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Tool

Hex Fiend

Open-source macOS hex editor that inspects and edits binary files of any size without loading them into memory. It supports insertions and deletions, fast search and a data inspector that reads integers and floating-point values as signed or unsigned and big- or little-endian. File > Compare shows the differences between two files while accounting for inserted or deleted bytes, and Tcl binary templates display a file's structure next to its bytes; bundled templates cover COFF, ELF, Mach-O and MS-DOS EXE headers, 6502 disassembly and Commodore 64 PRG files, plus archives, file systems, partition tables and media formats. Its hex and data views are also available as an embeddable framework.

Targets
Binary
Category
Native analysis tools
Relationship
Foundation tool
Sources reviewed

Requirements & limits

  • Prerequisites: macOS 10.14.6 or later, required since v2.17. Release at review: v2.18.1, published 2025-03-16; the reviewed master commit is dated 2025-06-29. Custom templates are .tcl files in the app's Templates folder under Application Support.
  • Limits: Binary templates arrived in v2.9 and are written in Tcl, which ships with macOS. Since v2.17 templates can declare file types for automatic selection, but the release notes say most built-in templates do not yet set this information.
  • License: BSD-2-Clause per License.txt.

About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources. This does not establish runtime testing, security auditing or verified compatibility.

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Primary sources

  1. README.md GitHub · HexFiend/HexFiend · Revision 32cb2ef
  2. templates/Tutorial.md GitHub · HexFiend/HexFiend · Revision 32cb2ef
  3. templates/Reference.md GitHub · HexFiend/HexFiend · Revision 32cb2ef
  4. templates GitHub · HexFiend/HexFiend · Revision 32cb2ef
  5. templates/Disassembly/6502.tcl GitHub · HexFiend/HexFiend · Revision 32cb2ef
  6. License.txt GitHub · HexFiend/HexFiend · Revision 32cb2ef
  7. https://github.com/HexFiend/HexFiend/releases/tag/v2.18.1
  8. https://hexfiend.github.io/HexFiend/ReleaseNotes.html

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