MachOExplorer

Explore Mach-O binaries with a modern Qt interface on macOS and Windows (yet another MachOView). v1.0 Alpha is the latest release and remains unstable while bugs are being fixed.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Quick Start
• Installation
• Usage
• Configuration
• Examples
• Development
• Roadmap / TODO
• Version History
• Contributing
• License
• Acknowledgements
• Star History

Features

• Inspect Mach-O files with a dedicated desktop UI built with Qt.
• Works on both macOS and Windows with identical workflows and visuals.
• Ships with native icons, dock widgets, and screenshot previews so you understand the layout quickly.

Quick Start

1. Download the latest MachOExplorer.dmg (macOS) or MachOExplorer_Windows.zip (Windows) from the releases page.
2. Install or unzip the application just like any other desktop app.
3. Launch MachOExplorer and open any Mach-O binary (try the included samples) to explore its structure immediately.

Installation

macOS

• Grab the packaged MachOExplorer.dmg.
• Drag the app into /Applications or run it directly from the DMG.

Windows

• Download MachOExplorer_Windows.zip.
• Extract the archive and launch MachOExplorer.exe.

Usage

• Launch the app, then open a Mach-O file via the file picker or by dragging and dropping it onto the window.
• Navigate headers, sections, and symbols using the dock widgets to inspect the full binary layout.
• Use the bundled sample binaries if you need something to experiment with or to verify functionality on a new install.

Configuration

• Packaged apps: No runtime configuration is required beyond running the binary.
• Building from source:
  • macOS expects Qt SDK >= 5.10.1 (scripts assume 5.11.2). Symlink your Qt install with sudo ln -s ~/qt/5.11.2 /opt/qt and install appdmg globally via npm install -g appdmg.
  • Windows builds need Qt 5.11.2 (MSVC 2017 64-bit), nmake, windeployqt, and Inno Setup (see res/windows_setup.iss). Keep Qt under C:\Qt\Qt5.11.2\5.11.2 so scripts can find it.

Examples

• The sample/ directory contains minimal Mach-O files (simple, complex, and simple.c). Open them inside MachOExplorer to verify parsing, demo features, or aid debugging.

Development

MachOExplorer is a Qt project (src/MachOExplorer.pro). Open it in Qt Creator or use the provided build scripts.

macOS build

1. Install Qt 5.11.2 (or newer) and make sure it is accessible at /opt/qt/5.11.2.
2. Run ./build_macos.sh to configure via qmake, build with make, and run macdeployqt.
3. The script repackages the DMG using appdmg and copies the artifact to dist/MachOExplorer.dmg.

Windows build

1. Install Qt 5.11.2 for MSVC 2017 64-bit so qmake.exe, nmake, and windeployqt.exe are on the path, and install Inno Setup when packaging installers.
2. Run build_windows.bat from a Visual Studio Developer Command Prompt.
3. The script builds the release target, runs windeployqt, and copies the distributable into dist/MachOExplorer_Windows/.

Dependencies

• Qt 5.11.x for the UI and platform integration.
• Vendorized third-party libraries inside src/libmoex such as fmt, cpp-mmaplib, and nlohmann/json.

Roadmap / TODO

• Display symbol names for addresses.
• Improve Windows support (port is present but still unstable).

Version History

• 2018-11-21 — v1.0 Alpha: Windows support and new user interface.
• 2017-11-05 — v0.4.0 Alpha: Command line tool moex release and version policy change.
• 2017-11-05 — v0.3 Alpha: Bug fixes.
• 2017-11-05 — v0.2 Alpha: Icon created.
• 2017-11-04 — v0.1 Alpha: First release.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or pull request if you spot bugs, want to improve the UI, or can help with feature parity across platforms.

License

Distributed under the MIT License.

Acknowledgements

• Icon designed by wantline.
• Special thanks to everyone who provided feedback on early alpha builds.

Star History