embin

A simple program that can embed binary or text files into source code of a specific language

Installation

You can find pre-built releases for linux, macOS and Windows

Otherwise, you can install embin from source using cargo, with the following command:

cargo install embin

⭐ Don't forget to put a star if you like the project!

Usage

Usage: embin [OPTIONS] <INPUT>...

Arguments:
  <INPUT>...  Input file(s) to embed, which can be binary or text files

Options:
  -o, --output <OUTPUT>      Write generated source code in output file instead of stdout
      --lang <LANG>          Language of the generated source code [default: c]
      --format <FORMAT>      Format of the generated source code [default: hex]
      --indent <INDENT>      Indentation type of the generated source code [default: space]
      --padding <PADDING>    Padding value of the generated source code [default: 4]
      --quantity <QUANTITY>  Number of byte elements per line [default: 16]
      --mutable              Make generated variables mutable
  -h, --help                 Print help
  -V, --version              Print version

Examples

Embedding a file into C

embin --lang=c data.png > output.h

Result:

const unsigned char data_png[] = {
    0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x74, 0x65,
    0x73, 0x74, 0x20, 0x66, 0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68,
    0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x77, 0x20,
    0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a
};
const unsigned int data_png_len = 42;

Embedding a file into C++

embin --lang=cpp data.png > output.hpp

Result:

#include <array>

constexpr std::array<unsigned char, 42> data_png = {
    0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x74, 0x65,
    0x73, 0x74, 0x20, 0x66, 0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68,
    0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x77, 0x20,
    0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a
};

Embedding a file into Python

embin --lang=python data.png > output.py

Result:

DATA_PNG = bytes([
    0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x74, 0x65,
    0x73, 0x74, 0x20, 0x66, 0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68,
    0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x77, 0x20,
    0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a
])

⚠️ On Windows, use --output instead of > when generating your embedded assets to avoid the following error when running python code:

source code string cannot contain null bytes

Embedding multiple files

embin --lang=cpp assets/icon.png assets/banner.png > assets.hpp

Result:

#include <array>

constexpr std::array<unsigned char, 42> icon_png = {
    0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x74, 0x65,
    0x73, 0x74, 0x20, 0x66, 0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68,
    0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x77, 0x20,
    0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a
};

constexpr std::array<unsigned char, 86> banner_png = {
    0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x77, 0x20, 0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e,
    0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61,
    0x20, 0x74, 0x65, 0x73, 0x74, 0x20, 0x66, 0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a,
    0x0a, 0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x6e,
    0x65, 0x77, 0x20, 0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68, 0x69,
    0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x74, 0x65, 0x73, 0x74, 0x20,
    0x66, 0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20,
    0x73, 0x20
};

Options

--format Set the format of the generated source code

Char format:

embin --format=char data.txt

const unsigned char data_txt[] =
    "This is a test file.\n\n"
    "This is a new line.\n";
const unsigned int data_txt_len = 42;

Octal format:

embin --format=octal data.txt

const unsigned char data_txt[] =
    "\124\150\151\163\040\151\163\040\141\040\164\145\163\164\040\146"
    "\151\154\145\056\012\012\124\150\151\163\040\151\163\040\141\040"
    "\156\145\167\040\154\151\156\145\056\012";
const unsigned int data_txt_len = 42;

--indent Set indentation type of the generated source code

Indent with tabs instead of spaces:

embin --indent=tab data.png

--padding Set padding value of the generated source code

embin --padding 0 data.png

const unsigned char data_png[] = {
0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x74, 0x65,
0x73, 0x74, 0x20, 0x66, 0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68,
0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x77, 0x20,
0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a
};
const unsigned int data_png_len = 42;

--quantity Set number of byte elements per line

embin --quantity 8 data.png

const unsigned char data_png[] = {
    0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20,
    0x61, 0x20, 0x74, 0x65, 0x73, 0x74, 0x20, 0x66,
    0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68,
    0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20,
    0x6e, 0x65, 0x77, 0x20, 0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x65,
    0x2e, 0x0a
};
const unsigned int data_png_len = 42;

--mutable Make generated variables mutable

embin --mutable data.png

unsigned char data_png[] = {
    0x54, 0x68, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x74, 0x65,
    0x73, 0x74, 0x20, 0x66, 0x69, 0x6c, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a, 0x0a, 0x54, 0x68,
    0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x69, 0x73, 0x20, 0x61, 0x20, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x77, 0x20,
    0x6c, 0x69, 0x6e, 0x65, 0x2e, 0x0a
};
unsigned int data_png_len = 42;

License

This project is released under MIT license.

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.