Analyze Binary Data

How to use Analyze Binary Data

1. 1. Paste the bits to inspect. Drop any run of zeros and ones into the input pane. Spaces and newlines between groups are ignored, so you can paste bytes, whole dumps or a single long bitstring as is.
2. 2. Read the statistics report. The output lists total bits, how many ones and zeros appear, the ones ratio as a percentage, and the longest consecutive run of each bit value. Together these describe the shape of your data at a glance.
3. 3. Copy the report. Use the copy button to grab the whole summary as plain text, ready to paste into a bug ticket, lab notebook or code review comment.

When to use Analyze Binary Data

Analyze Binary Data gives you a statistical profile of a bitstream without writing any code. Bit counts, the ones-to-zeros ratio and longest runs are exactly the numbers you reach for when judging whether data looks random, biased, stuck or padded, and this tool computes all of them in one paste.

• Eyeballing a random number generator. You captured output from an RNG or a hardware entropy source. A ones ratio far from 50 percent or an unusually long run of identical bits is an immediate red flag worth investigating.
• Spotting stuck bits in sensor captures. A logic analyzer trace from a flaky serial line can hide a stuck-at fault. The longest run statistic surfaces a suspiciously long stretch of zeros or ones that a scroll-through would miss.
• Measuring padding in a protocol frame. When reverse engineering a binary protocol, large zero-heavy regions usually mean padding or reserved fields. The zero count and runs help you estimate how much of the frame carries real data.
• Documenting test vectors. Before committing a binary fixture to a repository, paste it here and record its bit statistics in the accompanying comment so reviewers know what the blob contains.

Examples

11100010

Total bits: 8
Ones: 4
Zeros: 4
Ones ratio: 50.00%
Longest run of 1s: 3
Longest run of 0s: 3

About the Analyze Binary Data tool

Frequently asked questions