csplitb – split binary files by content

csplitb is a command-line utility for splitting binary files at particular byte sequences. Unlike conventional file splitters, which divide data according to size or position, csplitb searches for matching content and uses those matches to determine where each output file begins.

The application was originally developed to recover JPEG images from corrupted disk images. By searching for a JPEG header, it can extract sequences of bytes that may represent separate images. However, files recovered from damaged or fragmented storage may not be complete.

csplitb uses memory-mapped file access to search for boundaries. Search patterns can be supplied as hexadecimal values or ASCII text, making the utility useful for examining binary data containing repeated headers, delimiters or identifiable file signatures.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

• Split binary files according to matching byte sequences.
• Specify search patterns as hexadecimal values.
• Search for ASCII text using the –ascii option.
• Use Python’s memory-mapped file handling to locate matching data.
• Create a separate output file for each detected section.
• Include the matching byte sequence at the beginning of extracted sections.
• Preserve data preceding the first match using –keep-first.
• Discard data preceding the first match when –keep-first is not enabled.
• Configure the output filename prefix.
• Choose a custom output filename suffix.
• Set the number of digits used in sequential output filenames.
• Process large binary files subject to the operating system’s memory-mapping capabilities.

Website: github.com/mypalmike/csplitb
Support:
Developer: Michael White
License: GNU General Public License v2.0

csplitb is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

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