openremap identify

Run identify from the terminal to read an ECU file and print everything that can be found in it: who made the ECU, which family it is, the software version, and how sure OpenRemap is about the answer.

New here? Read the plain-English introduction first — this page is the full reference for people who are comfortable with the terminal.

It is the same identify action you can call from Python code or JSON-RPC — the terminal is simply an easy way to run it.

Usage

openremap identify <FILE> [OPTIONS]

Options

Any other extension prints a ⚠ warning but proceeds anyway — it does not exit with an error.

Examples

# Print a human-readable table
openremap identify ecu.bin

# Print JSON to the screen (same result the API returns)
openremap identify ecu.bin --json

# Save the result as a JSON file
openremap identify ecu.bin --json --output result.json

# Save the table output to a text file
openremap identify ecu.bin --output result.txt

Example output

The samples below are trimmed to the fields that matter most. The real table also prints Container, Byte Order and Cell Size rows when the extractor knows them — see the field table under What each field tells you for the full set.

Table (default)

  ecu.bin
  Bosch · EDC17

  Manufacturer      Bosch
  ECU Family        EDC17
  ECU Variant       EDC17C66
  Software Version  1037541778
  Hardware Number   0261209352
  Calibration ID    unknown
  Match Key         EDC17C66::1037541778
  File Size         2,097,152 bytes
  SHA-256           3dc19aa03f3293bac4d27f28a22a073c...

  ── Confidence ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Tier   HIGH
  Signal  +  canonical SW version (1037-prefixed)
  Signal  +  hardware number present (0261209352)
  Signal  +  ECU variant identified (EDC17C66)

With warnings (wiped ident block)

  1.bin
  Bosch · EDC17

  Manufacturer      Bosch
  ECU Family        EDC17
  ECU Variant       EDC17C60
  Software Version  unknown
  Hardware Number   unknown
  Calibration ID    08001508446612B
  Match Key         EDC17C60::08001508446612B
  File Size         4,194,304 bytes
  SHA-256           ...

  ── Confidence ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Tier   SUSPICIOUS
  Signal  -  SW ident absent — no match key produced
  Signal  +  ECU variant identified (EDC17C60)
  Signal  +  calibration ID present (080015084466)
  Signal  -  generic numbered filename
  ⚠  IDENT BLOCK MISSING
  ⚠  GENERIC FILENAME

Unrecognised ECU

If no extractor matches the binary, every field other than file_size and sha256 shows as unknown. The ECU family is not yet supported — see CONTRIBUTING for how to add one.

  mystery.bin
  Unknown ECU — no extractor matched this binary

  Manufacturer      unknown
  ECU Family        unknown
  ...
  Match Key         unknown
  File Size         524,288 bytes
  SHA-256           3f9a21c7d84b...

  ── Confidence ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  Tier   UNKNOWN

JSON (--json)

--json prints the exact dict the engine produces — the same shape a Python API call returns. Keys shown here are an excerpt; the full result also carries container, ecu_endian and ecu_cell_bytes (each null when unknown) plus vin.

{
  "manufacturer": "Bosch",
  "ecu_family": "EDC17",
  "ecu_variant": "EDC17C66",
  "software_version": "1037541778",
  "hardware_number": "0261209352",
  "calibration_id": null,
  "match_key": "EDC17C66::1037541778",
  "file_size": 2097152,
  "sha256": "3dc19aa03f3293bac4d27f28a22a073c...",
  "confidence": {
    "score": 75,
    "tier": "High",
    "signals": [
      { "delta": 40, "label": "canonical SW version (1037-prefixed)" },
      { "delta": 25, "label": "hardware number present (0261209352)" },
      { "delta": 10, "label": "ECU variant identified (EDC17C66)" }
    ],
    "warnings": []
  },
  "vin": {
    "candidate": "WVWZZZ1KZ7W059972",
    "confidence": 0.6,
    "manufacturer": "Volkswagen",
    "region": "Europe",
    "country": "Germany",
    "years": [2007],
    "checksum_valid": false,
    "decoded": true
  }
}

VIN candidate

When the binary contains a VIN candidate scoring ≥ 0.6 (measured on the real corpus: 2 of 1,871 files — real dealer-flashed VINs; the 0.2–0.45 lookalike noise stays below the floor), identify reports it as a separate, clearly-labelled section and a vin JSON field. Vehicle identity is orthogonal to ECU identity and never part of the match key. The manufacturer comes from vininfo's public database — shown as decoded, unverified. vin is null when no candidate reaches the floor. The ISO 3779 check digit is the scanner's own computation.

What each field tells you

The confidence section

Each Signal line shows what contributed to the tier. A + prefix means the signal increased confidence; a - prefix means it reduced it. Warnings (prefixed with ⚠) flag specific red flags — for example, when a software version is absent for a family that normally stores one.

What to look for

Good result

All of the following should be filled in for a fully supported, original binary:

• Manufacturer is a known name
• ECU Family is populated
• Match Key is populated
• Confidence tier is HIGH or MEDIUM

Needs attention

• Software Version is unknown but Match Key is populated — the ECU architecture uses a different field (e.g. calibration ID) as the version component. This is by design for some families (e.g. LH-Jetronic). The binary is still usable.
• Match Key is unknown — the extractor matched the file but could not build a version identifier. You can still cook a recipe from this binary, but applying it to other ECUs will not be possible without a match key.
• Confidence is SUSPICIOUS with ⚠ IDENT BLOCK MISSING — the software version field is absent for a family that normally stores it. This is a strong signal of a wiped or tampered ident block.
• Confidence is SUSPICIOUS with ⚠ TUNING KEYWORDS IN FILENAME — the filename suggests this is a modified file. Inspect the binary before using it as a base for a recipe.
• Everything is unknown — the ECU family is not yet supported. See CONTRIBUTING.

Notes

• openremap identify is completely read-only — it never modifies the file.
• Accepted extensions: .bin, .ori, .hex, .s19, .srec, .mot. Anything else prints a ⚠ warning and proceeds anyway.
• The --output flag strips terminal colour codes automatically when writing to a file, so the saved text is clean and readable in any editor.
• The confidence score in the JSON output is a raw numeric value for programmatic use; the tier field is the human-readable label.
• Exit codes: 0 on success; 1 if identification fails or the output file cannot be written.

See also

• identify — API — the same method via Python and JSON-RPC
• CLI, API & RPC — how the surfaces relate
• Confidence scoring — how tiers, signals, and warnings work
• Supported families — Bosch family reference