Universal Inspector
Understand Universal Inspector
Paste any unidentified string and it tells you what format it is — JWT, UUID, Base64, hex, cron, CIDR, timestamp, hash, PEM, and about twenty more — then routes you to the right tool.
How it works
Detection is structural, checked in priority order, and each candidate carries a confidence level. Some checks are conclusive: a JWT is three Base64url segments separated by dots whose first segment decodes to JSON containing `alg` or `typ`, so it is verified by decoding rather than by shape alone. Others can only be plausible — a 32-character hex string is reported as a possible MD5 hash because its length matches, but the same characters could be a random token. Every candidate that matches is returned, best first, and nothing leaves your browser.
When to use it
- You found an opaque value in a log, a config file, or a database column and do not know what it is
- Triaging a support ticket that contains a pasted blob with no explanation of its format
- Skipping the step of choosing a tool — paste first, and let the detection hand you the decoder with the value already filled in
- Confirming your suspicion about a string before writing a parser against it
Watch out for
- Length-based guesses are guesses. A 64-character hex string matches SHA-256 exactly, and also matches any 32-byte random token, a private key fragment, or a hex-encoded image header.
- Confidence "medium" means the structure is plausible for more than one format. Base64 and hex overlap, YAML and plain indented text overlap, and a five-token line can be a cron expression or a sentence.
- Detection is not validation. A string can be recognized as JSON-shaped or Base64-shaped and still fail to decode into anything meaningful in the tool it sends you to.
- Paste with care. Detection is local, but a JWT or PEM block pasted into a browser is still a credential sitting in a text field — clear it when you are done.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I identify what type of data a string is?
Paste it into Universal Inspector. It checks for JWT (3-part base64url), UUID, URL, JSON, XML, Base64, hex, IP/CIDR, cron, SQL, email, Unix timestamp, SHA hash, PEM certificate, YAML, and Markdown — in priority order. The best match is shown at the top.
What formats can this tool detect?
JWT, JSON, URL, XML/HTML, PEM (certificates/keys), UUID (v1–v7), ULID, hex, Base64, cron expressions, IPv4/IPv6/CIDR, Unix timestamps, email addresses, SQL statements, CSS, Markdown, YAML, and SHA hashes (MD5/SHA-1/SHA-256/SHA-512 by length).
Why is confidence "medium" instead of "high" for some formats?
Some formats share the same character set. A 32-char hex string could be an MD5 hash or a random token. A YAML-like string might also be valid TOML. High confidence means the structure is unique to one format (JWT, UUID, URL); medium means plausible but not definitive.
How to Use Universal Inspector
- Paste or type your input in the input area above.
- The tool processes your input automatically or click Run.
- Copy or download the result using the action buttons.
- Use Ctrl+Enter to run quickly from the keyboard.