unavailable in this runtime
• ask for explicit symbol/address or continue with non-UI alternatives (for example SELECT * FROM binary for DB orientation)

Guardrails

• Do not treat binary output as UI context.
• Do not fabricate selection/address fields when absent.
• Do not recapture repeatedly in one answer unless user asks for refresh.

See also

• deep-links — the other direction: move the user's IDA to a result

(SELECT ida_open_link(...)), and make answers clickable with [name](uri) links.