Perplexity Computer can now clone apps without source code

REA, short for Reverse Engineer Anything, is an open-source toolkit that gives AI coding agents the ability to inspect software without source code and rebuild working replicas. On October 17, Perplexity integrated the tool into its Computer platform, letting users trigger the workflow with a simple slash command.

What it does

Instead of making an AI guess how an application works based purely on screenshots or text prompts, REA equips the agent with actual reverse-engineering tools. The agent investigates the program's structure, observes how it runs, and writes an implementation from scratch.

To prove the concept, Perplexity published five functional browser demos rebuilt by the agent:

A Figma clone featuring layers, auto-layout, account login with cross-device sync, and real-time multiplayer editing.

A LibreOffice Calc replica where users can edit cells and write formulas, with charts updating dynamically as data changes.

A Photopea-style editor complete with layer management, masks, color adjustments, and editable typography.

A legal assistant inspired by Harvey that searches contracts, diffs revisions, and flags risky clauses against custom rules with source citations.

An Audacity clone capable of multi-track trimming, mixing, volume adjustments, audio fades, and WAV exports.

How it works under the hood

Created by developer morluto under the MIT license, REA connects coding agents to software analysis utilities via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

The inspection method adapts to the target software. For websites, JavaScript bundles, and Electron apps, REA inspects module dependencies, scripts, and network traffic natively without external engines.

When targeting compiled native binaries and libraries, REA hooks into established disassemblers like Ghidra, Hopper, or IDA to extract assembly and decompiled pseudocode. Combined with runtime tracing, the agent uses these clues to reconstruct the logic inside Perplexity's open-source SPACE sandbox.

Developers who want to run REA locally in their own agent environments can set it up by running npx rea-agents@latest setup in their terminal.

Inside Perplexity Computer, users can invoke the skill directly using the /reverse-engineer command. Perplexity is offering up to 10,000 free credits per user for tasks using the command through October 31.

Keep in mind the limitations: morluto explicitly noted that REA cannot guarantee the recovery of exact original source code, and rebuilding a functional clone is still far from duplicating an entire commercial enterprise codebase.

Why it matters

If you are an engineer tasked with migrating legacy systems without documentation, or a builder looking to rapidly prototype complex UI interactions, REA is well worth testing. It automates hours of tedious decompilation and behavioral tracing into a functional starting point.

It marks an important pivot for AI coding assistants: shifting from hallucinating features based on static screenshots to methodically inspecting running software before writing a single line. At the same time, this will inevitably raise serious copyright and IP concerns across the software industry, so tread carefully when inspecting proprietary codebases.