# Hexyl

> Use this skill when the user wants to inspect binary files, view hex dumps, examine file headers, debug compiled output, analyze binary data, or pipe raw bytes into a formatted hex viewer.

- Skill: `javimosch/hexyl` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add javimosch/hexyl`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/javimosch/hexyl/raw
- Safety review: PASS (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: javimosch (https://skillmd.com/u/javimosch)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/javimosch/hexyl

---


# Hexyl Plugin

A command-line hex viewer by sharkdp (fd, bat author). Pretty-print binary files with colored output.

## Commands

### Self
- `hexyl self version` — Print version

### Hex
- `hexyl hex view` — View hex dump (passthrough: `hexyl <file> [-n bytes] [-s skip]`)

### Passthrough
- `hexyl _ _` — Passthrough for any hexyl command

## Usage Examples
- "Show the hex dump of this binary file"
- "Inspect the first 64 bytes of this WASM file"
- "View the file header of this PNG image"
- "Show me the binary content of this executable"

## Installation

```bash
cargo install hexyl
```

## Examples

```bash
# Basic hex dump
hexyl file.bin

# Read from stdin
cat file.bin | hexyl

# First N bytes
hexyl -n 64 file.bin
hexyl -n 4KiB file.bin

# Skip N bytes
hexyl -s 1024 file.bin
hexyl -s 0x1000 file.bin

# Combined: read 256 bytes starting at offset 512
hexyl -n 256 -s 512 file.bin

# Custom block size
hexyl --block-size 1024 file.bin
```

## Key Features
- Colored output: different colors for different byte types
- ASCII representation column
- Smart byte grouping (4-byte nibbles)
- Column headers with offsets
- Supports stdin piping
- Binary and decimal offset notation
- Length and skip filters
- Block-size formatting