---
name: "utf8gen"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "utf8gen"
version: "1.1-5"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/utf8gen"
---

# utf8gen(1)

Generate UTF-8 output from hexadecimal input

## NAME

utf8gen - Generate UTF-8 output from hexadecimal input

## SYNOPSIS

**utf8gen** \[ \[-e *format1*\] \| \[-E *format2*\] \] \[-r *formatr*\]\
         \[ \[-u *utf8\_format*\] \| -n\] \[-c\] \[-s\]\
         \[-i *input\_file*\] \[-o *output\_file*\]

## DESCRIPTION

**utf8gen** reads a list of hexadecimal ASCII values in the range 0 through 10FFFF, one per line, and prints the UTF-8 encoding of that number as a Unicode code point.

Each input line must begin with a hexadecimal number. A string may follow after that, which can be echoed to the output as the "remainder" (see the -r option below). The total input line length, including an ending newline, is limited to 4096 bytes.

## OPTIONS

- \-c

  After the UTF-8 codes are printed, print a space followed by the character that the hexadecimal code point represents.

- \-e

  Echo the input code point in one format, using the [printf(3)](/printf/3.md) format string *format1*.

- \-E

  Echo the input code point in two formats, using the [printf(3)](/printf/3.md) format string *format2*.

- \-n

  Do *not* print the UTF-8 byte values.  This can be useful if only the printed character itself is desired; see the -c option.

- \-r

  Print the remainder of the input string after the initial hexadecimal digits, using the [printf(3)](/printf/3.md) format string *formatr*.

- \-s

  Swap the order of output: print the UTF-8 output portion first, then print the input string portion.  This can be useful for generating code containing a UTF-8 encoding followed by a comment that contains the input hexadecimal digits.

- \-u

  Print the UTF-8 encoded value of the input hexadecimal number, as numeric codes for each UTF-8 byte, using the [printf(3)](/printf/3.md) format string *utf8\_format*.  If no string is specified, a default format of a backslash followed by three octal digits is printed for each byte.

## EXAMPLES

         utf8gen -e "0x%04X " -u "\\%03o"

         utf8gen -E "U+%04x = 0%02o = "

         utf8gen -s -e "  /\* U+%04X \*/" -u "\\%03o"

## FILES

Files contain lines that each begin with an ASCII hexadecimal code in the valid Unicode range 0 through 10FFFF, inclusive. This hexadecimal code may optionally be followed by a space  followed by an arbitrary string ending with a newline, up to the limit of 4096 bytes per input line. An example line could be the following (with no indent):

41 Letter 'A'

## SEE ALSO

For more detailed explanations and examples of common usage, consult the **utf8gen** texinfo manual.

## AUTHOR

**utf8gen** was written by Paul Hardy.

## LICENSE

**utf8gen** is Copyright © 2018 Paul Hardy.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

## BUGS

No known bugs exist.