🎨 HexGlitcher v1.0.0 - Production Release
Transform images into stunning glitch art with surgical precision!
HexGlitcher is a production-ready tool for creating glitch art by manipulating raw byte data in image files. Perfect for artists, designers, and anyone who wants to explore the aesthetic possibilities of controlled corruption.
✨ What is HexGlitcher?
HexGlitcher lets you corrupt images at the hex (byte) level while protecting critical file headers to keep files valid. Think of it as a controlled demolition tool for your images - you get all the beautiful chaos of glitch art without completely destroying the file.
🎯 Key Features
- 🛡️ Header Protection - Adjustable "safe zone" keeps your files valid while corrupting the rest
- 👁️ Real-time Preview - See your glitches instantly as you create them
- 🔍 Hex Viewer - Peek at the raw byte data you're manipulating
- 🎲 Multiple Glitch Modes - Random, Increment, Decrement, Zero, XOR operations
- 🔎 Find & Replace - Target specific byte sequences for surgical glitching
- 🔒 Production-Ready Security - Input validation, size limits, path protection
📥 Download & Install
Quick Start (No Python Required!)
Choose your platform and download:
| Platform | File | Size | Instructions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🪟 Windows | HexGlitcher-Windows-Portable.zip |
~25 MB | Extract and run HexGlitcher.exe |
| 🐧 Linux | HexGlitcher-x86_64.AppImage |
~45 MB | chmod +x and run |
| 🍎 macOS | HexGlitcher-macOS.dmg |
~35 MB | Open DMG, drag to Applications |
No installation, no admin rights, no Python needed! Just download and run.
Installation Instructions
Windows:
- Download
HexGlitcher-Windows-Portable.zip - Extract the ZIP file anywhere you like
- Double-click
HexGlitcher.exe - Start glitching!
Linux:
# Download the AppImage
wget https://github.com/willbearfruits/hexglitcher/releases/download/v1.0.0/HexGlitcher-x86_64.AppImage
# Make it executable
chmod +x HexGlitcher-x86_64.AppImage
# Run it
./HexGlitcher-x86_64.AppImagemacOS:
- Download
HexGlitcher-macOS.dmg - Open the DMG file
- Drag HexGlitcher.app to your Applications folder
- Right-click the app and select "Open" (first time only)
- Click "Open" in the security dialog
🚀 Quick Usage Guide
- Load an Image - Click "Load Image" and select any JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, or WebP
- Set Header Protection - Start with 500 bytes (increase for complex files like PNG)
- Choose Your Glitch:
- Find & Replace: Target specific byte patterns (try replacing
FFwith00) - Random Glitch: Set intensity and pick an operation mode
- Find & Replace: Target specific byte patterns (try replacing
- Preview - See results instantly in the preview pane
- Save - Click "Save Result" when you love what you see!
💡 Pro Tips
For Different File Types:
- JPEG: Very sensitive - use high intensity (1/5000+) and 600+ header protection
- BMP: Very stable - go wild with aggressive settings!
- PNG: Uses checksums - glitch gently or increase header protection to 1000+
- GIF: Great for corrupting animation frames - moderate settings work well
Creative Techniques:
- Replace color bytes for palette shifts
- Use XOR mode for inverted color effects
- Target specific byte values for structured glitches
- Combine find/replace with random glitching
- Experiment with different header sizes for varied effects
🔒 Security & Quality
This is a production-ready release with enterprise-grade security:
- ✅ File size validation (100MB max)
- ✅ File type validation (images only)
- ✅ Input validation on all user inputs
- ✅ Path traversal protection
- ✅ System directory write protection
- ✅ Comprehensive error handling
- ✅ Logging system for debugging
Dependencies:
- Pillow 11.0.0+ (latest security patches applied)
- All known CVEs patched
📝 Changelog
What's New in v1.0.0
Core Features:
- Production-ready image glitching with GUI
- Header protection mechanism to preserve file validity
- Real-time preview with hex data display
- Find & replace for specific byte sequences
- Random corruption with 5 different algorithms
- Support for JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, and WebP formats
Security Improvements:
- File size validation (100MB limit prevents memory exhaustion)
- File type validation (images only)
- Integer input validation with range checking
- Enhanced hex input validation
- Path traversal protection on save operations
- System directory write protection
Code Quality:
- Type hints on all methods
- Comprehensive docstrings
- Modular refactored architecture
- Optimized random glitch algorithm
- Constants extracted from magic numbers
- Comprehensive logging system
Build System:
- Cross-platform build scripts (Windows, Linux, macOS)
- Automated GitHub Actions CI/CD
- One-click builds for all platforms
- Portable executables with no dependencies
Documentation:
- Complete user guide in README
- Build instructions for developers
- Security feature documentation
- File format-specific tips and tricks
🛠️ Technical Details
Built With:
- Language: Python 3.8+
- GUI Framework: Tkinter (cross-platform)
- Image Processing: Pillow 11.0.0
- Build Tool: PyInstaller 6.0+
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions
System Requirements:
- Windows: 10 or later (64-bit)
- Linux: Any modern distribution (64-bit)
- macOS: 10.13 High Sierra or later
- RAM: 2GB minimum (4GB recommended)
- Disk Space: 100MB for app + working space for images
📚 Documentation
- README: Full documentation and usage guide
- Building: Build from source instructions
- Issues: Report bugs or request features
- License: MIT License
🤝 Contributing
This is an open-source project and contributions are welcome! Whether you're fixing bugs, adding features, or improving documentation, we'd love your help.
Ways to Contribute:
- 🐛 Report bugs via GitHub Issues
- 💡 Suggest features or improvements
- 📖 Improve documentation
- 🔧 Submit pull requests with fixes or features
- ⭐ Star the repository if you find it useful!
📄 License
MIT License - Free to use, modify, and distribute. See LICENSE for details.
🙏 Acknowledgments
Created with Claude Code 🤖
Libraries Used:
- Pillow - The Python Imaging Library
- Tkinter - Python's standard GUI package
- PyInstaller - Freeze Python applications
🎨 Show Your Creations!
Made something cool with HexGlitcher? Share it with the community!
Tag your creations: #HexGlitcher #GlitchArt
Enjoy creating beautiful chaos! 🎨✨
If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue.