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How to Validate CBOR - Step by Step Guide

Step 1

Input Your CBOR Binary Data

Let's validate your CBOR (Concise Binary Object Representation) binary data! Whether you're testing IoT device payloads, debugging embedded system messages, verifying protocol implementations, or checking data from MQTT brokers, you have several convenient ways to input your CBOR data for validation:

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Paste directly: Copy your CBOR data in Base64 or Hex format from your IoT application, database, network analyzer, debugging tool, or protocol implementation and paste it into the editor
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Upload a file: Click "Upload" to select a .cbor, .bin, or .txt file containing CBOR binary data from your computer, mobile device, or data capture system
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Try the sample: Click "Sample" to load example valid CBOR data (featuring "Maeve") and see how validation works with well-formed binary data
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Toggle input format: Switch between Base64 (default, used by most CBOR libraries) and Hex format (used in network analysis and debugging) based on your data source
Step 2

Automatic Validation & Analysis

The validation happens instantly and comprehensively! As soon as you input CBOR data, our validator performs deep structural analysis using the industry-standard cbor-x library, checking every aspect of your binary data:

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RFC 8949 compliance check: Verifies your CBOR data strictly follows the official RFC 8949 specification for proper encoding, data types, and structural rules
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Binary structure validation: Ensures the binary format is well-formed with correct byte sequences, proper length encodings, valid major types, and complete data items
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Decoding verification: Attempts to fully decode the CBOR data to verify it's not corrupted, incomplete, or malformed at any level of nesting
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Data type checking: Validates all data types (integers, strings, arrays, maps, booleans, floats, null, undefined, byte strings) are properly encoded
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Tag validation: Checks CBOR tags (semantic markers for dates, URLs, UUIDs, etc.) are correctly formatted and used according to IANA registry
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Real-time feedback: Get instant validation results as you type or paste, with automatic re-validation on every change
Step 3

Review Validation Results & Details

Get comprehensive validation feedback with detailed information about your CBOR data! The validator provides clear, actionable results whether your data is valid or contains errors:

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Valid data indicator: Large green checkmark with "✓ Valid CBOR structure" message confirms your binary data is perfectly well-formed and ready for production use
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Data statistics: See useful metrics including total byte size, decoded data type, and confirmation that data is present and decodable
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Error diagnostics: If validation fails, receive detailed error messages explaining exactly what's wrong - invalid Base64/Hex encoding, corrupted binary, incomplete structures, or protocol violations
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Troubleshooting guidance: Get helpful suggestions for common issues like encoding problems, missing data, format confusion, or structural errors
Step 4

Fix Issues & Deploy with Confidence

Use validation feedback to fix any issues and ensure your CBOR data is production-ready! The validator helps you catch problems before they cause failures in deployed systems:

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Debug and fix: If validation fails, review the detailed error messages to identify exactly what needs correction in your encoding process or data generation
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Verify fixes: Paste corrected CBOR data back into the validator to confirm all issues are resolved and the data is now fully compliant
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Inspect with JSON: For valid CBOR, use CBOR to JSON converter to decode and inspect the actual data content for semantic correctness
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Test before deployment: Validate all CBOR messages before sending to IoT devices, storing in databases, or transmitting over networks to prevent field failures
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Quality assurance: Integrate validation into your development workflow, CI/CD pipelines, and testing procedures to ensure CBOR data quality

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the CBOR validator check?

The validator performs comprehensive checks on your CBOR binary data: verifies RFC 8949 compliance, validates binary structure integrity, checks all data type encodings are correct, verifies proper length prefixes, ensures complete and non-truncated data items, validates CBOR tags match IANA registry specifications, confirms map keys are properly encoded, checks for invalid or reserved major types, validates indefinite-length collection termination, and attempts full decoding to catch any corruption. It's equivalent to running cbor-x's decode function and catching all possible errors.

Why is my CBOR data showing as invalid?

Common validation failures include: invalid Base64 or Hex encoding (check for typos, missing characters, or invalid characters in your input), corrupted binary data (data may have been truncated during transmission or storage), incomplete CBOR structures (missing bytes at the end, often from incomplete file uploads or network interruptions), wrong input format selected (try switching between Base64 and Hex), encoding errors from the source (the system that generated the CBOR may have bugs), improper tag usage, violated length constraints, or malformed data items. Check the specific error message - it usually points directly to the problem type and often includes byte positions for debugging.

Can I validate large CBOR payloads?

Absolutely! The validator efficiently handles large CBOR payloads including multi-megabyte files, deeply nested structures (hundreds of levels), large arrays with thousands of elements, and complex maps with massive key-value sets. It uses optimized binary parsing and validation algorithms for smooth browser performance. There's no arbitrary size limit - only your device's available memory. Larger payloads may take a few seconds to validate, but the process remains fast. Use this for complete IoT device logs, large sensor data batches, extensive configuration files, or full protocol message dumps from network captures.

How is this different from JSON validation?

CBOR validation is fundamentally different from JSON validation! JSON validators check text syntax (commas, brackets, quotes), while CBOR validators analyze binary structure (bytes, encoding schemes, major/minor types). CBOR validation checks binary integrity, proper byte sequences, correct length encodings, valid CBOR-specific tags, and binary-level structural correctness. JSON is text-based and human-readable; CBOR is binary and requires decoding. You cannot use a JSON validator on CBOR data. However, you can first convert CBOR to JSON, then validate the JSON content separately for semantic checks.

When should I validate CBOR data?

Validate CBOR data in several critical scenarios: during development when implementing CBOR encoders/decoders to verify correct implementation; before deploying to IoT devices to prevent field failures; when receiving data from untrusted sources (network, user uploads, external APIs); after network transmission to detect corruption; before storing in databases to ensure data integrity; when debugging protocol issues to isolate encoding vs. logic problems; in CI/CD pipelines as automated quality gates; when integrating third-party CBOR libraries; after file conversions or migrations; and periodically on stored CBOR data to detect degradation. Validation catches errors early, saving debugging time and preventing production failures.

Is the CBOR validator free?

Yes, completely free with unlimited validations forever! No registration, accounts, API keys, usage quotas, premium features, or hidden costs. Just visit and start validating immediately - no barriers whatsoever. All validation happens 100% locally in your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly - your CBOR data never gets uploaded to any server, transmitted over the network, logged, stored in databases, or seen by anyone else. This ensures absolute maximum privacy, security, and compliance with GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and other data protection regulations. Perfect for validating confidential IoT data, proprietary protocols, sensitive sensor readings, or any private information. Works completely offline once initially loaded.

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