Script Failing with Headless Analyzer

[henrihein]

I'm trying to write a user script in Java. The script runs when I invoke it from the Script Manager GUI, but when I try to add the same script to a headless analysis session, it fails. Here are the errors:

ERROR Failed to find script in any script directory: C:\t5C019DF15B19A5\GPTest.java (GhidraScriptUtil)
ERROR REPORT SCRIPT ERROR: C:\t5C019DF15B19A5\GPTest.java : The class could not be found. It must be the public class of the .java file: Failed to find source bundle containing script: C:\t5C019DF15B19A5\GPTest.java (HeadlessAnalyzer) ghidra.app.script.GhidraScriptLoadException: The class could not be found. It must be the public class of the .java file: Failed to find source bundle containing script: C:\t5C019DF15B19A5\GPTest.java

I thought maybe there were some semantical differences, so I paired the script down to a single output line, but I still get the above error. I tried several times to delete %APPDATA%\ghidra as well. I tried renaming the script and the classname to make sure it wasn't a caching issue. This really has me at a loss, so would appreciate any suggestions. Below is the script in the paired-down version.

//Test script
//@author Henri Hein
//@category Userscripts
//@keybinding 
//@menupath 
//@toolbar 

import ghidra.app.script.GhidraScript;

public class GPTest extends GhidraScript {
    public void run() throws Exception {
        if (currentProgram == null) {
            println("No program loaded. ");
            return;
        }
        println("QGPGhidraInformation_FD729E34 BEGIN "  + currentProgram.getExecutablePath());
    }
}

[ryanmkurtz]

What Ghidra version are you using? Is your GUI Ghidra and your headless Ghidra running off the same installation?

[henrihein]

My Ghidra version is 12.0.4. Yes, I'm using the same Ghidra installation for the two use cases.

[ryanmkurtz]

Strange. In the GUI CodeBrowser, can you go to Windows -> Bundle Manager and refresh the folder that your script lives in, and then try again?

[henrihein]

I tried refreshing the bundles in the Bundle Manager window and got the same result. I tried a couple of times to make sure I got the sequence right. I tried both refreshing all bundles and refreshing the cache for my script folder specifically. I got the error above after each time. Also verified the script still works through the GUI after the refresh.

[ABratovic]

C:\t might be interpreted as a Tab escape sequence, try C:\\ (or possibly C:/) on the command line

[henrihein]

Good suggestion, but that wasn't it either. I tried both \ and /. In either case I get the exact same error.

[bdemick]

What is the actual command line you're running when you try to invoke the script with analyzeHeadless?

[ryanmkurtz]

Also, what is your java version?

[henrihein]

Good question about Java version. I have several Java installations. The version I was using:

:java -version
java version "1.8.0_481"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_481-b10)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 25.481-b10, mixed mode)

However, I noticed ghidraRun finds the Java21 installation and runs on that. I switched to that in my command-line environment:

:java -version
openjdk version "21.0.10" 2026-01-20 LTS
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Corretto-21.0.10.7.1 (build 21.0.10+7-LTS)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Corretto-21.0.10.7.1 (build 21.0.10+7-LTS, mixed mode, sharing)

I was hopeful, but unfortunately I still get the same error with my user script.

[henrihein]

Here is my command line, with some paths elided:

cmd /c C:[path...]\ghidra_12.0.4_PUBLIC\support\analyzeHeadless.bat "C:[APPDATA path...]\Ghidra\ghidra1893291174\ghidra1893291174_639088574209880818" tempProject -import "C:[path...]\cat.exe" -postscript "C:\t5C019DF15B19A5\GPTest.java" -deleteproject

[ABratovic]

From support/analyzeHeadlessREADME

-postScript <ScriptName.ext> []*
Identifies the name of a script that will execute after analysis, and an optional list of arguments to pass to the script. The script name must include its file extension (i.e., MyScript.java).

This parameter expects the script name only; do not include the path to the script. The Headless Analyzer searches specific default locations for the named script, but additional script director(ies) may also be specified (see the -scriptPath argument for more information).

[bdemick]

It looks like (and I didn't actually know this) Python/PyGhidra scripts do not require the -scriptPath to be set for out-of-tree scripts, but Java scripts do. So @henrihein I would think this is the issue. Change your command to:

cmd /c C:[path...]\ghidra_12.0.4_PUBLIC\support\analyzeHeadless.bat "C:[APPDATA path...]\Ghidra\ghidra1893291174\ghidra1893291174_639088574209880818" tempProject -import "C:[path...]\cat.exe" -postscript "GPTest.java" -deleteproject -scriptpath "C:\t5C019DF15B19A5"

TIL Python scripts don't need to specify the scriptPath.

[ABratovic]

My understanding is that in this instance he may not need to add -scriptpath as he has already added his script directory to the default search locations viewable in Bundle Manager.
[edit] I've edited the bold emphasis in my post above to match the readme

[bdemick]

I’ve not found that headless mode uses script directories that were added in the GUI script manager. I had always assumed that was one of the main reasons for the scriptpath arg, but I can’t say I’ve tested it that way intentionally. Regardless, I made a hello world Java script, ran a headless invocation without specifying the scriptpath and got the same error as stated in the initial post, added the scriptpath and it worked as expected.

[ABratovic]

I believe you are correct.

The scriptPath parameter is optional. If it is not present, the Headless Analyzer will search the following paths for the specified script(s):
    $USER_HOME/ghidra_scripts
    All ghidra_script subdirectories that exist in the Ghidra distribution

[henrihein]

Changing the command line to include just the script name and adding -scriptpath did indeed fix the issue. It was confounding because I have successfully used the above command line template with Python scripts.

Thanks everyone!