Resourcehacker MCP

🚀 ResourceHacker MCP Server

A server for the ResourceHacker tool based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling natural - language operations on Windows PE file resources via Claude, Codex, etc.

✨ Features

Access to the command - line features of ResourceHacker is provided through the MCP protocol:

• Extract Resources - Extract icons, bitmaps, dialogs, menus and other resources from PE files (exe, dll, etc.).
• List Resources - View the list of all resources contained in a PE file without extracting the files.
• Add Resources - Add new resources to an executable file.
• Delete Resources - Remove resources from a PE file.
• Modify Resources - Update existing resources.
• Compile Resource Scripts - Compile .rc resource scripts into .res binary files.
• Change Language - Modify the language ID of all resources.
• Execute Scripts - Run ResourceHacker scripts containing multiple commands.
• Get Help - Display the command - line help information of ResourceHacker.

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Windows operating system
• Node.js 18 or higher
• Applications supporting MCP, such as Claude code, Codex
• ResourceHacker

Step 1: Install Dependencies

git clone https://github.com/Valerian7/ResourceHacker-mcp.git
cd ResourceHacker-mcp
npm install

Step 2: Configure MCP

Add the following configuration to Claude:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "resource-hacker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "ResourceHacker-mcp_PATH\\ResourceHacker-mcp\\index.js"
      ],
      "env": {
        "RESOURCE_HACKER_PATH": "RESOURCE_HACKER_PATH\\ResourceHacker.exe"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add the following configuration to Codex:

[mcp_servers.resource_hacker_mcp]
type = "stdio"
command = "node"
args = ['ResourceHacker-mcp_PATH\\ResourceHacker-mcp\\index.js']

[mcp_servers.resource_hacker_mcp.env]
RESOURCE_HACKER_PATH = 'RESOURCE_HACKER_PATH\\ResourceHacker.exe'

• Replace the paths with your actual installation locations.
• ResourceHacker-mcp_PATH points to the full path of ResourceHacker - mcp.
• RESOURCE_HACKER_PATH points to the full path of ResourceHacker.exe.

💻 Usage Examples

In Claude or Codex, enter:

Call the ResourceHacker-mcp tool to Chinese - localize procexp64.exe, paying attention to the window hierarchy.

Comparison of Chinese - localization effects:

📚 Documentation

1. list_resources - List Resources

View the list of all resources contained in a PE file without extracting the files. This command can avoid generating a large number of temporary files.

Parameters:

• input_file (required): Path to the input PE file.

Usage Example:

List all resources in myapp.exe.

2. extract_resource - Extract Resources

Extract resources from a PE file or a resource file.

Parameters:

• input_file (required): Path to the input PE file.
• output_path (required): Path to the output file or folder.
• resource_mask: Resource mask in the format type,name,language (default: ,,).
• log_file: Path to the log file or CONSOLE (default: CONSOLE).

Usage Example:

Extract all icons from notepad.exe to the icons folder.

3. add_resource - Add Resources

Add new resources to a PE file.

Parameters:

• input_file (required): Path to the PE file to be modified.
• output_file (required): Path to the output file.
• resource_file (required): Path to the resource file to be added.
• resource_mask: Resource mask (default: ,,).
• mode: Addition mode - add (fail if exists), addoverwrite (overwrite), addskip (skip).
• log_file: Path to the log file.

Usage Example:

Replace the main icon of myapp.exe with newicon.ico.

4. delete_resource - Delete Resources

Remove resources from a PE file.

Parameters:

• input_file (required): Path to the PE file.
• output_file (required): Path to the output file.
• resource_mask (required): Mask identifying the resources to be deleted.
• log_file: Path to the log file.

5. modify_resource - Modify Resources

Modify existing resources in a PE file.

Parameters:

• input_file (required): Path to the PE file.
• output_file (required): Path to the output file.
• resource_file (required): Path to the new resource file.
• resource_mask: Resource mask.
• log_file: Path to the log file.

6. compile_rc - Compile Resource Scripts

Compile a resource script (.rc) into a binary format (.res).

Parameters:

• input_rc (required): Path to the .rc file.
• output_res (required): Path to the output .res file.
• log_file: Path to the log file.

Usage Example:

Compile resources.rc into resources.res.

7. change_language - Change Language

Change the language of all resources in a PE file.

Parameters:

• input_file (required): Path to the PE file.
• output_file (required): Path to the output file.
• language_id (required): Numeric language ID.
• log_file: Path to the log file.

Common Language IDs:

• 1033: English (United States)
• 2052: Chinese (Simplified)
• 1028: Chinese (Traditional)
• 1049: Russian
• 1031: German
• 1036: French
• 1041: Japanese
• 1042: Korean

Usage Example:

Change all resources in myapp.exe to Simplified Chinese.

8. run_script - Run Scripts

Execute a ResourceHacker script file containing multiple commands.

Parameters:

• script_file (required): Path to the script file.

9. get_help - Get Help

Get the command - line help of ResourceHacker.

Parameters:

• topic: Help topic - general, commandline or script.

Resource Mask Format

Resource mask format: type,name,language

• Type: Resource type (e.g., ICON, BITMAP, DIALOG, MENU, STRINGTABLE, ICONGROUP).
• Name: Resource name or ID.
• Language: Language ID (0 indicates language - neutral).

Examples:

• ICON,, - All icons, any name, any language.
• BITMAP,128,0 - Bitmap with ID 128, language - neutral.
• ICONGROUP,MAINICON, - Icon group named MAINICON, any language.
• ,,1033 - All English (United States) resources.

🔧 Technical Details

• Language: JavaScript (ES Modules)
• Runtime: Node.js 18+
• Protocol: Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• SDK: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk v1.0.4
• Platform: Windows only (requires ResourceHacker.exe)

Frequently Asked Questions

The MCP server is not displayed in Claude

1. Check if the configuration file path is correct and use double backslashes.
2. Verify that Node.js is installed: Run node --version.
3. Ensure that npm install has completed successfully.
4. Restart Claude Desktop completely (not just close the window).
5. Check the Claude Desktop logs for errors.

Path issues

Ensure that the paths in the configuration file are absolute paths and use double backslashes:

• ✅ Correct: "D:\\Tools\\resource_hacker\\mcp_server\\index.js"
• ❌ Incorrect: "D:\Tools\resource_hacker\mcp_server\index.js"
• ❌ Incorrect: "./index.js" or "index.js"

ResourceHacker.exe not found

Ensure that the RESOURCE_HACKER_PATH environment variable is correctly set in the configuration, pointing to the full path of ResourceHacker.exe.

Permission errors

Appropriate permissions are required when modifying system files, especially when modifying files in the system directory.

Limitations

• Requires a Windows operating system.
• ResourceHacker.exe must be accessible.
• Cannot modify "packed" or "compressed" executable files.
• Some operations require write permissions for the target file.

Reference Links

• ResourceHacker Official Website
• Model Context Protocol
• Windows Resource Type Documentation

Changelog

v1.1.0

• Added the list_resources tool to view the resource list without extraction, reducing file clutter.
• Optimized the code structure and added a temporary file cleaning mechanism.
• Fixed the parseRcFile parsing logic.

v1.0.0

• Initial release.
• Implemented 8 MCP tools.
• Supported a configurable path for ResourceHacker.exe.
• Provided complete error handling and logging.