Hexana

A VS Code extension for viewing and analyzing binary files with a focus on WebAssembly and Native binary formats. Open any .wasm file to explore its structure, inspect hex data, and run modules — all inside VS Code. Open any ELF/Mach-O/PE file and explore its structure and inspect hex data.

Features

Custom Binary Editor

Opens WASM and Native binary files in a dedicated read-only editor instead of the default hex view. For WASM, it automatically detects Core Wasm modules, Component Model binaries, and generic Wasm files.

Hex Viewer

Virtual-scrolling hex dump with byte selection (click, shift-click, drag), keyboard navigation, and text search.

Structural Analysis

A tabbed analysis panel with views depending on the binary type.

For example, for WASM files we show the following tabs:

• Summary — section table and binary statistics.
• Exports — exported items with kind, name, index, and function signatures.
• Imports — imported items with kind, module, and name.
• Functions — function index, name, and signature.
• Data — data segments overview.
• Custom — custom sections list.
• Top — largest contributors by size.
• Monos — monomorphisation analysis.
• Garbage — unreferenced/dead code detection.
• Modules — clickable nested module list with drill-down (component model).
• WAT — WebAssembly Text representation, opened in a native VS Code editor tab with syntax highlighting.

All analysis tables support column sorting and text search.

Run Support (WASM only)

Run Wasm modules directly from the editor toolbar via wasmtime, with a dialog for choosing exports and program arguments. Supports both core modules (with automatic import stub generation) and component model binaries (with dependency resolution and composition).

WASM Component Model

• Automatic component dependency resolution by scanning workspace directories for matching .wasm files, including transitive dependencies.
• Navigate nested modules inside a component binary by opening them in separate editor tabs.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.102 or later.
• wasmtime (optional) — needed for the Run button to execute Wasm modules.
• wasm-tools or wac (optional) — used for component composition when running component model binaries with unresolved imports.
• Java 21 or later (optional) — needed for the Hexana MCP server. The server is downloaded on demand; set hexana.mcp.javaHome if Java is not available through JAVA_HOME or PATH.

Links

• Source code
• Issue tracker

License

See LICENSE.

This extension collects telemetry data, which is used to help understand how to improve the product. Please refer to JetBrains Privacy Notice for more information about data collection and use. You can opt out of telemetry by setting the hexana.enableStatistics setting to false.