BINARY -> TEXT · Local tool
Binary to Text
Convert binary, hex, octal or decimal numbers back into text.
Last updated
How do I convert binary back to text?
Paste the numbers into filetity and the text appears beside it, with nothing uploaded. Separators are optional: spaces, commas, semicolons and pipes all work, and a single unseparated run is split into groups of eight for binary or pairs for hexadecimal, which is unambiguous because every byte is written to a fixed width. Prefixes like 0x and 0b are stripped, since they turn up constantly in output copied out of a debugger. The bytes are then decoded as UTF-8 strictly, so a sequence that decodes individually but does not form characters is reported rather than coming back as a line of replacement marks that looks like it worked. A value above 255 cannot be a byte at all, and the page says so and suggests reading it as a code point.
01 / Your device
the file stays here
02 / Browser memory
the work runs locally
03 / Back to you
saved on this device
When you would use this
Situations, not settings.
- Binary somebody sent you as a puzzle
- Separators are optional; a continuous run is split into bytes of eight, which works because every byte is written to a fixed width.
- A hex dump you need to read
- 0x prefixes are stripped, so output copied straight out of a debugger works without cleaning it up first.
- Checking whether bytes are really UTF-8
- A sequence that decodes individually but does not form characters is reported, rather than coming back as replacement marks that look like it worked.
How it works / no cloud
A conversion engine, not an upload form.
Groups are split on whitespace or commas, and a single unseparated run is split into bytes of eight for binary or pairs for hex, which is unambiguous because of the padding. The bytes are then decoded as UTF-8 strictly, so a sequence that does not form characters is reported rather than coming back as replacement marks.
- Offline ready
- Installable app
- No file limit queue
Straight answers
No accordion. Nothing hidden.
- Is it free?
- Yes, with no watermark and no page limit.
- Does it need an account?
- No. There is no account system.
- Is my file processed on my device?
- Yes. The file is read by your browser and never uploaded. There is no server to send it to.
- What formats are supported?
- Binary, hexadecimal, octal or decimal in, separated or not, with 0x and 0b prefixes ignored. Text out.
- What are the limits?
- Values above 255 cannot be UTF-8 bytes and are reported as such, with a suggestion to read them as code points instead.
- Does it work on mobile?
- Yes, on any modern mobile browser. Large files are limited by the memory the phone gives the browser.
- Does it work offline?
- Yes, once the page has loaded. The tool keeps working with no network connection.
- Does my binary need spaces between the bytes?
- No. A continuous run is split into groups of eight, and hexadecimal into pairs, which is unambiguous because every byte is padded to a fixed width. Spaces, commas, semicolons and pipes all work as separators if your input has them.
- Why does it say my bytes are not valid UTF-8?
- Because they decode individually but do not form characters. A byte like C3 starts a two byte sequence and needs a continuation byte after it, so C3 followed by something else is not text. Most converters return replacement marks here and look like they worked; this says so instead.
- What if a number is bigger than 255?
- Then it is not a byte, and it is almost certainly a code point. The page says so and suggests switching, because a value like 128512 is a perfectly good character number and a completely impossible byte.
- Will it handle 0x and 0b prefixes?
- Yes, they are stripped before anything is read. Those turn up constantly in output copied from a debugger or a programming language, and having to remove them by hand first is exactly the sort of friction this should absorb.
- Can it read binary that came from another tool?
- Usually, and the thing to check is what the other tool counted. If it produced one number per character rather than per byte, switch to code points here. If the numbers are eight digits each, it counted bytes and the default is right.
Keep working locally
3 available · more coming