Dev Utilities
Decode space-separated hex bytes to text
Hex to ASCII converter turns a list of hex bytes back into text: 48 65 6c 6c 6f reads Hello. Developers use it on xxd-style dumps, hex columns copied out of logs and output from the ASCII to Hex tool. The separators do not matter: spaces, commas, colons and 0x or \x prefixes are all ignored, upper and lowercase both work, and the bytes are read as UTF-8, so c3 a9 comes back as é.
How to use Hex to ASCII
- Open Hex to ASCII in the Toolbox101 app.
- Paste a list of hex bytes such as
48 65 6c 6c 6finto theHex bytesbox. - Read the decoded text in the
Outputbox as soon as you paste. The example readsHello world. - Click
Copyto keep the text, or paste the output of the ASCII to Hex tool, which produces exactly this spaced format.
Worked example
Hex to ASCII returns the output below for this input.
Input
48 65 6c 6c 6f 20 77 6f 72 6c 64Output
Hello worldCheck it yourself: open Hex to ASCII and enter the same input.
Frequently asked questions
Do the hex bytes need padding or 0x prefixes?
No prefixes are needed, and they are fine if present: 0x48, 0x65 and \x48\x65 both work. Digits are read in pairs, so write 0a rather than a; an odd number of digits, or a character that is not a hex digit, is reported as an error.
Why does the decoded text show � characters?
The bytes are read as UTF-8. A byte sequence that is not valid UTF-8, such as a lone e9 that was meant as Latin-1 é, shows as �. For UTF-8 text like c3 a9 you get the right character.
How is this different from the Hex Decode tool?
They use the same tolerant reader, so either accepts spaced bytes, contiguous digits, commas or 0x prefixes. Hex Decode is the entry for one contiguous string, Hex to ASCII for spaced byte lists such as xxd columns.
What happens with tabs, double spaces or line breaks?
Any whitespace between bytes is ignored, so tabs, repeated spaces and the line breaks of a wrapped hex dump all decode in one go.
Use Hex to ASCII now
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