Unicode Inspector

Break down strings into unicode codepoints
What is Unicode Inspector?
Unicode Inspector is a Chrome extension designed to help users understand the content of strings on web pages. It allows for the breakdown of strings into unicode codepoints and shows their representations in UTF-8 or UTF-16LE. The extension also enables editing of UTF-8 or UTF-16 bytes and provides byte representations using base64. Unicode names are loaded on-demand to optimize memory usage.

Extension stats

By: fizbin
Users: 297 ▲ 2
Version: 1.3 (Last updated: 2019-03-07)
Creation date: 2019-03-07
Risk impact: Very low risk impact
Risk likelihood: Low risk likelihood
Manifest version: 2
Permissions:
  • contextMenus
  • activeTab
  • storage
Size: 376.83K

Other platforms

Not available on Firefox
Not available on Edge
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Extension summary

This extension is intended for people who look at strings on web pages and need to know what those strings really contain. (e.g., someone using a web-based computer forensics tool looking at potentially deliberately tricky command lines)

This rips apart any highlighted text into its component Unicode code points, and shows how that text would be written in UTF-8 or UTF-16LE (UTF-16LE is what the Windows kernel uses for strings). It also allows one to edit UTF-8 or UTF-16 bytes and shows what strings they become. The byte representations can also use base64.

To cut down on memory use, this extension loads Unicode names (pulled from the Unicode® Character Database) into memory as needed on a block-by-block basis, so there may be a tiny delay when looking up the first character of a given block.

Preferences are saved with "Chrome sync"; the most recently viewed string is saved locally.

Extension safety

Risk impact

Unicode Inspector does not require any sensitive permissions.

Risk likelihood

Unicode Inspector has earned a fairly good reputation and likely can be trusted.

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