Desktop App

Archive Lab

A hex editor built for working through binary formats and game archives.

Status: In development

Overview

Archive Lab is a hex editor for working with large binary files and game archives. The main view is a virtualized 64-bit hex editor with search, replacement, highlighting and data inspectors.

File structures can be described with ABT, a bounded C/C++-style template language. Fields parsed by a template stay linked to the bytes they came from, so selecting something in the template takes you back to the same part of the file. Archive templates can also expose their contents as a directory tree for browsing and extraction.

ABT templates can be written and compiled directly inside Archive Lab. The Template Center keeps the bundled templates together with any you create yourself.

There is also a Compression and Transform Workbench for running supported compression algorithms and byte transforms against binary data without having to leave the application.

Features

Hex Editing

Virtualized 64-bit hex view for large files
Paged and memory-mapped file access
Insert and overwrite editing with undo and redo
Multiple file tabs and embedded-file inspection
Typed search and replacement with wildcard hex patterns
Configurable endianness, character sets and address formats
Minimap showing structures, matches and modified bytes
Numeric, text and bit inspectors linked to the current selection

Binary Templates

C/C++-style ABT template language
Integrated template editor, compiler and diagnostics
Automatic compatibility checks before a template runs
Colored template fields overlaid on the hex view
Structure Explorer with synchronized byte navigation
Parsed structure export to CSV and JSON
Template Center for bundled and user-created templates

Archive Work

Browse archive entries as a directory tree
Open and inspect files stored inside an archive
Extract individual entries or complete archives
Stage changes and rebuild supported archive formats

Compression and Transforms

Separate workbench for compression and byte transforms
Support for common codecs and reusable data operations