bingrep -- search for a fixed string in a large binary file

License: MIT

Example

In test_file.txt:

This file contains the word "the" three times.
Where's the third?

Search for the:

$ bingrep the test_file.txt
Match from 19 to 22
Match from 29 to 32
Match from 55 to 58

Why would you want to use this?

Well, suppose you had a program that wasn't yet in git, and which you rm'd by accident.

With bingrep, it's easy! Just recall a short excerpt from your file, and search your hard drive for it:

$ # First, how big is the hard drive
$ fdisk -l | awk '/sda3/ {print $4 * 512}'
94260690944
$ sudo bingrep -l `!!` 'my code excerpt' /dev/sda3

Then, after 30 minutes, when the only results are from sudo logging your command to /var/log/auth.log (or journald, or wherever), you can go back and rewrite your program.

Features

• Handles binary queries and files
• Supports files as big as you can fit in your virtual address space (ie not big enough on 32-bit architectures)
• Might work on Windows
• Pretty progress bar courtesy of indicatif