decompiler: Implement variable values tooltip in debugging by i-m00n · Pull Request #3572 · rizinorg/cutter

i-m00n · 2026-03-10T21:07:24Z

Your checklist for this pull request

I've read the guidelines for contributing to this repository
I made sure to follow the project's coding style
I've updated the documentation with the relevant information (if needed)
I've used AI tools to generate fully or partially these code changes and I'm sure the changes are not copyrighted by somebody else.

Detailed description

This PR enhances the decompiler's variable tooltips by implementing live string dereferencing as mentioned in #3344.

cutter.-.decompiler.tooltips.webm

Test plan (required)

Start a debug session and try moving to different break points and hover over various variables and check the tooltip.

Closing issues

it doesn't fully close #3344 or #2532 as it currently handles only explicitly tracked analysis variables.

Limitations

Synthetic/Untracked Variables: Does not currently handle variables that Rizin hasn't fully analyzed or "Synthetic" variables generated by the decompiler.

Configuration Toggle: Would you like me to add a checkbox in the Preferences settings to enable/disable this feature? Currently, it is always active

i-m00n · 2026-03-12T01:03:09Z

Replaced the eq logic with rz_core_analysis_var_addr() to resolve variable addresses directly from the analysis core.
The tooltip now correctly handles both Stack and Register variables by checking var->storage.type (as we no longer count on rz_core_analysis_var_display to handle that logic).
Switched to rz_str_is_printable() instead of isprint() and strnlen() instead of assigning the null character manually.
removed hard-coded Synthetic variables tooltip

Rot127 · 2026-03-24T12:59:15Z

@i-m00n Please add a video where you show off the changes.

i-m00n · 2026-03-28T21:58:55Z

Hi @wargio, just a quick follow-up on this when you have a moment. I've addressed the previous feedback and rebased the PR. Let me know if it's ready for another look!

also, I've updated the PR body with the required video.

wargio · 2026-03-29T02:00:56Z

+            pointedAddr_state =
+                    rz_io_read_at_mapped(core->io, stackAddr, (ut8 *)&pointedAddr, ptrSize);


you cannot do this. you should read to a buffer and then use rz_read_ble to get the correct pointerAddr value.

oh, thanks for this note, I’ve updated the logic to read the pointer into a ut8 ptrBuf[8] and then used rz_read_ble() with core->rasm->big_endian to ensure the address is correctly reconstructed regardless of the target architecture.

wargio · 2026-03-29T02:03:24Z

+            if (str_state) {
+                size_t len = strnlen((const char *)buf, sizeof(buf));
+                if (len > 0 && rz_str_is_printable((const char *)buf)) {
+                    QString str = QString::fromUtf8((const char *)buf, len);


Suggested change

QString str = QString::fromUtf8((const char *)buf, len);

QString str = QString::fromUtf8((const char *)buf, len).toHtmlEscaped();;

wargio · 2026-03-29T02:03:38Z

+            }
+        }
+    }
+    return QString("%1 (%2)\nValue: %3").arg(QString::fromUtf8(var->name), typeStr, displayValue);


Suggested change

return QString("%1 (%2)\nValue: %3").arg(QString::fromUtf8(var->name), typeStr, displayValue);

return QString("%1 (%2)\nValue: %3").arg(QString::fromUtf8(var->name).toHtmlEscaped(), typeStr, displayValue);

wargio · 2026-03-29T02:04:13Z

+    rz_mem_free(rawVal);
+    if (typeStr.contains("*")) {
+        ut64 pointedAddr = 0;
+        int ptrSize = core->analysis->bits / 8;


get the bitness from rz_asm

Updated. I’m now pulling the bitness from core->rasm->bits.

Update dev and use the method.

Could you clarify what method you'd like me to use for getting the bitness? I checked for rz_asm_get_bits but it's marked as RZ_DEPRECATE in rizin, and I don't see a corresponding wrapper in Cutter's API.

Also I’ve updated to the latest dev and refactored the register access to use the new Core()->getRegisterRefValue() helper introduced in #3570 .

i-m00n · 2026-03-29T19:07:32Z

@wargio
I've updated this PR to use .toHtmlEscaped() for the decompiler tooltips as requested. While working on this, I noticed that the Disassembler widget tooltips exactly in src/common/DisassemblyPreview.cpp also seem to lack HTML escaping for certain variable outputs.

I'd be happy to open a separate PR to standardize this across the project if needed.

wargio · 2026-03-30T04:58:05Z

I'd be happy to open a separate PR to standardize this across the project if needed.

later. finish this first.

wargio · 2026-03-30T04:58:43Z

sorry for that, it happened when I mistakenly ran rg rasm->bits, I should've put it in double quotes as the symbol > created a new bits file searching for the text rasm-.
now it's removed.

i-m00n changed the title ~~Implement variable values tooltip in debugging~~ decompiler: Implement variable values tooltip in debugging Mar 10, 2026

wargio reviewed Mar 11, 2026

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Comment thread src/widgets/DecompilerWidget.cpp Outdated

wargio reviewed Mar 11, 2026

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Comment thread src/widgets/DecompilerWidget.cpp Outdated

wargio reviewed Mar 11, 2026

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Comment thread src/widgets/DecompilerWidget.cpp Outdated

i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch from 2b97c60 to b5a8fc9 Compare March 12, 2026 00:53

i-m00n requested a review from wargio March 12, 2026 01:03

i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch 2 times, most recently from 5e7c040 to cde2485 Compare March 16, 2026 22:02

i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch from cde2485 to 1ae564d Compare March 23, 2026 18:16

i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch 2 times, most recently from 573f7a6 to d067e2d Compare March 28, 2026 21:53

wargio reviewed Mar 29, 2026

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i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch from d067e2d to 490fa01 Compare March 29, 2026 18:47

i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch 3 times, most recently from 0c9dc37 to 49761c5 Compare March 29, 2026 19:11

i-m00n requested a review from wargio March 29, 2026 22:22

wargio reviewed Mar 30, 2026

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i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch 3 times, most recently from 0a8cae4 to 4dadd4b Compare March 30, 2026 15:43

i-m00n requested a review from wargio March 31, 2026 11:37

i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch from 4dadd4b to 15f8e32 Compare April 1, 2026 19:31

i-m00n added 5 commits April 10, 2026 02:12

decompiler: implemented variable values tooltip in debugging

e967223

applied clang format

7b81998

refactor to use rz_core_analysis_var_addr and storage types

3a1ebd7

improve variable tooltip with endian-safe pointer resolution

fab4213

Use Core()->getRegisterRefValue() for safe register access.

c1cc178

i-m00n force-pushed the decompiler-tooltip-dereference branch from 15f8e32 to c1cc178 Compare April 10, 2026 00:12

		pointedAddr_state =
		rz_io_read_at_mapped(core->io, stackAddr, (ut8 *)&pointedAddr, ptrSize);

	QString str = QString::fromUtf8((const char *)buf, len);
	QString str = QString::fromUtf8((const char *)buf, len).toHtmlEscaped();;

	return QString("%1 (%2)\nValue: %3").arg(QString::fromUtf8(var->name), typeStr, displayValue);
	return QString("%1 (%2)\nValue: %3").arg(QString::fromUtf8(var->name).toHtmlEscaped(), typeStr, displayValue);

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i-m00n commented Mar 12, 2026

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i-m00n commented Mar 29, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

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i-m00n commented Mar 10, 2026 •

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i-m00n commented Mar 28, 2026 •

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i-m00n commented Mar 29, 2026 •

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