Hex to String Blog
Practical articles on hexadecimal encoding, decoding, and developer workflows. Each guide pairs with our free browser-side tools.
Recognize UTF-8 byte patterns in hex: lead bytes, continuation bytes, BOM, mojibake, and safe decoding practices.
Use SHA hexdigest correctly: raw vs hex, avoid double-encoding, compare digests safely, and choose hex or Base64 for APIs.
Parse u16/u32/u64 values from hex dumps correctly with big-endian vs little-endian examples in Python and PHP.
Read xxd/hexdump output: offsets, grouped hex bytes, ASCII sidebars, common misreads, and a practical mystery-file workflow.
How URL percent-encoding uses hex bytes, UTF-8 sequences, encodeURI vs encodeURIComponent, and how it differs from raw string-to-hex.
Read IP addresses stored as hex, map C0A80101 to 192.168.1.1, and avoid wire-order vs host-endian mistakes.
How #RRGGBB hex colors map to RGB channels, short #RGB form, parsing examples, and links to converters.
Identify file types from hex signatures (magic numbers): JPEG, PNG, GIF, PDF, ZIP, ELF, with a quick check recipe.
Compare hex and Base64 for binary-to-text: size, readability, APIs, hashes, and a simple decision guide.
Fix the most common hex decode failures: odd-length strings, spaces, 0x prefixes, chunk boundaries, and charset mistakes.