Xxd Command Not Found -
This error appears when your shell cannot locate the xxd executable in any of the directories listed in your $PATH environment variable. Common reasons include:
If you believe Vim is already installed, verify the location of the binary.
If you cannot install packages, you can use built-in tools to achieve the same result.
Option A: Revert a hex dump back to text (Reverse xxd)
If you have a hex string (e.g., 48656c6c6f) and want to see what it says:
echo "48656c6c6f" | xxd -r -p
Use perl instead:
echo "48656c6c6f" | perl -pe 's/(..)/chr(hex($1))/ge'
Option B: Create a hex dump
If you want to turn text into hex like xxd does: xxd command not found
echo "Hello" | od -A x -t x1z -v
Since xxd is part of the Vim distribution, installing Vim usually resolves the dependency.
Debian / Ubuntu / Kali Linux:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install vim-common
# or simply
sudo apt-get install vim
Red Hat / CentOS / Fedora:
sudo dnf install vim-enhanced
# or for older systems
sudo yum install vim-enhanced
Arch Linux / Manjaro:
sudo pacman -S vim
Alpine Linux:
apk add vim
macOS:
xxd is installed by default on macOS. If missing, install via Homebrew:
brew install vim
hexdump -C file.bin
But xxd offers unique features like reverse conversion (-r), so installing is recommended if you use it often.
The xxd command is often missing from minimal or fresh Linux installations because it is typically bundled with the Vim text editor rather than being a standalone utility. How to Install xxd
To fix the "command not found" error, install the package that contains xxd for your specific operating system: This error appears when your shell cannot locate
make test reports failures if xxd is not installed #3797 - GitHub
Sometimes a fresh session solves path issues.
xxd is a command-line utility that creates a hexadecimal representation (hex dump) of a given file or standard input. It can also do the reverse: convert a hex dump back into the original binary format.
Part of the vim package (yes, the popular text editor), xxd is often included with Unix-like operating systems, but not always by default. It’s invaluable for:
Use find or whereis:
whereis xxd
# or
find /usr -name xxd 2>/dev/null
On macOS with Homebrew, xxd is often in /usr/local/bin/xxd or /opt/homebrew/bin/xxd (Apple Silicon). Add that directory to your PATH:
export PATH=$PATH:/opt/homebrew/bin
To make permanent, add that line to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc.
