A modern hex editor built with Rust and gpui, featuring GPU-accelerated rendering and efficient handling of large files.
- 3-Column Layout: Address, Hex, and ASCII views synchronized in real-time
- Dual Edit Modes: Edit bytes in either Hex or ASCII mode (toggle with Tab)
- Large File Support: Memory-mapped files for efficient handling of files > 10MB
- Virtual Scrolling: Smooth performance even with gigabyte-sized files
- Undo/Redo: Full edit history with 1,000 operation limit
- Keyboard Navigation: Arrow keys for cursor movement
- Mouse Support: Click to position cursor, drag to select ranges
- Selection: Shift+Arrow keys or mouse drag to select byte ranges
- Auto-scroll: Cursor automatically stays visible during navigation
- Dual Search Modes:
- ASCII text search
- Hex value search (space-separated, e.g., "48 65 6C 6C 6F")
- Background Search: Non-blocking search with cancellation support
- Visual Indicators:
- All matches highlighted in yellow
- Current match highlighted in orange
- Scrollbar markers showing match positions
- Navigation: F3/Enter (next), Shift+F3 (previous)
- Open Files: Command-line argument or sample data
- Save: Ctrl+S / Cmd+S to save changes
- Unsaved Changes Indicator: Visual feedback in title and status
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Navigation | |
| Arrow Keys | Move cursor |
| Shift+Arrow | Extend selection |
| Ctrl+A / Cmd+A | Select all |
| Editing | |
| Tab | Switch between Hex/ASCII mode |
| 0-9, A-F | Edit hex value (in Hex mode) |
| Printable chars | Edit ASCII value (in ASCII mode) |
| Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z | Undo |
| Ctrl+Y / Cmd+Y | Redo |
| File | |
| Ctrl+S / Cmd+S | Save file |
| Search | |
| Ctrl+F / Cmd+F | Toggle search |
| Tab (in search) | Switch ASCII/Hex mode |
| Enter / F3 | Next match |
| Shift+F3 | Previous match |
| Backspace | Delete character |
| Esc | Close search / Cancel |
- Rust 1.70 or later
- macOS, Linux, or Windows
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/suma/rusthex.git
cd rusthex
# Build release version
cargo build --release
# The binary will be in target/release/rusthex# Open with sample data
cargo run
# Open a specific file
cargo run -- path/to/file.bin
# Or use the compiled binary
./target/release/rusthex path/to/file.bin- UI Framework: gpui 0.2.2 - GPU-accelerated UI framework
- Memory Management:
- Small files (< 10MB): In-memory storage
- Large files (≥ 10MB): Memory-mapped files (memmap2)
- Edit Buffer: Overlay-based modification tracking (HashMap)
- Performance Optimizations:
- Virtual scrolling for large files
- O(1) search result lookup using HashSet
- Efficient bulk memory copying for search operations
rusthex/
├── src/
│ ├── main.rs # Main application and UI
│ └── document.rs # Document model and file I/O
├── Cargo.toml
├── LICENSE-MIT
├── LICENSE-APACHE
└── README.md
RustHex is designed to handle large files efficiently:
- Virtual Scrolling: Only renders visible rows, enabling smooth navigation of multi-gigabyte files
- Memory-Mapped Files: Large files are not loaded entirely into memory
- Background Search: Search operations run in separate threads to keep UI responsive
- Optimized Rendering: HashSet-based lookup for instant search result highlighting
# Run in development mode
cargo run
# Run with a specific file
cargo run -- Cargo.toml
# Run tests
cargo test
# Check code quality
cargo clippy
# Format code
cargo fmtSee todo.md for detailed implementation status and planned features.
- Copy/paste support
- Page Up/Down navigation
- File dialog (open/save as)
- Data inspector (view bytes as various types)
- Bookmarks
- Comparison mode
- Customizable themes
This project is dual-licensed under either of:
- Apache License, Version 2.0 (LICENSE-APACHE or http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
- MIT license (LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
at your option.
Built with gpui - A fast, productive UI framework for Rust
Copyright (c) 2025 Shuzo Kashihara
