strings - find printable strings in files
$ strings [-n NUMBER] [-p] [-t FORMAT] [PATHS...]
strings
looks for printable strings in each file specified in PATHS
and writes them to standard output. If PATHS
is not specified, input is read from standard input.
-n NUMBER
: Specify the minimum string length (4 is default).-p
: Write the pathname for each file specified in PATHS
to standard output.-t FORMAT
: Write each string preceded by its byte offset from the start of the file in the specified FORMAT
, where FORMAT
matches one of the following: d
(decimal), o
(octal), or x
(hexidecimal).Display the printable strings in /bin/strings with a minimum length of 8 characters:
$ strings -n 8 /bin/strings
Display the printable strings in a binary file, preceded by their byte offset in hexadecimal format:
$ strings -t x ~/Videos/test.webm
Display the printable strings in all .txt files in the current directory, preceded by their pathname:
$ strings -p *.txt