Compare two binary files and show the differences (byte offset and values).

binary-compare.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3

"""
compare_bins.py - Compare two binary files and print the differences.

Usage:
    python compare_bins.py original.bin modified.bin

Example output:
    Offset 0x1234: 56 → 78
"""

import sys

def compare_bins(file1, file2):
    with open(file1, 'rb') as f1, open(file2, 'rb') as f2:
        bin1 = f1.read()
        bin2 = f2.read()

    size = min(len(bin1), len(bin2))
    diffs = []

    for i in range(size):
        if bin1[i] != bin2[i]:
            diffs.append((i, bin1[i], bin2[i]))

    if len(bin1) != len(bin2):
        print(f"Warning: The files have different sizes! {len(bin1)} vs {len(bin2)}")

    return diffs

if __name__ == "__main__":
    if len(sys.argv) != 3:
        print("Usage: python compare_bins.py file1.bin file2.bin")
        sys.exit(1)

    file1 = sys.argv[1]
    file2 = sys.argv[2]

    differences = compare_bins(file1, file2)

    if not differences:
        print("No differences found!")
    else:
        for offset, byte1, byte2 in differences:
            print(f"Offset 0x{offset:04X}: {byte1:02X} → {byte2:02X}")