TEXT AND ITS ACTUAL BYTES
Convert text to binary or Hex, or decode bytes with an explicit character encoding. The sample contains four characters and ten bytes.
Conversion runs in this browser; input is not uploaded or saved as history.
Byte input: 8 binary digits or 2 Hex digits per byte; continuous groups, spaces, tabs, line breaks and commas are accepted only between whole bytes.
The selected encoding is used exactly. U+FEFF is preserved; no BOM is added, removed or used to guess byte order.
Text: 65,536 UTF-16 units. Byte input: 2,097,152 characters. Parsed bytes: 196,608. Result: 2,097,152 characters.
10 bytes · 4 Unicode code points · 5 UTF-16 units
TXT saves the result as UTF-8 text. BIN saves the actual encoded or parsed bytes.
A packet trace, a text field and a hexadecimal dump can contain the same message in different forms. The Text to binary converter lets you inspect the bytes behind a character before using them in a test fixture. Select the encoding used by the source: a sequence that decodes without an error can still be the wrong text.
The Text to binary converter handles accents, CJK characters and emoji as Unicode text. A uses one UTF-8 byte, é uses two, 中 uses three and 😀 uses four. UTF-16 LE and BE instead serialize 16-bit units in opposite byte orders; an emoji still needs a surrogate pair.
A seven-bit group is an error, not a request to add a zero. An invalid UTF sequence also stops the whole conversion. The original input stays in place and the diagnostic points back to its line and column, so a copied result cannot quietly omit the problematic character.
For binary to text or hex to text, choose the byte format first and then the encoding that produced the data. UTF-16 requires an explicit LE or BE choice. Changing the direction alone keeps your input; Reverse result previews replacing it with the last valid output.
Automatic conversion waits 350 ms after editing. Turn it off for Convert or Ctrl/Cmd + Enter. Input or option changes immediately disable exports until conversion succeeds. Separator and uppercase controls apply only to text-to-byte output.
Read the byte and code-point counts before exporting. TXT contains the displayed representation in UTF-8; BIN contains the actual bytes. Reverse result, Example and Clear show replacement counts before Apply, with one Undo that restores input and output together.
Text to hex encodes the full string before formatting each byte. A combining accent stays separate from its base letter, and no NFC normalization is performed. Counting code points does not count visual grapheme clusters: an emoji sequence can contain several code points.
Binary uses eight digits per byte and Hex uses two. The four output separators change the presentation only. Decoding accepts either case for Hex and permits continuous complete-byte groups separated by ASCII spaces, tabs, CR, LF or commas.
Invalid digits, incomplete groups, overlong UTF-8, invalid continuation bytes and broken UTF-16 surrogate pairs produce errors. The byte position is mapped back to the pasted input. Correctly encoded U+FFFD is preserved; the decoder never inserts that character to hide an error.
Encoding previews start with 100 bytes; decoding previews start with 100 Unicode code points. Show more adds another 100 without splitting a byte or surrogate pair. Copy, TXT and BIN always use the full current result, even when only the first part is visible.
Yes. Select Text → bytes or Bytes → text. Binary and Hex both work in either direction. To round-trip the current result, use Reverse result, check the replacement preview and apply it; simply changing direction does not move data between panels.
Yes, with the correct UTF encoding. In UTF-8, é is C3 A9 and 😀 is F0 9F 98 80. Combining accents are kept as entered. An unpaired UTF-16 surrogate is rejected rather than replaced, so valid text can be converted back without silent changes.
Binary groups must have a multiple of eight 0/1 digits. Hex groups must have a multiple of two digits from 0–9 and A–F. Whitespace and commas may separate complete groups. Prefixes and decorative dump columns are not accepted, and the resulting bytes must form valid text in the selected encoding.
Yes. 0100000101000010 is two complete bytes and decodes to AB in UTF-8. Spacing is optional between complete bytes, but incomplete groups are errors. The output separator setting affects encoding only; you do not have to match that setting when decoding.
Use a number-base converter for integer conversion. Here the text 42 becomes UTF-8 bytes 34 32 in Hex, or 00110100 00110010 in binary. The numeric value 42 is 101010 in binary, which is a different operation.
Still have a question?
Use the Text to binary converter to compare the same text in UTF-8 and both UTF-16 byte orders. Check the byte count, then choose the export your next task expects.
A byte is always eight bits; a character may need more than one byte.