DiaHex2Txt

A powerful CLI tool to decode hex-encoded Diameter protocol messages into human-readable text format with comprehensive 3GPP LTE support.

Features

• ✅ Complete AVP Decoding - Decodes all AVPs in their original wire order
• 🔍 Smart String Detection - Automatically decodes UTF-8 strings from bytes
• 📊 Hierarchical Display - Shows nested grouped AVPs with proper indentation
• 🏷️ Protocol Descriptions - Human-readable command codes and application IDs (60+ commands, 30+ interfaces)
• 🎯 Clean Output - Simplified vendor ID display (hides 3GPP vendor ID 10415)
• 🔧 Full 3GPP Support - Gx, Gy, Rx, S6a/S6d, S9, Sy, SWx, Cx/Dx, Sh, and more!

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12+
• uv (Python package and project manager) - Install uv

Installation

1. Clone the repository or navigate to the directory:

cd diahex2txt

2. Install dependencies:

uv sync

3. Install the package (creates diahex2txt command):

uv pip install -e .

Usage

There are three ways to run the decoder:

Method 1: Using the installed command (After installation)

After running uv pip install -e ., the diahex2txt command is available:

Windows (PowerShell/CMD):

# Activate the virtual environment first
.venv\Scripts\activate
# Then use the command directly
diahex2txt <HEX_STRING>

# OR use the full path without activation
.venv\Scripts\diahex2txt.exe <HEX_STRING>

Linux/Mac:

# Activate the virtual environment first
source .venv/bin/activate
# Then use the command directly
diahex2txt <HEX_STRING>

# OR use the full path without activation
.venv/bin/diahex2txt <HEX_STRING>

Method 2: Using uv run (No installation required)

Works immediately after uv sync, no activation needed:

uv run -m diahex2txt <HEX_STRING>

Method 3: Using wrapper scripts

For convenience, use the provided wrapper scripts:

Windows:

diahex2txt.bat <HEX_STRING>

Linux/Mac:

./diahex2txt.sh <HEX_STRING>

Examples

1. S6a Authentication Information Request (AIR)

uv run -m diahex2txt 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

Output:

Diameter Header:
  Version:      1
  Length:       272
  Flags:        0xc0 (Request, Proxiable)
  Code:         318 - AIR (Authentication-Information-Request)
  App ID:       16777251 - S6a/S6d (3GPP)
  Hop-by-Hop:   0xb3de8609
  End-to-End:   0x5581c375

AVPs:
  Session-Id (Code: 263): string-s6a;1407662655052005491;1271062565;69307ee9
  Origin-Host (Code: 264): string
  Origin-Realm (Code: 296): string
  User-Name (Code: 1): 999991234567810
  Visited-PLMN-Id (Code: 1407): 0x00f110
  Requested-EUTRAN-Authentication-Info (Code: 1408)
    Number-Of-Requested-Vectors (Code: 1410): 1
    Immediate-Response-Preferred (Code: 1412): 0
  ...

2. Gy Credit Control Request (CCR)

uv run -m diahex2txt 0100004080000118000000004d8db8f39fbb2d5f000001084000000e737472696e670000000001284000000e737472696e670000000001164000000c60920884

Output:

Diameter Header:
  Version:      1
  Length:       64
  Flags:        0x80 (Request)
  Code:         280 - DWR (Device-Watchdog-Request)
  App ID:       0 - Diameter Common Messages
  Hop-by-Hop:   0x4d8db8f3
  End-to-End:   0x9fbb2d5f

AVPs:
  Origin-Host (Code: 264): string
  Origin-Realm (Code: 296): string
  Origin-State-Id (Code: 278): 1620183172

Development

Running Tests (not working)

uv run pytest

Project Structure

diahex2txt/
├── diahex2txt/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── __main__.py      # Module entry point
│   ├── main.py          # CLI application
│   └── decoder.py       # Core decoding logic
├── tests/               # Unit tests
├── README.md
├── pyproject.toml       # Project configuration
└── uv.lock             # Dependency lock file

How It Works

1. Parses the Diameter header (20 bytes) to extract version, flags, command code, etc.
2. Manually parses AVPs directly from raw bytes to preserve wire order
3. Decodes values based on AVP data types (UTF-8 strings, integers, grouped AVPs, etc.)
4. Formats output with hierarchical indentation for grouped AVPs

Key Improvements

• ✨ Complete decoding: All AVPs are now decoded (previously many were missing)
• 📍 Wire order preserved: AVPs appear in their exact transmission order
• 🎨 Clean display: Vendor ID 10415 (3GPP) hidden for better readability
• 📝 Protocol-aware: Shows human-readable command and application descriptions

Dependencies

• python-diameter - Diameter protocol parsing library
• typer - CLI framework

License

MIT

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.