UtilityKit

500+ fast, free tools. Most run in your browser only; Image & PDF tools upload files to the backend when you run them.

Hex & Binary Viewer

Inspect any file as a hex + ASCII dump in your browser

About Hex & Binary Viewer

Hex & Binary Viewer on UtilityKit shows the raw bytes of any file as a clean hex + ASCII dump, the same way Vim's xxd or Linux's hexdump -C presents them. Drop a file (up to 100 MB) and the tool renders 16 bytes per line with the offset on the left, hex pairs in the middle, and printable-ASCII characters on the right. Files are read entirely in your browser via the File API — nothing is uploaded, nothing leaves your device. The viewer auto-detects common magic numbers (PNG, JPEG, PDF, ZIP/Office, GZIP, 7z, RAR, ELF, MZ/PE, MP3, FLAC, RIFF) and shows the detected format alongside the file size. Pagination keeps large files responsive — 16 KB per page — and a search box accepts hex byte sequences (89 50 4e 47) or text strings, jumping straight to the first match. Useful for debugging file format issues, identifying truncated downloads, or reverse-engineering binaries.

Why use Hex & Binary Viewer

  • Universal Format Inspector: Drop any file — image, executable, archive, unknown blob — and see exactly what bytes it contains.
  • Magic-Number Detection: Auto-identifies PNG, JPEG, PDF, ZIP, GZIP, 7z, RAR, ELF, PE, RIFF, MP3, FLAC, and more by leading bytes.
  • Hex & Text Search: Search hex byte sequences (89 50 4e 47) or plain text — the viewer jumps straight to the first match.
  • Large-File Pagination: Files up to 100 MB stay responsive with 16 KB pages — no need to render the whole dump at once.
  • Browser-Only: Reads files locally with the File API; nothing is uploaded or logged.
  • Free & Unlimited: No signup, no email, no daily cap, no watermarks.

How to use Hex & Binary Viewer

  1. Drop a file onto the dropzone, or click to pick one (max 100 MB).
  2. The tool reads the file in your browser, displays detected format and size at the top, and renders the first page of the hex dump.
  3. Each line shows: offset (8 hex digits), 16 bytes in two 8-byte groups, and the printable-ASCII representation in the right column.
  4. Use Prev/Next page buttons to walk through files larger than 16 KB — the page indicator shows your byte range.
  5. Type into the search box to find content — paste hex like '89 50 4e 47' for byte sequences or any text for ASCII strings.
  6. Click Find and the viewer jumps to the first match, paging automatically if needed.

When to use Hex & Binary Viewer

  • When debugging a file format issue and you need to see the raw header bytes.
  • When verifying a download by checking its magic number against the publisher's documented signature.
  • When reverse-engineering a binary to identify embedded strings or markers.
  • When investigating a truncated or corrupted file to see where the data stops.
  • When extracting strings from a memory dump or firmware image.
  • When teaching binary file formats and you want a clear, paginated visualization.

Examples

Verify a PNG signature

Input: screenshot.png

Output: Offset 0 shows 89 50 4E 47 0D 0A 1A 0A — the canonical PNG magic number, confirming the file is a real PNG.

Find an embedded URL in a binary

Input: firmware.bin (12 MB)

Output: Search for 'https://' jumps to offset 0x14C2A0 where the firmware embeds a status callback URL.

Tips

  • Search for the bytes 89 50 4E 47 to confirm a file claiming to be a PNG is actually a PNG — the magic number must appear at offset 0.
  • If the ASCII column shows mostly dots and the file has high entropy, the file is likely already compressed or encrypted.
  • Drop a .docx, .xlsx, or .epub — the viewer will detect 'ZIP / Office document' because those formats are ZIP archives internally.
  • When debugging a truncated download, jump to the last page and verify the trailer bytes match the format's expected end-of-file marker.
  • Pair with the File Hash Multi tool to verify a file's checksum matches what you see in the dump.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the file uploaded anywhere?▾
No. The viewer reads the file entirely in your browser using the File API. Bytes never reach a server, never get logged, and never persist after the tab closes.
What is the maximum file size?▾
100 MB. The viewer stores the bytes in a typed array, so memory is the practical bottleneck — most desktop browsers handle 100 MB comfortably.
How does format detection work?▾
The viewer compares the first few bytes of the file against a table of common magic numbers (PNG = 89 50 4E 47, PDF = 25 50 44 46, GZIP = 1F 8B, etc.). The detected format is shown at the top of the result.
How does hex search work?▾
If your search query contains only hex characters and spaces (with an even number of nibbles), it is parsed as a byte sequence. Otherwise the query is encoded as UTF-8 text and matched as bytes.
Does it modify the file?▾
No. The viewer is strictly read-only. To edit a binary, use a desktop hex editor like ImHex, HxD, or 010 Editor.
Why is each line 16 bytes?▾
16 bytes per line is the standard format used by Unix hexdump, Vim's xxd, and most hex editors. It fits cleanly in 80 columns and aligns with common alignment boundaries.
Does it work offline?▾
Yes. Once the page is cached, the entire viewer works offline — no network calls, no telemetry, no analytics that touch your file content.
Is it free?▾
Yes — completely free with no signup, no ads, and no usage limit.

Explore the category

HTTP Request Builder Send HTTP requests from your browser via a server-side proxy — set method, headers, body, and inspect the full response. File Hash Multi (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512) Compute MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, and SHA-512 of any file in your browser JWT Decoder Decode and inspect JWT tokens Color Converter Convert between HEX, RGB, HSL JavaScript Minifier Minify JavaScript by removing comments, trimming whitespace, and outputting cleaner code instantly in your browser. Glob Tester Test glob patterns against newline file/path candidates.
Base64 Encoding: What It Is, How It Works, and When to Use It Base64 shows up everywhere from JWTs to CSS data URIs to HTTP Basic Auth — but it is often misunderstood. Here is a clear explanation of wha Jan 2026 · 7 min Binary, Octal, and Hexadecimal: Number Systems Every Developer Needs Binary is not just for low-level programming — it shows up in bitmasks, permissions, color values, and network addresses. This guide makes n Feb 2026 · 9 min

Glossary

Hex dump
A representation of binary data as hexadecimal byte values, typically 16 bytes per line with a printable-ASCII column on the right. Standardized by Unix's hexdump and xxd.
Magic number
A short byte sequence at the start of a file that identifies its format. PNG starts with 89 50 4E 47, PDF starts with 25 50 44 46, ZIP starts with 50 4B 03 04.
Offset
The position of a byte within a file, expressed in bytes (and shown as 8 hex digits in this viewer). The first byte is offset 0.