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Overview

The Swift Name Demangler is a Ghidra script that automatically demangles Swift symbols in your binary, making reverse engineering Swift applications significantly easier. It processes all functions and labels, converting mangled Swift names into human-readable identifiers.
This script requires Swift to be installed on your system. On macOS, it uses xcrun swift-demangle, while on other platforms it uses swift-demangle directly.

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Installation

1

Verify Swift Installation

First, ensure Swift is installed on your system:
# macOS
xcrun swift-demangle --help

# Linux/Other
swift-demangle --help
2

Download the Script

Download SwiftNameDemangler.py to your Ghidra scripts directory:
  • macOS/Linux: ~/ghidra_scripts/
  • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\ghidra_scripts\
3

Refresh Script Manager

In Ghidra, open the Script Manager (Window → Script Manager) and click the “Refresh” button to load the new script.

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Usage

1

Open Your Binary

Load your iOS binary in Ghidra and complete the initial auto-analysis.
2

Run the Script

Open the Script Manager and search for “SwiftNameDemangler” or navigate to the Swift category. Double-click to run the script.
3

Monitor Progress

The script will output progress to the console:
  • First, it processes all functions
  • Then, it processes all labels (this may take several minutes for large binaries)
4

Review Results

After completion, browse your demangled functions and labels. Original names are preserved in comments.

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Examples

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Before Demangling

_$s10MyApp14ViewControllerC11viewDidLoadyyF
_$s10MyApp6ConfigV12apiEndpointSSvpZ
_$s10MyApp11DataManagerC13fetchUserData10completionyys6ResultOyAA4UserVs5Error_pGc_tF

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After Demangling

MyApp.ViewController.viewDidLoad
MyApp.Config.apiEndpoint
MyApp.DataManager.fetchUserData
Each demangled symbol includes a comment showing both the original mangled name and the full demangled signature (including parameters).

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Script Code

#Demangles Swift class, function, and variable names
#@author LaurieWired
#@category Swift

# NOTES:
# Requires Swift to be installed on the machine
# Takes some time to run for larger applications

from ghidra.program.model.listing import Function
from ghidra.program.model.symbol import SymbolType
from java.lang import System
import subprocess

def demangle_swift_name(mangled_name):
    os_name = System.getProperty("os.name").lower()

    # Determine the correct command based on the OS
    if "mac" in os_name:
        cmd = 'xcrun swift-demangle --simplified --compact'
        mangled_name = "'{}'".format(mangled_name)  # Surround with single quotes

    else:
        cmd = 'swift-demangle --simplified --compact'

    # Run as subprocess
    proc = subprocess.Popen(cmd, shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stdin=subprocess.PIPE)
    proc.stdin.write(mangled_name)
    proc.stdin.close()
    demangled = proc.stdout.read().strip()
    proc.wait()
   
    # Return demangler output. If it's not a Swift type, it will just return original name
    return demangled

def clean_demangled_name(name):

    # Remove everything after the opening parenthesis (removes function arguments)
    name = name.split("(")[0]
   
    # Replace spaces and other undesired characters
    name = name.replace(" ", "_")
    name = name.replace("<", "_")
    name = name.replace(">", "_")

    return name

def beautify_swift_program():

    # Demangle function names
    print("Renaming functions")
    for func in currentProgram.getFunctionManager().getFunctions(True):
        demangled_name = demangle_swift_name(func.getName())
        cleaned_name = clean_demangled_name(demangled_name)
       
        if cleaned_name != func.getName():
            print("Original: {}, New: {}".format(func.getName(), cleaned_name))
           
            # Set new function name and comment
            func.setComment("Original: {}\nDemangled: {}".format(func.getName(), demangled_name))
            func.setName(cleaned_name, ghidra.program.model.symbol.SourceType.USER_DEFINED)

    # Demangle labels if they are Swift types
    print("\nRenaming labels. May take some time...")
    for symbol in currentProgram.getSymbolTable().getAllSymbols(True):
        if symbol.getSymbolType() == SymbolType.LABEL:
            demangled_name = demangle_swift_name(symbol.getName())
            cleaned_name = clean_demangled_name(demangled_name)
           
            if cleaned_name != symbol.getName():
                print("Original: {}, New: {}".format(symbol.getName(), cleaned_name))
               
                # Set new label name and comment
                # Ghidra already also renames pointers to labels as well
                currentProgram.getListing().setComment(symbol.getAddress(), ghidra.program.model.listing.CodeUnit.EOL_COMMENT, "Original: {}\nDemangled: {}".format(symbol.getName(), demangled_name))
                symbol.setName(cleaned_name, ghidra.program.model.symbol.SourceType.USER_DEFINED)

beautify_swift_program()

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How It Works

  1. OS Detection: The script detects the operating system and uses the appropriate Swift demangling command
  2. Function Processing: Iterates through all functions in the program, demangling each name
  3. Label Processing: Processes all labels (which may include Swift type metadata and constants)
  4. Name Cleaning: Removes function parameters and special characters to create valid Ghidra identifiers
  5. Comment Preservation: Stores both original and fully demangled names in comments
The script may take several minutes to complete on large applications, as it must make a subprocess call for each symbol. Progress is printed to the console.

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Troubleshooting

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Script Fails to Run

  • Verify Swift is installed and accessible in your PATH
  • Check the Ghidra console for specific error messages
  • Ensure you have write permissions in your Ghidra project

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Some Names Not Demangled

  • Not all symbols are Swift names - Objective-C and C symbols will remain unchanged
  • The script only processes names that successfully demangle; others are left as-is

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Performance Issues

  • Large binaries may take 10+ minutes to process
  • Consider running the script overnight for very large applications
  • The script prints progress to help you monitor completion

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