# Install hexcurse with Homebrew, apt, Nix Ncurses-based console hex editor. Version 1.60.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:hexcurse ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install hexcurse ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install hexcurse ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: hexcurse from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#hexcurse ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/he/hexcurse/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:hexcurse - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.60.0 - **Source summary:** Ncurses-based console hex editor - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** GPL-2.0-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - hexcurse (cli) - hexcurse (alias) ## Uses from macOS - ncurses ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.60.0 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/LonnyGomes/hexcurse - Upstream latest detected: v1.60.0 (current) - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. ## Project history and usage Hexcurse is a C ncurses console hex editor with an early-2000s release history and a revived GitHub maintenance home. ### Project history The upstream README says Hexcurse was written by Lonny Gomes and James Stephenson, then left unmaintained for a time before the maintainers noticed an old tarball circulating and restarted maintenance from a GitHub repository. The ChangeLog records a first release in May 2001, followed by rapid 2001-2003 development of undo, search, resizing, EBCDIC mode, large-file portability fixes, and terminal behavior improvements. After older 1.5x releases, the GitHub-era history includes a 1.58 release in 2014 and a 1.60.0 release in November 2015. The 1.60.0 ChangeLog entry switched versioning toward semver, added color support, improved signal handling, fixed failed-save behavior, and incorporated several community pull requests. ### Adoption history Hexcurse's long package life reflects its plain C/ncurses build model and traditional console UI. The input package metadata records Homebrew, Debian, Nix, and Ubuntu packages, and the Homebrew formula packages the v1.60.0 GitHub archive. ### How it is used Hexcurse opens, edits, and saves files while showing hexadecimal and character windows. It supports searching, decimal or hexadecimal addresses, jumps, undo, bold markers for modified bytes, EBCDIC mode, and keyboard shortcuts for save, open, goto, find, mode toggle, paging, and quit. ### Why package nerds care Hexcurse matters as one of the small curses hex editors that survived by being easy to build and package. Its history shows a common Unix package pattern: an old tarball-era utility rehomed on GitHub, lightly modernized, and kept useful through distro packaging rather than heavy feature churn. ### Timeline - 2001: First Hexcurse release recorded in the ChangeLog. - 2002: 1.40 and 1.50 releases add resizing, decimal addressing, EBCDIC mode, and portability fixes. - 2003: 1.55 fixes a file-saving bug. - 2013: GitHub repository created. - 2014: 1.58 adds large-file support from a contributor patch. - 2015: 1.60.0 release adds color support and several maintenance fixes. ### Related projects - Hexcurse is related to full-screen terminal hex editors such as hexedit and to lower-level byte inspection tools such as hexdump and xxd, but it emphasizes ncurses editing rather than one-shot dumping. ### Sources - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** hexcurse - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - hexcurse - 1.58-1.4: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: hexcurse from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | Ncurses-based hex editor with many features - Nix - hexcurse: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/he/hexcurse/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Ubuntu apt - hexcurse - 1.58-1.4: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: hexcurse from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | Ncurses-based hex editor with many features ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [dhex](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dhex/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, hex-editor, ncurses. - [hexapoda](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hexapoda/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: binary, cli, developer-tools, hex-editor. - [hexedit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hexedit/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: binary, cli, developer-tools, hex-editor. - [hyx](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hyx/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: c, cli, developer-tools, hex-editor. - [tweak](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/tweak/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, hex-editor, ncurses. - [bvi](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/bvi/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, hex-editor. - [ghex](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ghex/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, hex-editor. - [ired](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/ired/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, developer-tools, hex-editor. - [hexhog](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hexhog/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: binary, cli, developer, developer-tools, editor. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/hexcurse.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/hexcurse.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph