ImHex vs rev.ng

ImHex is a hex editor for reverse engineers and programmers, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Its Pattern Language uses C-like syntax to describe structures and data types, which ImHex can use to parse and highlight file contents. The hex view supports searching, byte patching, patch management, and undo and redo. Analysis features include data inspection, file type parsing, byte type and entropy graphs, and detection of encrypted or compressed files. A YARA view scans files with rules, highlights matches, and lets users jump to them. The in-app Content Store offers community patterns, libraries, processor nodes, encodings, themes, and YARA rules; developers can also build plugins with libimhex, the API, and Content Registry. ImHex is free. Most of the application is GPLv2-only, while libimhex and the UI plugin library are LGPLv2.1. It generally requires a GPU with OpenGL 3.0 support; slower software-rendered releases are available. macOS release binaries require macOS 15 or higher.

rev.ng is a decompiler for reverse engineering that turns supported binaries into syntactically valid, standard-compliant C. Its data-structure recovery uses information across functions to identify linked lists, structs, arrays, and arrays of structs. The listed default architectures are x86, x86-64, ARM, AArch64, MIPS, and S390X; supported imports include ELF, PE/COFF, Mach-O, DWARF, PDB, and IDB. Users can define functions, edit prototypes, and rename items in YAML files, or interact through an HTTP API. The interface is described as available in a browser or standalone app, with cloud and standalone use offering the same experience. Collaborators can share a project URL; public projects include two collaborators. The rev.ng decompilation pipeline is Free Software, while the UI is intended for commercial cloud and standalone versions. The service is free and lists API, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows platforms. The site invites users to join a closed beta for the UI.