ByteLens is a browser-based protocol visualizer and packet parser used to convert raw hexadecimal bytes into readable network protocol fields. It is officially positioned as a free protocol visualization tool, aimed at packet analysis, packet parsing, and network protocol learning.
Purpose It helps users inspect Ethernet II frames, IPv4 packets, IPv6 packets, TCP segments, UDP datagrams, DNS messages, Kafka wire protocol frames, and Redis RESP streams without installing a packet analyzer or uploading capture data to a server. Typical use cases officially given include: debugging malformed packets, learning protocol header layouts, teaching byte-level networking concepts, or documenting packet examples for a team.
Main capabilities · Interactive visualization: visualize hexadecimal data with byte-level highlighting and field mapping. · Detailed analysis: break down by protocol field and provide descriptions and value explanations. · Protocol layer and field inspection: view each protocol layer, header field, byte range, and parsed value in one interactive view. · Deep mode: switch to Deep mode to inspect checksum validation and packet diagnostics, as well as byte-level breakdowns. · History panel: track and compare multiple packets. · Export: supports exporting parsed data as JSON, CSV, binary, SVG, or PNG. · Online PCAP viewer: open classic PCAP files in the browser, view the packet list, and decode Ethernet, IP, TCP, UDP, and DNS headers without uploading capture files. · MAC OUI lookup: use the IEEE snapshot to find the vendor behind a MAC address or OUI prefix. · Learning resources: protocol glossary, real packet examples, structured protocol guides, protocol comparisons (such as TCP vs UDP, IPv4 vs IPv6, DNS vs HTTP), and more.
Supported protocols Includes Ethernet II, IPv4, IPv6, TCP, UDP, DNS, Kafka wire protocol, and Redis RESP. Kafka is officially described as binary request/response frames with versioned APIs and flexible fields; Redis is described as RESP2 and RESP3 stream values, nested aggregates, and pipelining.
How to use The official workflow is: select a protocol (UDP, TCP, IPv4, IPv6, DNS, or Ethernet II), paste hexadecimal packet data (for example 05d0002c00080000), click Parse to view the byte grid and field breakdown, then hover over bytes to view field mappings and export data. You can also select example packets or build packets from scenarios. The page provides an interactive DNS packet workbench as a starting point, and you can open a complete protocol visualizer for a specific parser. No registration is required.
Applicable scenarios and limitations Suitable for students, developers, and network engineers to understand protocol header structures, debug malformed packets, teach, and document packet examples. The current material does not provide information about fees, pricing, platform coverage, account systems, parsing accuracy, or performance limits.
