Short answer
Choose CyberChef when the job is a chain of transformations such as URL decoding, Base64, decompression, JWT verification, YAML to JSON or jq. Choose Blobster when the data is already structured and you need to search it, edit it and share a redacted excerpt.
Key points
- CyberChef says it runs entirely within the browser with no server-side component, and it can be downloaded to run locally or hosted inside your own network.
- Its operations include JWT Decode, JWT Verify and JWT Sign, YAML to JSON and JSON to YAML, Jq and JPath expression.
- CyberChef deep links can carry the input as well as the recipe in the URL.
- Blobster adds tree and table views, local edits, path copy, redacted copy and previews for HAR, NDJSON and OpenAPI files.
At a glance
| Criterion | Blobster | CyberChef |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Inspect, edit and copy structured files | Chain operations to encode, decode and transform data |
| Where it runs | Browser extension with no backend | Web page with no server-side component; downloadable for local use |
| JWT | Decode, with expiry and alg: none warnings; no verification | Decode, verify and sign operations |
| YAML and JSON | YAML tree; copy the root value as JSON | YAML to JSON and JSON to YAML operations |
| JSONPath and jq | JSONPath queries without filters; copy paths as jq | JPath expression and Jq operations |
| Large structured documents | Tree and table views, search, filters, streamed CSV and NDJSON | Input and output text panes |
| Sharing | No share links | Deep links that can include the recipe and the input |
| Source | Not published | Open source, Apache-2.0 |
Where CyberChef is stronger
CyberChef handles data that is not readable yet. A gzip payload that was Base64-encoded and then URL-encoded comes apart with URL Decode, From Base64 and Gunzip in one recipe, and the Magic operation can try to detect the encodings for you.
It also verifies and signs JWTs and runs jq, neither of which Blobster does, and converts between YAML and JSON in both directions. Recipes can be saved and reused. CyberChef is open source, and the downloaded version needs no server.
Where Blobster is different
Blobster starts where CyberChef’s output ends: a readable JSON, YAML, CSV or HAR document that is too big to read as text. It gives you a tree with search and path copy, a table for arrays of records, NDJSON with bad lines listed separately, JSONPath queries, a structural compare of two files, and previews for HAR requests and OpenAPI operations.
You can edit values locally, delete what the reader does not need and copy a redacted version. In Chrome, Blobster can also open raw JSON and other structured pages automatically, so an API response opens in the workbench instead of as plain text.
Check what a link carries
CyberChef’s help text says the address bar updates as the recipe or input changes, and its deep links can include the input. That makes recipes easy to share. It also means a link copied from the address bar can contain the data you were decoding, so check it before you paste it into a ticket or a chat. Blobster has no share links.
Use them one after the other
Decode a wrapped payload in CyberChef, then open the resulting JSON in Blobster to read it. Or find a strange value in Blobster, copy only that value and decode it in CyberChef.