ascii2binary ☆

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Description:
Converting Text to Binary and Back

Type: Formula | Latest Version: 2.14@0 | Tracked Since: Dec 17, 2025

Links: Homepage | formulae.brew.sh

Category: Developer tools

Tags: cli binary text-processing developer-tools utilities

Install: brew install ascii2binary

About:
ascii2binary is a command-line utility that converts human-readable ASCII representations of binary data into raw binary bytes and vice versa. It provides a straightforward way to handle binary data in text-based environments, such as shell scripts or configuration files, where raw binary cannot be directly represented. This tool is essential for developers and system administrators needing to embed binary data like checksums or encoded payloads within text formats.

Key Features:

Converts ASCII hex/octal/decimal representations to raw binary
Performs reverse conversion from binary back to ASCII text
Lightweight, fast, and script-friendly command-line interface
Handles standard input and output for easy piping

Use Cases:

Embedding binary data like magic numbers or hashes in shell scripts
Decoding text-based binary representations for low-level data processing
Generating binary test data from textual descriptions

Alternatives:

xxd – xxd is a more versatile tool often included with vim, capable of hex dumping and reversible conversions, making it a common alternative.
Perl/Python one-liners – Scripting languages like Perl or Python can perform similar conversions using built-in functions, offering more flexibility but requiring a full interpreter.

License: GPL-3.0-only

Bottles available for: arm64_tahoe, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_ventura, arm64_monterey, arm64_big_sur, sonoma, ventura, monterey, big_sur, catalina, arm64_linux, x86_64_linux

Version History

Detected	Version	Rev	Change	Commit
Sep 14, 2025 4:07pm		0	VERSION_BUMP	bc91544a