CBOR Visualizer & Parser

A comprehensive tool for visualizing, parsing, and working with CBOR (Concise Binary Object Representation) data, designed for IoT, constrained environments, and modern data serialization needs.

Features

• CBOR Parsing: Decode and visualize CBOR binary data
• Interactive Tree View: Navigate complex nested CBOR structures
• Hex Dump Display: View raw binary data with hex representation
• JSON Conversion: Convert CBOR to JSON for compatibility
• Data Type Detection: Identify CBOR data types and tags
• Validation: Verify CBOR data integrity and structure
• Privacy-First: All processing happens locally in your browser

What is CBOR?

CBOR (Concise Binary Object Representation) is a binary data serialization format designed to be:

• Compact: More efficient than JSON for constrained environments
• Extensible: Supports custom data types through tags
• Type-aware: Preserves data types (integers, floats, strings, etc.)
• Self-describing: Contains type information within the data
• Standardized: RFC 8949 defines the CBOR specification

How CBOR Works

CBOR uses type-length-value encoding where each data item is prefixed with type information and length. This allows for efficient parsing and type preservation.

Major Data Types

• Integers: Positive and negative integers of various sizes
• Floats: IEEE 754 floating-point numbers
• Strings: UTF-8 text and byte strings
• Arrays: Ordered sequences of items
• Maps: Key-value pairs (like JSON objects)
• Tags: Extensible type system for custom data types
• Simple Values: Booleans, null, undefined

Use Cases

IoT & Embedded Systems

• Sensor Data: Efficient transmission of sensor readings
• Device Configuration: Compact configuration updates
• Firmware Updates: Binary payload delivery
• Constrained Networks: Reduced bandwidth usage

Web Standards & APIs

• WebAuthn: Authentication credential data
• CWT/JWT: Compact Web Tokens for security
• COSE: Cryptographic message syntax
• CDDL: Data structure validation

Data Serialization

• Configuration Files: Type-safe configuration data
• Database Storage: Efficient binary data storage
• Network Protocols: Compact message formats
• Cache Storage: Memory-efficient caching

Technical Specifications

Standards Compliance

• RFC 8949 (CBOR specification)
• RFC 8152 (CBOR Object Signing and Encryption - COSE)
• RFC 8392 (Compact Web Tokens - CWT)
• IETF CBOR working group standards

Supported Features

• All major data types (integers, floats, strings, arrays, maps)
• Indefinite-length encoding
• Tag support for extended types
• Deterministic encoding
• Canonical CBOR encoding

CBOR vs JSON

Advantages of CBOR

• Smaller Size: 20-50% more compact than JSON
• Type Preservation: Maintains integer vs float distinction
• Binary Data: Native support for byte strings
• Extensibility: Tags allow custom data types
• Performance: Faster parsing than JSON in many cases

When to Choose CBOR

• Bandwidth-constrained environments
• IoT and embedded systems
• Type-sensitive applications
• Binary data handling
• Performance-critical serialization

Common CBOR Tags

Standard Tags

• Tag 0: Standard date/time string
• Tag 1: Epoch-based date/time
• Tag 2: Positive bignum
• Tag 3: Negative bignum
• Tag 4: Decimal fraction
• Tag 5: Bigfloat
• Tag 21: Base64URL encoding
• Tag 22: Base64 encoding
• Tag 23: Base16 encoding

Extended Tags

• Tag 32: URI
• Tag 33: Base64URL
• Tag 34: Base64
• Tag 35: Regular expression
• Tag 36: MIME message

Best Practices

Data Modeling

• Use appropriate data types for your data
• Consider using tags for semantic meaning
• Keep data structures reasonably nested
• Use indefinite-length encoding for streaming

Performance Optimization

• Use canonical encoding for hashing/signing
• Prefer definite-length encoding when possible
• Minimize key lengths in maps
• Consider compression for large payloads

Implementation Examples

Simple CBOR Structure

Hex: A3 63 6B 65 79 41 63 76 61 6C 41 63 6B 65 79 42 63 76 61 6C 42 63 6B 65 79 43 63 76 61 6C 43
JSON: {"keyA": "valA", "keyB": "valB", "keyC": "valC"}

CBOR with Tags

Hex: C0 74 323031332D30332D32315432303A30343A30305A
JSON: "2013-03-21T20:04:00Z" (with datetime tag)

Array and Map

Hex: 82 01 02 A1 63 61 62 63 03
JSON: [1, 2, {"abc": 3}]

Security Considerations

• Validate CBOR data before processing
• Be aware of potential denial-of-service through large structures
• Implement size limits for CBOR parsing
• Verify tag usage in security contexts
• Use canonical encoding for cryptographic operations

Troubleshooting

Common Parsing Errors

Invalid CBOR: Check for corrupted data or incorrect encoding

Unsupported Tags: Some applications may not handle all CBOR tags

Type Mismatches: Ensure data types match expected formats

Interoperability Issues

JSON Conversion: Some CBOR features don't translate directly to JSON

Big Numbers: JavaScript may lose precision with very large integers

Custom Tags: Ensure both encoder and decoder understand custom tags

Performance Characteristics

• Parsing speed: Generally faster than JSON for large structures
• Memory usage: Lower overhead than text-based formats
• Network efficiency: Reduced bandwidth requirements
• Storage efficiency: Compact representation