> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.hex-rays.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.hex-rays.com/ida-9.5/core/idalib/concepts/architecture.md).

# Architecture

When you run an idalib script, idalib searches for `ida.config.json` in the background. This file points to the IDA installation directory idalib should use. It is separate from your Python environment and completely independent of it.

A one-time registration step links idalib to a specific IDA installation. This matters if you have multiple IDA versions on the same machine; registration determines which one idalib uses. You can complete this step during a 9.4+ installation of IDA, via HCLI (recommended for automated environments), or manually by running `py-activate-idalib.py`. See [Getting Started](/ida-9.5/core/idalib/getting-started.md) for details.

![How idalib links to IDA](https://492083732-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FFP6ibt8r6WPBHTqekG9u%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-d74398a1e7eb3d21a7b1e46a6092a611bdb62d11%2Fidalib-in-ida.png?alt=media)


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