All about HEX Files

The HEX file type is primarily associated with Arduino IDE.

HEX	File extension: HEX
	File type:	encoded text file

What is a HEX file?

HEX files mostly belong to Arduino IDE. HEX files use the Intel HEX format to store binary data as text in hexadecimal form. Each line starts with a colon and includes the record length, memory address, record type, data, and a checksum for error checking.
Primary use:

They are used to hold firmware for microcontrollers. This encoded text must be converted into machine code before a device can run it.

Other details:

They are common in the Arduino ecosystem and are processed by tools like AVRDUDE.

They are supported by programming utilities such as Segger J-Link Commander.

You can open a HEX file in a simple text editor or a hexadecimal editor to inspect its contents.

FilExt.com tip: When flashing a microcontroller, the HEX file carries the program code in a format that verifies data integrity. For more on Arduino-related usage, visit Arduino official site.

How to open HEX files

You need a suitable software like Arduino IDE to open a HEX file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your HEX file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a HEX file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online HEX Text Viewer

Choose your .hex file to view

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

✈

Read our privacy guarantee in Filext’s terms and privacy policy

Please allow ads on our site

This helps us keep our servers running. Then re-upload your file to view it.

Click here to see how to disable the ad blocker for filext.com

How to extract texts from HEX files or capture a screenshot to PDF, JPG, DOCX, TXT, ...

1. To do so, click the "Choose your .hex file to view" button above.
2. After your file is opened in browser,
3. click "Save as..." in the menu.
4. Then choose the file format (e.g. JPG, PDF, DOCX, TXT, ...) you want.
5. Your file will be converted and downloaded.

HEX file format:

To view or edit HEX files you need to know the file format, because it determines how the data in this file is stored. A file format is determined by the file extension and signature, so JPEG images have the extension .jpg and the first bytes in the file are ÿØÿ. However, different programs can use the same file extension, and file extensions can be assigned incorrectly. Exact knowledge of the format is therefore important in order to solve problems occurring in files. Our analysis of the HEX files produces the following result:

You will often come across the HEX file type. This includes different formats for the applicable programs. The following file formats are most commonly found in HEX files:

• 40% of all HEX files start with the bytes 3A 30, which are crucial for this file format. These files are text files, so they contain words and text. The average file size is 140 KB with most files being between 2 KB and 1 MB in size. The file type was created 10 years ago, but is still used today. The following keywords are characteristic: :020000040000FA. Such HEX files store data about microbit, bootloader and production.
• 35% of all HEX files use the same file format, which can be identified by the letters ":10" at the beginning. The contents of these files can even be read by a human. The file size is in the range of 1 KB to 320 KB. Files like these are about standard, continue, arduino, bltouch, power and loss.

All the rest of the HEX files (25%) have different formats. The category is firmware, atmega, code, mega, transistor, document, english, tester, clock, data or grbl. Just click the "Choose your .hex file to view" button on this page to find out what your HEX file is.