How to build a hex editor using Rust, egui, eframe

Build Bytequarry, a desktop hex editor with open/save, goto offset, search, and packaging notes with Rust, egui, eframe.

  • Difficulty Intermediate
  • Parts 12
  • Stack Rust, egui, eframe

What you are building

Bytequarry is a hex editor you assemble in twelve short stages. The teaching stack is egui (Rust, egui, eframe). By the end you should understand the shell, the data you persist, and the everyday workflows people expect from this kind of app.

egui is an immediate-mode GUI in pure Rust. A hex editor is a focused way to teach binary buffers and selection without a webview.

Draw offset, hex, and ASCII columns in a scrollable grid. Keep the byte buffer behind a small document struct.

Work in order. Early folders are intentionally small so you can see the window (or server) boot before features pile on. From the data-layer part onward, each snapshot should still run after you install dependencies.

How to use these lessons

Read the goal, clone the matching GitHub folder, run it, then skim the code against the notes below. If something fails, fix the run path first—most “bugs” on day one are the wrong directory or a skipped install.

Open the Bytequarry GitHub repo →

Parts in order

Each chapter below is one checkpoint. Open a part when you are ready for that feature—not all at once.