dhex vs Hecate

dhex is a free hex editor for inspecting binary files and comparing two of them in diff mode. It uses a terminal interface built on ncurses and is listed for Linux and macOS; the maker also says it is known to run on HP-UX, FreeBSD, NetBSD, MacOS X, IRIX, and Solaris. Search logs can help track changes between file iterations, and the editor supports themes that users can download or submit to the maker. Command-line search can find single words and quoted strings. The .dhexrc configuration file can set header colors, while a base-address option can help when loading partial memory dumps. A correlator introduced in version 0.64 can help match an object file to an executable for comparison. The maker provides downloads including version 0.69, listed as the latest update for the 0.6x branch and dated 19 January 2019. The maker warns that version 0.64 crashes at startup on some systems. dhex is free, with no free trial.

Hecate is a free terminal hex editor for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It displays interpretations of byte values beneath their hexadecimal representations, including text, bit patterns, integers, and floating-point values. Users can move the cursor with Vim-like controls, edit data in place, and write changes to disk. The README also lists tabbed browsing, large-file support, full-file searches, and expressions for specifying file offsets. Interpretation options include toggling endianness and signedness, decoding dates, and configuring the date epoch. The project describes byte interpretation as useful for reverse-engineering work. Downloads are linked for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows, and the README provides a Go command for compiling the editor from source. Hecate is licensed under MIT. The releases page lists version 0.0.1 as the latest release; the license states that the software is provided without warranty. The repository includes usage instructions and a help screen command, but does not state a support service.