vbl - VBindiff for Linux

Hex viewer, differ and editor

dynamic 16/24/32 byte Hex & ASCII view in a terminal

256TB Files

edit / insert / delete

64-bit static + dynamic

based on "VBinDiff - Visual Binary Diff" by Christopher J. Madsen

Features:

• Ascii search f
• Binary search
• Forward search n
• Backward search p
• Case insensitive i
• Search history Up Dn
• Search edit Ins Del ^u ^k
• Search highlight
• Search indentation
• Search interruption Esc
• Visual feedback
• Goto position decimal g
• Goto position percent
• Goto position hex (abcd 0x1234 1234x)
• Goto position 10** (kmgt)
• Goto position 2** (KMGT)
• Goto position offset (+addr -addr)
• Goto position history Up Dn
• Goto last address ' <
• Goto last offset .
• Goto last offset neg ,
• Set last address l
• Set last address auto g f Home End
• Next difference Enter
• Prev difference # \
• Next different byte PgDn
• Prev different byte PgUp
• Sync 1. with 2. view 1
• Sync 2. with 1. view 2
• File position decimal
• File position percent
• File offset difference
• Smartscroll (single mode) ENTER
• Skip forward 4% + * =
• Skip backward 1% -
• ASCII-Mode (single mode) a
• Column raster r
• Edit file e
• Edit insert byte Ins
• Edit delete byte Del
• RW/RO detection
• Use only top file t
• Use only bottom file b
• Help window h
• Quit q
• Easter egg

Notes:

All operations take place in read-only mode.

Only if you exit the edit mode and there are changes and you explicitly confirm this will the file be temporarily opened for read/write.

With inserted or deleted bytes, the write can be huge, so it happens always in place.

The last address is auto set with initial Find, Goto w/o relative, home/end or manual with l.

New TurboSearch for SSD (zero-tolerant)

Only Esc interrupt the searches.

Only q quit the program.

Build:

# headers + *meson* (debian)
apt install libncurses-dev meson

meson setup vbl && meson compile -C vbl

Test:

./vbl/vbl
./vbl/vbl-strip
./vbl/vbl-stat
./vbl/vbl-stat-strip

Screenshoots:

One File

ASCII Mode

Files >64GB

Two Files

You have to confirm long writes (>512MB)

Help Screen

Fun Facts:

Hex search worst case:

00 00{22} 33 00  (4GB, Zeros; SSD)

- vbindiff not-so-QuickSearch:    155s

... "Kolumbus kam als Letzter"

- vbl v1.x                        148s

- vbl v2.x                        115s

... "He reaches his courtyard with toil and with dread,
The child in his arms finds he motionless, dead."

- vbl TurboSearch:                 55s

- vbl TurboSearch Zero-Tolerance:   8s

... vbl 4 life!

I say thank you for the indispensable git, which makes coding so much fun, and the amazing - and free - optimizing GNU C compiler!