HexScope

A VS Code custom editor for Intel HEX (.hex) and Motorola SREC (.srec, .mot, .s19, .s28, .s37) files. Open any embedded firmware image and inspect its memory layout, analyze byte values, search the address space, patch bytes in-place, and annotate address ranges — all without leaving the editor.

Opening a file

Right-click a .hex, .srec, .mot, .s19, .s28, or .s37 file in the Explorer and choose Open with HexScope Viewer, or click the button that appears in the editor title bar when a supported file is open.

Views

Switch views using the toolbar tabs at the top of the editor.

Memory

The default view. Shows firmware data as a 16-byte hex grid with:

• Address column — 32-bit base address for each row
• Hex cells — two-digit uppercase hex; color-coded by byte class (zero, printable ASCII, high byte, control)
• Decoded text column — printable ASCII characters; non-printable bytes shown as ·
• Column hover — hovering any cell highlights the full column and the column header
• Gap rows — non-contiguous address ranges are collapsed into a single separator row showing the skip size
• Segment label banners — named address-range annotations appear inline above the first row of each range

Records

A table of every record parsed from the raw file, showing line number, record type badge, the address field, the resolved 32-bit address, byte count, raw data bytes, checksum byte, and whether the checksum is valid.

For Intel HEX files the badge labels are: Data, EOF, Extended Linear Address, etc. For SREC files: Header (S0), Data S1/S2/S3, Record Count (S5/S6), and End S7/S8/S9. A format badge in the stats bar (IHEX or SREC) identifies which parser was used.

Raw

The original source file with syntax highlighting. Separate TextMate grammars cover Intel HEX and Motorola SREC — both assign distinct colors to the start code, byte count, address field, record type, data bytes, and checksum.

Inspector sidebar

Click any byte in the memory grid to populate the sidebar panels.

Single byte selected

• Large hex chip (0xHH), decimal value, and ASCII character (if printable) — click any chip to copy it
• Nibble-grouped binary string (e.g. 0100 0001) — click to copy
• Bit view — 8-column grid, lit squares for set bits; bit index header (7→0); column hover

Multiple bytes selected

• Raw hex byte dump (first 8 bytes, … if longer) — click to copy
• Multi-byte interpreter — reads the selection as the smallest fitting type: | Selection | Types shown | |-----------|-------------| | 2 bytes | uint16, int16 | | 4 bytes | uint32, int32, float32 | | 8 bytes | float64 |
  • Little-endian / Big-endian toggle; click any value to copy
• Bit view — one row per byte, up to 8 bytes; total set-bit count shown

Search

Press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on macOS) to focus the search bar.

Navigate matches with the ‹ / › buttons or Enter / Shift+Enter. The active match is scrolled into view automatically.

Edit mode

Click Edit in the toolbar to enter edit mode.

• Right-click → Patch on a single byte to zero it, fill with 0xFF (erased flash), or enter a custom hex value
• Right-click → Fill/Patch on a multi-byte selection applies the same operation to all selected bytes
• Edited bytes are highlighted in amber with an underline in the memory grid
• The toolbar shows the pending change count and a Save button
  • Save rebuilds the data records with updated bytes, recomputes per-record checksums, and writes the file to disk. Intel HEX files are serialized as : records; SREC files are serialized preserving the original record type (S1/S2/S3) and address width
• ✕ Cancel discards all pending edits and restores the original values
• Ctrl+Z undoes the last edit operation

Right-click context menu

Single byte

Multiple bytes selected

Segment labels

Label address ranges with a name and color to annotate firmware regions (e.g., interrupt vectors, application code, configuration data).

• Add a label from the sidebar form or via the HexScope: Add Segment Label command
• Labels appear as colored banners in the memory grid at the start of each annotated range
• Labels can be reordered, hidden, edited, or deleted from the sidebar
• Labels are persisted per workspace per file

Commands

Supported record types

Intel HEX

Both Extended Linear Address (type 04) and Extended Segment Address (type 02) are fully supported for 32-bit address resolution.

Motorola SREC

S1, S2, and S3 records may be mixed within the same file. The execution start address is read from the S7, S8, or S9 end record.

Limitations

• Edit mode modifies data record bytes only; address extension records (IHEX type 02/04) and start-address records (IHEX type 03/05 and SREC S7/S8/S9) are preserved unchanged
• Raw Binary (.bin) import is not supported