---
name: "tinyxxd"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "tinyxxd"
version: "1.3.17-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/tinyxxd"
---

# tinyxxd(1)

A hexadecimal, binary, and ASCII dump utility with color support

## NAME

tinyxxd - A hexadecimal, binary, and ASCII dump utility with color support

## SYNOPSIS

**tinyxxd** \[options\] \[infile \[outfile\]\]

**tinyxxd** -r \[-s \[-\]offset\] \[-c cols\] \[-ps\] \[infile \[outfile\]\]

## DESCRIPTION

**tinyxxd** is a versatile utility for creating hex, binary, and ASCII dumps from binary files. It can also reverse these dumps back into binary form. Additionally, it supports various output formats, including C include files and PostScript. **tinyxxd** enhances readability by optionally colorizing the output, respecting the NO\_COLOR environment variable.

## OPTIONS

- **-a \| -autoskip**

  Toggle autoskip mode. In this mode, a single \`\*\` replaces lines that consist only of zeros. Default is off.

- **-b \| -bits**

  Output a binary digit dump instead of hexadecimal. This option is incompatible with -ps.

- **-c cols \| -cols cols**

  Format the output to include cols octets per line. Default is 16 (12 in C include style, 30 in PostScript).

- **-C \| -capitalize**

  Capitalize variable names in C include file style (-i).

- **-d**

  Show the offset in decimal instead of hexadecimal.

- **-e**

  Create a little-endian dump. This option is incompatible with -ps, -i, and -r.

- **-g bytes \| -groupsize bytes**

  Group output into octets of bytes size in the normal output mode. Default is 2 (4 for little-endian).

- **-E \| -EBCDIC**

  Display the characters in EBCDIC encoding instead of ASCII.

- **-h \| -help \| --help**

  Print a summary of the options.

- **-i \| -include**

  Output in C include file style.

- **-l len \| -len len**

  Stop after len octets.

- **-n name \| -name name**

  Set the variable name used in C include output (-i).

- **-o offset**

  Add offset to the displayed file position.

- **-p \| -ps \| -postscript \| -plain**

  Output in PostScript plain hexdump style.

- **-r \| -revert**

  Reverse operation: convert (or patch) hexdump into binary.

- **-R when**

  Colorize the output. when can be 'always', 'auto', or 'never'. Default: 'auto'.

- **-s \[+\]\[-\]seek**

  Start at seek bytes absolute (or relative, with + prefix) in the input file. When used with -r, the offset is added to file positions found in the hex dump.

- **-t**

  Append a terminating NUL byte to the array in C include file style (-i).

- **-u**

  Use uppercase letters for hexadecimal output. Default is lowercase.

- **-v \| -version**

  Show version information.

## EXAMPLES

- **Create a standard hex dump with color:**

  ```
  tinyxxd file.bin
  ```

- **Create a little-endian hex dump:**

  ```
  tinyxxd -e file.bin
  ```

- **Output in binary digit format:**

  ```
  tinyxxd -b file.bin
  ```

- **Create a C include file:**

  ```
  tinyxxd -i file.bin > file.h
  ```

- **Reverse a hex dump into binary:**

  ```
  tinyxxd -r dump.hex > file.bin
  ```

## EXIT STATUS

**0** - Success. **1-5** - Various errors (e.g., file I/O errors, invalid arguments).

## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

- **NO\_COLOR**

  If set, disables color output.

## CAVEATS

- **Little-endian dumps**

  The -e option only affects the hexadecimal representation and not the ASCII (or EBCDIC) characters on the right side of the dump. The option is incompatible with -r, -p, or -i.

- **Reverse Operation (-r)**

  The reverse operation may encounter difficulties with lines that are not formatted as expected. It will skip over non-conforming lines and continue processing. Line numbers are used for positioning when writing output, so the order and completeness of lines are important.

## BUGS

No known bugs so far. Issues can be reported at: https://github.com/xyproto/tinyxxd/issues

## AUTHOR

**tinyxxd** was written by:

Bram Moolenaar \<Bram@vim.org\>\
 Jürgen Weigert \<jnweiger@gmail.com\>\
 DungSaga \<dungsaga@users.noreply.github.com\>\
 Atsushi SUGAWARA \<peanutsjamjam@gmail.com\>\
 Yegappan Lakshmanan \<yegappan@yahoo.com\>\
 Erik Auerswald \<auerswal@unix-ag.uni-kl.de\>\
 David Gow \<david@ingeniumdigital.com\>\
 Philip H \<47042125+pheiduck@users.noreply.github.com\>\
 Aapo Rantalainen \<aapo.rantalainen@gmail.com\>\
 Christian Brabandt \<cb@256bit.org\>\
 Ken Takata \<kentkt@csc.jp\>\
 tristhaus \<tristhaus@yahoo.de\>\
 OldWorldOrdr \<joey.t.reinhart@gmail.com\>\
 Keith Thompson \<Keith.S.Thompson@gmail.com\>\
 Igor Todorovski \<itodorov@ca.ibm.com\>\
 Kuratius \<Kuratius@gmx.net\>\
 Goffredo Baroncelli \<kreijack@inwind.it\>\
 Lennard Hofmann \<lennard.hofmann@web.de\>\
 RestorerZ \<restorer@mail2k.ru\>\
 Husam Harazi \<i@vimmer.dev\>\
 Oliver Webb \<aquahobbyist@proton.me\>\
 Andre Chang \<andre@augmentcode.com\>\
 Randy Eckenrode \<randy@largeandhighquality.com\>\
 Alexander F. Rødseth \<xyproto@archlinux.org\>\
 Noah Gitsham \<me@noahgitsham.com\>\
 Lukáš Jiřiště \<kyci@ljiriste.work\>

## VERSION

**tinyxxd 1.3.17**

## SEE ALSO

**[xxd(1)](/xxd/1.md)** - Original hex dump utility.