macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install vbindifflocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install vbindiffMacPorts ports tree · sysutils/vbindiff/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install vbindiff with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, scoop, winget
Visual Binary Diff. Version 3.0_beta5 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add vbindiffAlpine Linux edge package indexes · vbindiff · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install vbindiffDebian stable package indexes · vbindiff · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install vbindiffFedora Rawhide package metadata · vbindiff · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#vbindiffnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/vb/vbindiff/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S vbindiffArch Linux sync databases · vbindiff · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
Windows
Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/vbindiffScoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/vbindiff.json · source: api.github.com
Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id Madsen.VBinDiff -eWindows Package Manager source index · Madsen.VBinDiff · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com
overview
Package summary
Visual Binary Diff
Project links
Commands and aliases
- vbindiff
history
Project history and usage
VBinDiff, short for Visual Binary Diff, is a terminal-oriented binary file viewer and comparison tool. It displays hexadecimal bytes alongside ASCII or EBCDIC text, can show two files at once, and highlights byte-level differences.
Project history
Christopher J. Madsen created VBinDiff after using the Compare Files function from Glen Bredon's ProSel utilities on the Apple II and failing to find a comparable utility for the PC. The single-file mode was inspired by the LIST utility from 4DOS and related shells, filling a gap left by line-oriented pagers such as `less` and inefficient `hexdump` pipelines for very large files.
The official release history traces a long, small-tool lineage: VBinDiff 1.x was first publicly released for OS/2 in January 1996; an unreleased 2.x line was ported from OS/2 to Win32 in October 1997; another unreleased 2.x added file editing in October 2004; and the 3.0 beta line began in November 2005 with POSIX support, single-file mode, EBCDIC support, and resizable console support.
The 3.0 beta series continued in 2008 with line-editor improvements and bug fixes, then in 2017 development moved to GitHub with 3.0 beta 5. The official source page still distributes source and Windows builds for that beta and points users to GitHub for ongoing development.
Adoption history
VBinDiff became a classic package-repository utility because it solves a precise problem that ordinary text diff tools do not: visually inspecting and aligning differences in binary files without loading an entire multi-gigabyte file into an editor. Its presence in Homebrew, Debian, Arch, MacPorts, Nix, Scoop, Winget, and other package ecosystems reflects that enduring command-line niche.
The tool's adoption is not driven by a large plugin ecosystem or frequent releases. It survives because reverse engineers, firmware tinkerers, file-format debuggers, systems programmers, and package maintainers occasionally need a compact visual hex diff that runs in a terminal.
How it is used
The basic invocation is `vbindiff file1 [file2]`. With one file it acts as a hex/ASCII viewer; with two files it scrolls both together and highlights differences. Users can jump to the next difference, search for strings or byte sequences, move to a file position, toggle ASCII/EBCDIC display, and edit bytes in place.
Its documentation is explicit about scope: VBinDiff works well with files up to 4 GB and can display the first 4 GB of larger files, but the classic interface is limited by 8-digit file positions. That constraint is part of its package-nerd charm: the tool is tiny, old-school, and direct rather than a modern binary-analysis platform.
Why package nerds care
VBinDiff is the kind of utility that distribution maintainers keep around because it does one job better than a shell pipeline: interactive binary comparison in a portable console UI. It is a useful companion to `cmp`, `diff`, `hexdump`, `xxd`, and full hex editors, occupying the middle ground between batch comparison and heavyweight GUI inspection.
The package also carries a recognizable historical arc across OS/2, Win32, and POSIX/curses environments, making it a small artifact of cross-platform command-line tool culture from the 1990s through the GitHub era.
Timeline
- 1996-01: First public OS/2 release of VBinDiff 1.x.
- 1997-10: Unreleased 2.x line ported from OS/2 to Win32, dropping OS/2 support.
- 2004-10: Unreleased 2.x line adds file editing.
- 2005-11-11: VBinDiff 3.0 beta 1 adds POSIX support, single-file mode, EBCDIC support, and resizable consoles.
- 2008-06/07: 3.0 beta 2 through beta 4 improve the line editor and fix Windows editing issues.
- 2017-09-10: 3.0 beta 5 moves development to Git and GitHub.
Related projects
- ProSel for Apple II inspired the two-file comparison model.
- 4DOS LIST inspired the single-file hex display mode.
- `diff`, `cmp`, `hexdump`, `xxd`, and terminal hex editors are neighboring tools in the same workflow.
Sources
- Official GitHub repository: https://github.com/madsen/vbindiff
- Official VBinDiff page and release history: https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/
- Official Windows documentation: https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/VBinDiff-Win32
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
vbindiff | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version3.0_beta5
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamnot checked
latest detectednot detected
https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
- infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/none confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:vbindiff |
|---|---|
| Version | 3.0_beta5 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/vbindiff |
| Homepage | https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/madsen/vbindiff |
| Upstream docs | https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/VBinDiff-Win32 |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Source archive | https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/vbindiff-3.0_beta5.tar.gz |
| Uses from macOS | ncurses |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | vbindiff |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
vbindiff 3.0-beta5-2
visual binary diff, visually compare binary files
http://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/
sudo apt install vbindiff- Section: utils
- Architecture: amd64
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
Nix95%
vbindiff
nix profile install nixpkgs#vbindiff- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
Ubuntu apt95%
vbindiff 3.0-beta5-2
visual binary diff, visually compare binary files
http://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/
sudo apt install vbindiff- Section: universe/utils
- Architecture: amd64
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
apk95%
vbindiff 3.0_beta5-r3
ncurses hex editor with diff mode for binary file comparison, supports files up to 4GB
https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/
sudo apk add vbindiff- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: vbindiff
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
apk95%
vbindiff-doc 3.0_beta5-r3
ncurses hex editor with diff mode for binary file comparison, supports files up to 4GB (documentation)
https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/
sudo apk add vbindiff-doc- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: vbindiff
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
dnf95%
vbindiff 3.0-0.36.beta4.fc44
Visual binary diff
http://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/
sudo dnf install vbindiff- License: GPL-2.0-or-later
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: vbindiff
- 7 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
pacman95%
vbindiff 3.0_beta5-3
displays files in hexadecimal and ASCII (or EBCDIC) and highlight the differences between them
https://www.cjmweb.net/vbindiff/
sudo pacman -S vbindiff- License: GPL
- Architecture: x86_64
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
MacPorts95%
vbindiff
sudo port install vbindiff- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
Scoop95%
main/vbindiff
scoop install main/vbindiff- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
winget95%
Madsen.VBinDiff
winget install --id Madsen.VBinDiff -e- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Vbindiff
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment