How byte frequency analyzer works
Every string is a sequence of bytes once it leaves your editor: this tool encodes your input as UTF-8 and counts how often each of the 256 possible byte values (0x00–0xFF) appears. The result is a ranked distribution table — byte value in decimal and hex, a printable preview character where one exists, the count and the percentage — plus totals for how many bytes the input uses overall.
The headline number is Shannon entropy, measured in bits per byte: H = −Σ p·log₂(p) over the byte counts. A single repeated byte scores 0; text full of common letters and spaces scores around 4–5; compressed, encrypted or hashed data approaches the maximum of 8. That makes entropy a fast, honest first test when you are staring at a blob and asking what it is — base64 or random bytes, plaintext or ciphertext — before reaching for heavier tools.
Alongside entropy, the tool splits the bytes into three classes that instantly characterize data: printable ASCII (0x20–0x7E), control bytes (below 0x20 plus 0x7F) and high bytes (0x80–0xFF). Plain English is almost all printable; UTF-8 accents and emoji push bytes above 0x7F; binary formats and cryptographic output mix everything. Everything runs locally in your browser, so inspecting sensitive strings leaks nothing.