Diff Tools

vbl – terminal-based hexadecimal viewer for Linux

vbl is a terminal-based hexadecimal viewer for Linux that lets you inspect binary data from files and devices in a dynamic hex and ASCII interface.

It also works as a file differ, dumper, and editor, supports very large files and devices, and offers both interactive and command-line driven workflows for examining binary content. The program is designed to keep normal operation read-only, only switching to write access when edits are explicitly confirmed.

This is free and open source software.

Key Features

  • Supports ASCII and binary search with forward and backward navigation, case-insensitive matching, search history, and highlighted results.
  • Offers flexible address navigation with decimal, hexadecimal, percentage, sector, and relative offset jumps.
  • Includes comparison tools for moving to the next or previous difference, stepping through changed bytes, and synchronising two panes.
  • Provides an edit mode with byte insertion, deletion, and copying, with explicit confirmation required before changes are written.
  • Can dump file contents in ASCII or binary form directly from the command line.
  • Builds dynamic, stripped, static, and static stripped executables with Meson.

Website: github.com/linuxCowboy/vbl
Support:
Developer: linuxCowboy
License: GNU General Public License v2.0

vbl output

vbl is written in C++. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.


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Read our verdict in the software roundup.


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