GNU hexedit vs Hecate
GNU hexedit
rigaux.orgHecate
github.comSide by side
| Figure | GNU hexedit | Hecate |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Hex Editors | 7.6 (#13) | 8.2 (#8) |
| Editing | Users can modify files in either ASCII or hexadecimal mode and save changes. | Users can edit data in place and write the changes to disk. |
| Intended users | The documented functions suit users who need to inspect or edit file bytes, search binary data, or work with device sectors. | The README describes the editor as useful for reverse-engineering needs. |
| License | The author states that hexedit is open source and may be redistributed under the GNU General Public License. | The repository uses the MIT License, which permits use, modification, distribution, and sale subject to its stated conditions. |
| Support | The author asks users to report problems and welcomes remarks of any kind. | The repository README provides usage instructions and a help screen command, but does not state a support service. |
Plans
In their own words
GNU hexedit
GNU hexedit is a free Linux terminal program for viewing and editing file contents as hexadecimal values or ASCII text. It can read a device piece at a time, search forward or backward for strings in either representation, and save edits. Selection commands allow marking, copying, pasting, saving a copied region to another file, and filling a selected area with a string. The --sector option displays whole sectors and makes scrolling advance sector by sector. Keyboard commands control the terminal interface; --color works only when supported by the operating system. Changes remain in memory until saved, so large fill operations may trigger a warning. Read-only files cannot be changed and are reported as non-writable. The author describes hexedit as open source under the GNU General Public License. The maker page links to source archive 1.6, while Git builds use ./autogen.sh && ./configure && make. It supports disk editing but has no binary comparison, templates, scripting, or plugins.
Hecate
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.