Hecate vs REHex
Hecate
github.com
REHex
rehex.solemnwarning.netSide by side
| Figure | Hecate | REHex |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Hex Editors | 8.2 (#8) | 7.8 (#12) |
| Latest release | The releases page labels version 0.0.1 as the latest release. | The download page lists version 0.64.0, released on 2026-04-03, as the latest release. |
| License | The repository uses the MIT License, which permits use, modification, distribution, and sale subject to its stated conditions. | The GitHub project page identifies the project license as GPL-2.0. |
| Other features | The README lists tabbed browsing, large-file support, full-file searching, and expressions for specifying file offsets. | It supports byte-range highlighting and annotation, virtual address mapping, common text encodings, Intel HEX import and export, bitmap visualisation, bit editing, and checksumming. |
| Support | The repository README provides usage instructions and a help screen command, but does not state a support service. | The project asks users to report bugs and suggest improvements by opening GitHub issues. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
REHex
REHex is a free hex editor for reverse engineering and other work with binary data, available for Linux, macOS and Windows. It supports files larger than 1 TB, decodes integer and floating-point values, and displays machine-code disassembly inline. Users can compare whole files or selected regions side by side, map virtual addresses, and highlight or annotate byte ranges. Editing and analysis tools include bit editing, checksumming and bitmap visualization, along with common encodings such as ASCII, Unicode and ISO-8859-X. REHex imports and exports Intel HEX files. Binary Templates can annotate data automatically, while Lua scripting and plugins extend its functionality. Downloads include Windows installers and ZIP archives, a macOS DMG, and 32-bit and 64-bit Linux AppImages; packages are also documented for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, FreeBSD and openSUSE. The project identifies its license as GPL-2.0. The download page lists version 0.64.0, released on 2026-04-03, as the latest release. Bug reports and feature suggestions can be submitted as GitHub issues.