Linux viewing binary files

how to open .bin file using terminal in linux

I have one .bin file.in that file some data which is important for me and and i want to open that file by using terminal so please help me.I have not any software for that. so give me and command.

.bin files or .run files are usually, in my experience, self extracting shell scripts. Where did you get this from? What’s the name? What is it supposed to contain?

do you want to open (read) it or run it? call file my.bin , see if its a shell script and then run it with sh my.bin . i hope the source of the file is trustworthy!

5 Answers 5

You have to be sure of what you’re downloading (because a .bin file extension is also used for CD/DVD images and backups). Check with the «provider» (Web Page, CD/DVD instructions, etc. ) of the file that it can be executed as a program.

A binary file is a computer file that is not a text file. The term «binary file» is often used as a term meaning «non-text file». Many binary file formats contain parts that can be interpreted as text; for example, some computer document files containing formatted text, such as older Microsoft Word document files, contain the text of the document but also contain formatting information in binary form.

1. Open your terminal and go to ~$ cd /Downloads (where ~/Downloads is the folder where you bin file is)
2. Give it execution permissions (just in case it doesn’t have it already):
   ~/Downloads$ sudo chmod +x filename.bin
3. Write: ./ followed by the name and extension of your bin file. In this example it would be: ~/Downloads$ ./filename.bin

• If filename.bin needs administrator priviledges to be executed (like an installer would), write ~/Downloads$ sudo ./filename.bin and type your password.
• ~/Downloads folder is only an example. You can place your bin file anywhere you feel comfortable (yes, even a USB Drive or a SDCard).

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How to View Binary Files in Bash: Commands, Editors, and Analysis

Learn how to view binary files in bash using readelf, objdump, hexdump, and other commands. Find binary files in a directory, extract and read binary file content, and open a binary file in Linux.

• Commands for Viewing Binary Files in Bash
• Finding Binary Files in a Directory
• Checking if a File is Binary in Bash
• Extracting and Reading Binary File Content in Shell Utilities
• Binary Editors for Linux
• Analyzing Binary Files in Linux
• Detecting if a File is Binary
• Opening a Binary File in Linux
• Other helpful code examples for viewing files in binary in bash
• Conclusion
• How do I view binary content of a file?
• How do I view binary files in Linux?
• How to check if file is binary in bash?
• How do I open a binary file in Terminal?

Binary files contain data in a format that computers can read and process faster than text files. Binary files are usually used for executable files, images, audio, and video files, and other types of data that require efficient processing. While binary files can be difficult to read, Bash commands and editors can help users view and analyze them. In this post, we will explore the commands, editors, and analysis techniques that can be used to view binary files in Bash.

Commands for Viewing Binary Files in Bash

Bash commands can be used to view binary files. Three of the most commonly used commands for viewing binary files in Bash are readelf, objdump, and hexdump. These commands can be used to display the content of a binary file in different formats.

Readelf

The readelf command is used to display the contents of an ELF format object file. ELF stands for Executable and Linkable Format, which is a binary file format used by most Unix-like operating systems. The readelf command can display various information about the binary file, including the header, program headers, section headers, and symbol tables.

Here is an example of how to use the readelf command to view the content of a binary file:

Objdump

The objdump command is used to display information about object files. It can be used to display the disassembled code of a binary file, which shows the machine code instructions that make up the program. The objdump command can also display the contents of the binary file in various formats, including hexadecimal and ASCII.

Here is an example of how to use the objdump command to view the content of a binary file:

Hexdump

The hexdump command is used to display the content of a binary file in hexadecimal format. It can be used to display the hexadecimal values of each byte in the binary file. The hexdump command can also display the content of the binary file in other formats, such as octal and decimal.

Here is an example of how to use the hexdump command to view the content of a binary file:

Finding Binary Files in a Directory

To find binary files in a directory, you can use the ls command with xargs file and grep ELF. The ls command is used to list the files in a directory, and the xargs command is used to pass the list of files to the file command. The file command is used to identify the type of a file, and grep is used to search for the string “ELF” in the output of the file command.

