od
Dump files in octal and other formats
TLDR
Dump file in octal (default)
$ od [file]
Dump in hexadecimal (two-byte units)$ od -x [file]
Dump as ASCII characters and backslash escapes$ od -c [file]
Dump with hex addresses and single-byte hex output$ od -A x -t x1 [file]
Skip bytes from start$ od -j [bytes] [file]
Limit output to a specific number of bytes$ od -N [bytes] [file]
Show all data without duplicate suppression$ od -v [file]
Dump as named characters (ignoring high-order bit)$ od -a [file]
SYNOPSIS
od [options] [file...]
DESCRIPTION
od (octal dump) writes an unambiguous representation of its input to standard output. By default it displays data in octal, with each line showing an offset and the data values. The tool is useful for inspecting binary files, examining non-printable characters, and debugging data formats.Duplicate lines in the output are replaced by a single \* character unless -v is used.
PARAMETERS
FILE
File(s) to dump. With no FILE, or when FILE is -, read standard input.-A RADIX, --address-radix=RADIX
Address radix: d (decimal), o (octal), x (hex), n (none)-t TYPE, --format=TYPE
Output type (a, c, d, f, o, u, x with optional size suffix)-a
Named characters, same as -t a-b
Octal bytes, same as -t o1-c
ASCII characters or backslash escapes, same as -t c-x
Two-byte hexadecimal, same as -t x2-j BYTES, --skip-bytes=BYTES
Skip BYTES input bytes first-N BYTES, --read-bytes=BYTES
Limit dump to BYTES input bytes-v, --output-duplicates
Do not use * to mark line suppression-w[BYTES], --width[=BYTES]
Output BYTES bytes per output line (default 32)-S BYTES, --strings[=BYTES]
Show only NUL-terminated strings of at least BYTES printable characters--endian={big|little}
Swap input bytes according to the specified byte order
CAVEATS
Default output is octal, which is less intuitive than hex for most modern use cases. BYTES arguments may be followed by size suffixes: b (512), KB (1000), K (1024), MB, M, etc. Part of GNU coreutils.
HISTORY
od (octal dump) originated in early Unix (Version 1, 1971) for viewing file contents in octal representation.
