What is a bitwise operation?

Bitwise operations act on numbers at the individual bit level. Each bit of the first operand is paired with the corresponding bit of the second operand, and the chosen logic (AND, OR, XOR) is applied. For example, 12 AND 10 in binary is 1100 & 1010 = 1000 = 8. Bitwise operations are fundamental to embedded systems, cryptography, network programming, and low-level hardware control.

What is the difference between AND, OR, and XOR?

AND (& ) outputs 1 only when both bits are 1. It is used for masking — isolating specific bits. OR (|) outputs 1 when at least one bit is 1. It is used for setting bits. XOR (^) outputs 1 only when the bits differ. It is used for toggling bits and many encryption algorithms. NOT (~) inverts all bits of a single operand (ones complement).

How does a left shift or right shift work?

Left shift ( >) moves bits to the right by n positions. For unsigned numbers this divides by 2^n. For signed numbers, arithmetic right shift preserves the sign bit. For example, 5 << 2 = 20 (5 × 4).

How do I enter hexadecimal or binary numbers?

Select the input base from the dropdown (Decimal, Binary, Hexadecimal, or Octal) and type the number without prefix. For example, for hex input select HEX and type FF (not 0xFF). The calculator automatically validates and converts between all bases in real time.

How do I use the bulk bitwise calculator?

Upload a TXT or CSV file with one operation per line in the format: operation,A,B,base (e.g. AND,255,170,DEC or XOR,FF,0F,HEX). For NOT and shifts: NOT,A,base or SHL,A,n,base. Or paste data directly into the text area. Download results as CSV.

Bitwise Calculator – AND OR XOR NOT Shift

Q: How do I enter hexadecimal or binary numbers?

Select the input base from the dropdown (Decimal, Binary, Hexadecimal, or Octal) and type the number without prefix. For example, for hex input select HEX and type FF (not 0xFF). The calculator automatically validates and converts between all bases in real time.

Q: How do I use the bulk bitwise calculator?

Upload a TXT or CSV file with one operation per line in the format: operation,A,B,base (e.g. AND,255,170,DEC or XOR,FF,0F,HEX). For NOT and shifts: NOT,A,base or SHL,A,n,base. Or paste data directly into the text area. Download results as CSV.

Features

Everything You Need for Bitwise Calculations

🔢

All 6 Bitwise Operations

AND, OR, XOR, NOT (bitwise complement), Left Shift (SHL), and Right Shift (SHR) — all in one unified calculator.

🔣

Multi-Base Input & Output

Enter and view results in Decimal, Binary, Hexadecimal, or Octal. Automatic base conversion for all outputs.

👀

Bit-Level Visualisation

Live 8/16/32-bit binary display shows the exact bit pattern of inputs and results as you type. Spot bit changes instantly.

⚡

Real-Time Validation

Inputs are validated in real time for the selected base, preventing invalid characters and overflow errors instantly.

📂

Bulk TXT / CSV Upload

Process hundreds of bitwise operations at once via file upload or paste. One operation per line, download results as CSV.

🏛️

32-Bit Precision

All operations are performed with 32-bit integer precision, consistent with behavior in C, Java, JavaScript, and most hardware.

How It Works

Four Steps to Bitwise Calculation

1

Choose Operation & Base

Select AND, OR, XOR, NOT, Left Shift, or Right Shift. Choose your input base: Decimal, Binary, Hex, or Octal.

2

Enter Operands

Type operand A (and B for binary ops, or shift amount for shifts). The live bit display updates instantly as you type.

3

Review Live Results

See the result in Decimal, Hex, Binary, and Octal simultaneously. The bit-level visualisation shows exactly which bits changed.

4

Export & Reuse

Download results as CSV or copy to clipboard. For bulk operations, upload a TXT/CSV and process entire operation sets at once.

Bitwise Calculator: Complete Guide to Bitwise Operations

A Bitwise Calculator is an essential tool for embedded systems engineers, software developers, network administrators, and electronics students who work at the binary level. Unlike standard arithmetic, bitwise operations act on the individual binary digits (bits) of integers, making them fundamental to hardware registers, protocol flags, cryptographic algorithms, and compiler-level optimisation.

What are Bitwise Operations?

Bitwise operations treat each operand as a sequence of binary digits and apply a logical function bit-by-bit. The six primary bitwise operations are: AND, OR, XOR, NOT, Left Shift (SHL), and Right Shift (SHR). They are supported natively in all major programming languages including C, C++, Java, Python, and JavaScript, as well as in hardware description languages like VHDL and Verilog.

AND (&) – Bit Masking

AND outputs 1 only when both corresponding bits are 1. Formula: A & B. Primary use: masking — extracting specific bits from a register. For example, 0b11001100 & 0b00001111 = 0b00001100. In C: uint8_t flags = status & 0x0F; to isolate the lower nibble.

OR (|) – Bit Setting

OR outputs 1 when at least one bit is 1. Formula: A | B. Primary use: setting bits without disturbing others. Example: config |= 0x04; sets bit 2 of a configuration register while leaving all other bits unchanged.

XOR (^) – Bit Toggling

XOR outputs 1 only when bits differ. Formula: A ^ B. Primary uses: toggling bits, simple encryption (XOR cipher), checksum generation, and detecting differences. A well-known trick: A ^ A = 0 and A ^ 0 = A.

NOT (~) – Bitwise Complement

NOT inverts all bits of a single operand. Formula: ~A. On a 32-bit system, ~255 = 4294967040 (all 32 bits flipped). NOT is used for creating complement masks, negation in two's complement arithmetic, and inverting control bits.

Left Shift (<<) and Right Shift (>>)

Left shift multiplies by powers of 2: A << n = A × 2ⁿ. Right shift divides: A >> n = A ÷ 2ⁿ (integer). Example: 1 << 8 = 256. Shifts are heavily used in fixed-point arithmetic, PWM duty cycle calculations, and protocol field extraction.

Practical Examples

Check if bit 3 is set: value & (1 << 3)
Set bit 5: value |= (1 << 5)
Clear bit 2: value &= ~(1 << 2)
Toggle bit 7: value ^= (1 << 7)
Fast multiply by 4: value << 2

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

A bitwise operation acts on integer numbers at the individual bit level. Each bit of operand A is paired with the corresponding bit of operand B and the chosen logic (AND, OR, XOR) is applied. The result is a new integer whose bits reflect the operation applied to each pair. Bitwise operations are core to hardware interfacing, protocol parsing, cryptography, and low-level programming.

AND (& ) outputs 1 only when both bits are 1 — used for masking. OR (|) outputs 1 when at least one bit is 1 — used for setting bits. XOR (^) outputs 1 only when bits differ — used for toggling and encryption. NOT (~) inverts all bits of a single operand (ones complement).

Left shift (SHL, <<) moves all bits to the left by n positions and fills vacated right positions with 0, equivalent to multiplying by 2ⁿ. Right shift (SHR, >>) moves bits right and divides by 2ⁿ (integer division). For example, 5 << 2 = 20 and 20 >> 2 = 5.

Select the input base from the dropdown (Decimal, Binary, HEX, or Octal) and type the number without any prefix. For hex, select HEX and type FF (not 0xFF). The calculator validates the input for the chosen base and flags invalid characters in real time.

Upload a TXT or CSV file with one operation per line. Format: OP,A,B,BASE for binary ops (e.g. AND,255,170,DEC), NOT,A,BASE for NOT, and SHL,A,n,BASE or SHR,A,n,BASE for shifts. Lines starting with # are ignored. Results can be downloaded as CSV.

Bitwise Calculator