crypt2file 1.0.0

A simple tool to encrypt/decrypt files using a machine-specific key.

crypt2file

Version: 1.0.0

A simple tool to encrypt and decrypt files. It uses a single, machine-specific key, meaning files encrypted on one computer can only be decrypted on that same computer.

How It Works

crypt2file is designed for simple, machine-locked encryption. When you first use it, it generates a unique encryption key and stores it in your user home directory (~/.crypt2file/secret.key).

• Machine-Specific Key: Because the key is stored locally on your machine, any file you encrypt will only be decryptable on that machine. This is useful for storing sensitive information (like passwords or notes) in a file that is useless if copied to another computer.

• Portability: If you want to decrypt a file on a different computer, you must manually copy the secret.key file from the original machine to the same location (~/.crypt2file/secret.key) on the new machine.

IMPORTANT: The secret.key file is critical. If you lose this file (e.g., by reinstalling your OS), you will permanently lose the ability to decrypt any files you encrypted with it. Please back up your secret.key file to a safe location.

Installation

pip install --upgrade .

Usage

As a Python Library

You can also use crypt2file in your Python code. A common use case is to load a password from a file, or create it if it doesn't exist.

from crypt2file import Crypt
import getpass

crypt = Crypt()
file_path = "my_password.dat"

try:
    # Try to load the password from the file
    password = crypt.decrypt_from_file(file_path)
    print("Password loaded successfully.")
except Exception:
    # If it fails (e.g., file not found), prompt the user for a new one
    print(f"Could not load password from {file_path}. Creating a new one.")
    new_password = getpass.getpass("Enter a new password to save: ")
    crypt.encrypt_to_file(new_password, file_path)
    password = new_password
    print(f"New password saved to {file_path}.")

# Now you can use the 'password' variable in your application
print(f"The loaded/created password is: {password}")

As a Command-Line Tool (CLI)

The easiest way to use crypt2file is from your terminal.

Encrypt a message to a file:

crypt2file encrypt my_secret_file.dat

Enter message to encrypt: ******** Message encrypted and saved to my_secret_file.dat

Or provide the message directly:

crypt2file encrypt my_secret_file.dat -m "This is my secret message"

Message encrypted and saved to my_secret_file.dat

Decrypt a file:

crypt2file decrypt my_secret_file.dat

Decrypted message: This is my secret message

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.