hx
A hex editor using plain C + POSIX libs. The project's code is somewhat influenced by the kilo project.
For an idea how it looks:
Compiling and running
The project does not have a dependency on libraries, not even curses. Like the
kilo editor, it makes use of ANSI escape sequences. The source can be compiled
by simply running make, or make all to gzip the manpage as well. To install,
simply run make install (as root). The files are currently installed under
/usr/local/bin/ (binary) and /usr/local/man/man1 (man page). Not really sure yet
if this is portable across distributions, though.
Running hx:
hx filename # open a file
hx -h # for help
hx -v # version information
hx -o 32 filename # open file with 32 octets per line
hx -g 8 filename # open file, set octet grouping to 8
Keys which can be used:
CTRL+Q : Quit immediately without saving.
CTRL+S : Save (in place).
hjkl : Vim like cursor movement.
Arrows : Also moves the cursor around.
w : Skip one group of bytes to the right.
b : Skip one group of bytes to the left.
gg : Move to start of file.
G : Move to end of file.
x / DEL : Delete byte at cursor position.
/ : Start search input. "\xYZ" can be used to search for
byte value YZ, and '\' must be escaped by another '\'
to search for '\'.
n : Search for next occurrence.
N : Search for previous occurrence.
u : Undo the last action.
CTRL+R : Redo the last undone action.
a : Append mode. Appends a byte after the current cursor position.
A : Append mode. Appends the literal typed keys (except ESC).
i : Insert mode. Inserts a byte at the current cursor position.
I : Insert mode. Inserts the literal typed keys (except ESC).
r : Replace mode. Replaces the byte at the current cursor position.
: : Command mode. Commands can be typed and executed (see below).
ESC : Return to normal mode.
] : Increment byte at cursor position with 1.
[ : Decrement byte at cursor position with 1.
End : Move cursor to end of the offset line.
Home : Move cursor to the beginning of the offset line.
Command mode
Being in normal mode (ESC) then hitting the colon key :, you can enter command
mode where manual commands can be typed. The following commands are recognized currently:
:123: go to offset 123 (base 10):0x7a69: go to offset 0x7a69 (base 16), 31337 in base 10.:w: writes the file.:q: quits (will warn if the buffer is dirty).:q!: quits promptly without warning.set o=16: sets the amount of octets per line.set g=8: sets grouping of bytes.
Input is very basic in command mode. Cursor movement is not available (yet?).
Implementation details
The program uses raw ANSI escape sequences for manipulating colors, cursor
positions and whatnot. The program first initializes the terminal in
so-called raw mode (see man termios). Then keypresses are read, processed
and then one function renders the contents, cursor and stuff.
In any case, the source code is pretty heavily commented I guess. For more details, Use The Source Luke.
Wishlist and TODOs
- Perhaps a configuration file to control the colors or some default settings.