CStructSharp
github.com/vvollers/cstructsharp- Category
- Developer Tools
- Rank
- No. 1848Tools index
Previous survey · No. 1779 ·
- Type
- TOOL
- Use case
- Data Processing
- GitHub
- 6 stars
- Latest release
- v0.18.0
- Date
About
CStructSharp is a C# library that serializes and deserializes binary data based on C-struct definitions, aimed at use cases like digital forensics and file format parsing. It supports both runtime-defined structures and a compile-time C# source generator for building parsers, and it also ships a WebAssembly/JavaScript build with a browser-based binary inspector demo that runs the library against sample file formats.
At a glance
CStructSharp reads and writes binary records using C-style layout definitions. It is worth evaluating when offsets, lengths and byte order have become hard to maintain in handwritten parsing code.
Good fit
Developers working with documented packets, binary files or records in .NET or JavaScript.
Consider something else when
Keep a small handwritten parser if the layout is simple and stable.
Start here
Describe one sample record and parse bytes with known field values. Check offsets and byte order, then write the record back and compare the bytes.
Cost and requirements
MIT-licensed. The project documents a .NET package and a JavaScript package backed by WebAssembly.
Limits to know
The layout must describe the real format. Check alignment, field lengths and malformed-input behavior before using it with untrusted files.
Sources checked 2026-11-05. Source-based assessment.
Why it made the leaderboard
It lets developers define C-struct layouts once and get compile-time source-generated (de)serialization for binary data in both C# and JavaScript, with a live WASM inspector for testing against real file formats.
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