Here is an example of how to use the ls command with xargs file and grep ELF to find binary files in a directory:

Checking if a File is Binary in Bash

To check if a file is binary in Bash, you can use the ‘file –mine’ command and grep for the regexp “binary$”. The file command is used to identify the type of a file, and the –mine option is used to display the MIME type of a file.

Here is an example of how to use the ‘file –mine’ command to check if a file is binary and grep for the regexp “binary$»:

file --mine file_name | grep binary$ 

Extracting and Reading Binary File Content in Shell Utilities

To extract and read binary file content in shell utilities, you can use the head command to extract a number of bytes and od to convert a byte into a number. The head command is used to display the first few lines of a file, and the od command is used to convert a byte into a number.

Here is an example of how to use the head command to extract a number of bytes and od to convert a byte into a number to read binary file content in shell utilities:

head -c 20 binary_file | od -t x1 

Binary Editors for Linux

Binary editors are specialized software tools used to edit binary files directly. These editors can be used to modify the content of a binary file and analyze its structure. Three popular binary editors for Linux are bvi, GNOME Hex Editor, and hexedit.

Bvi

Bvi is a binary editor that allows users to edit binary files in a terminal window. It can display the content of a binary file in ASCII, hexadecimal, and octal format. Bvi also has a command mode that allows users to execute commands to edit the content of a binary file.

Here is an example of how to use bvi to edit a binary file:

GNOME Hex Editor

GNOME Hex Editor is a binary editor that provides a graphical user interface for editing binary files. It can display the content of a binary file in hexadecimal and ASCII format. GNOME Hex Editor also provides features such as search and replace, copy and paste, and file comparison.

Here is an example of how to use GNOME Hex Editor to edit a binary file:

Hexedit

Hexedit is a binary editor that allows users to edit binary files in a terminal window. It can display the content of a binary file in ASCII, hexadecimal, and octal format. Hexedit also provides a command mode that allows users to execute commands to edit the content of a binary file.

Here is an example of how to use hexedit to edit a binary file:

Analyzing Binary Files in Linux

analyzing binary files in linux requires a combination of different commands and utilities. The file command can be used to identify the exact file type of a binary file. The ldd command can be used to display the shared libraries that a binary file depends on. The ltrace command can be used to trace the library calls made by a binary file. The readelf and objdump commands can be used to display the contents of a binary file in different formats. Finally, the strace command can be used to trace the system calls made by a binary file.

Here is an example of how to use the file command to identify the exact file type of a binary file:

Here is an example of how to use the ldd command to display the shared libraries that a binary file depends on:

Here is an example of how to use the ltrace command to trace the library calls made by a binary file:

Here is an example of how to use the readelf command to display the contents of a binary file in different formats:

Here is an example of how to use the objdump command to display the disassembled code of a binary file:

Here is an example of how to use the strace command to trace the system calls made by a binary file:

Detecting if a File is Binary

To detect if a file is binary, you can use the file –mime-encoding | grep binary command. The file command is used to identify the type of a file, and the –mime-encoding option is used to display the MIME encoding of a file.

Here is an example of how to use the file –mime-encoding | grep binary command to detect if a file is binary:

file --mime-encoding file_name | grep binary 

Opening a Binary File in Linux

To open a binary file in Linux, you need to mark the file as executable using chmod +x and then execute it using the command: . /file_name.bin. The chmod command is used to change the permissions of a file.

Here is an example of how to mark a binary file as executable and execute it:

chmod +x binary_file ./binary_file 

Other helpful code examples for viewing files in binary in bash

In shell, shell view binary file code example

# Basic syntax: strings binary_file # Note, pipe to less or etc if you don't want to print the whole file to the # console

Conclusion

In this post, we have explored the commands, editors, and analysis techniques that can be used to view binary files in Bash. We have covered the readelf, objdump, and hexdump commands for viewing binary files, the ls command with xargs file and grep ELF for finding binary files, the ‘file –mine’ command for checking if a file is binary, the head command and od for extracting and Reading Binary File content in shell utilities, the bvi, GNOME Hex Editor, and hexedit binary editors for Linux, and the file, ldd, ltrace, readelf, objdump, and strace commands for analyzing binary files in Linux. We have also covered how to detect if a file is binary and How to open a binary file in linux . However, caution should be taken when working with shell scripts when working with binary files, and another language should be used if possible.

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