Hex viewer, which uses colored output to distinguish different categories of bytes.
Publisher’s description
What is hexyl?
hexyl is an open-source terminals & cli tool program for Windows from David Peter. It is written in Rust.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit as Portable. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 0.17.0, released on February 14, 2026. 6 versions are listed since June 18, 2023, each with links to its own installer files. That is about 2.3 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 1,384 times. The source code on GitHub (sharkdp/hexyl) has 10,297 stars. Similar programs include PowerShell, QPDF and Oh My Posh.
Project description on GitHub: “A command-line hex viewer”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Portable: runs without installation
- Large user base
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
In short: hexyl is an open-source terminals & cli tool tool for 64-bit PCs.
Is hexyl safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
AB5C3442CFF63F585553D4FCE330EAA1EF1BD2584643F1A0E29AB7C13FC9566D· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the sharkdp/hexyl repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 19, 2026.
- No dangerous workflows10
- Licence declared10
- No binaries in the repository9
- Code review4
- Actively maintained0
- Restricted token permissions0
- Pinned dependencies0
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
- Fuzzing0
- Security policy0
- Signed releases0
- Static code analysis0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 6 versions ›6 versions over 3 years · about 2.3 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.17.0Latest | February 14, 2026 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 0.16.0 | December 27, 2024 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 0.15.0 | October 29, 2024 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 0.14.0 | December 21, 2023 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 0.13.1 | July 26, 2023 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
| 0.13.0 | June 18, 2023 | — | 64-bit ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id sharkdp.hexyl -echoco install hexyl -yscoop install main/hexylRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install hexylInformation
- Publisher
- David Peter
- Category
- Terminals & CLI tools
- Licence
- Apache-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/sharkdp/hexyl
- Written in
- Rust
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- Portable
- Version
- 0.17.0
- Released
- February 14, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- June 18, 2023
- Versions listed
- 6
- Updates / year
- 2.3
- Chocolatey downloads
- 1,384
- GitHub stars
- 10,297
- GitHub forks
- 278
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- sharkdp.hexyl
- Chocolatey package
- hexyl
- Scoop package
- main/hexyl
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is hexyl free?
Yes. hexyl is open-source software under the Apache-2.0 licence.
Is hexyl safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install hexyl with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Does hexyl run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of hexyl?
The versions page lists all 6 versions with links to their official installer files, back to June 18, 2023.
Can I use hexyl without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to hexyl?
PowerShell, QPDF, Oh My Posh, Alacritty and fzf. The alternatives page compares them.
