bined.nvim

The next generation xxd

• Requirements
• Rationale
• Usage
• Known issues

Requirements

• A Neovim with LuaJIT

Rationale

Right now the best way to edit some binary data using Neovim uses xxd. But there are a couple of problems with this workflow wise:

• Reading and writing binary data are separate from built in commands: :%!xxd to read and then :%xxd -r to write
• The buffer contents are replaced in place, there is no way to view both the full plaintext and the hexdump
• xxd needs to be manually rerun and the size specified manually to adapt to window size changes, otherwise the clear column layout might be lost

Usahe

Right now there is only a single command you need to memorize: :Bined

When you run :Bined, a new split will open, allowing you to edit the contents of the current buffer in hexadecimal, octal or binary. A highlight in the original buffer will show you where you are.
Whenever you :w the dump buffer, the contents will by synchronized back to the main buffer, the same applies if you :w the main buffer. This allows you to use Neovim itself for entering and editing plaintext and only use the hex editor part for the thing it is good at.

Known issues

• Highlights don't change with input: This will require a vim syntax file or a treesitter parser