stegano 2.5.0

A pure Python Steganography module.

Stegano

Stegano, a pure Python Steganography module.

Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one, apart from the sender and intended recipient, suspects the existence of the message, a form of security through obscurity. Consequently, functions provided by Stegano only hide messages, without encryption. Steganography is often used with cryptography.

Installation

$ poetry install stegano

You will be able to use Stegano in your Python programs.

If you only want to install Stegano as a command line tool:

$ pipx install stegano

pipx installs scripts (system wide available) provided by Python packages into separate virtualenvs to shield them from your system and each other.

Usage

A tutorial is available.

Use Stegano as a library in your Python program

If you want to use Stegano in your Python program you just have to import the appropriate steganography technique. For example:

>>> from stegano import lsb
>>> secret = lsb.hide("./tests/sample-files/Lenna.png", "Hello World")
>>> secret.save("./Lenna-secret.png")
>>>
>>> clear_message = lsb.reveal("./Lenna-secret.png")

For reversible data hiding (the original cover can be restored exactly after the message is extracted), use the histogram-shifting technique:

>>> from stegano import rdh
>>> secret = rdh.hide("./tests/sample-files/Lenna-grayscale.png", "Hello World")
>>> secret.save("./Lenna-secret.png")
>>>
>>> clear_message = rdh.reveal("./Lenna-secret.png")
>>> cover = rdh.recover("./Lenna-secret.png")  # restores the original image

Use Stegano as a command line tool

Hide and reveal a message

$ stegano-lsb hide -i ./tests/sample-files/Lenna.png -m "Secret Message" -o Lena1.png
$ stegano-lsb reveal -i Lena1.png
Secret Message

Reversibly hide a message and recover the cover

$ stegano-rdh hide -i ./tests/sample-files/Lenna-grayscale.png -m "Secret Message" -o stego.png
$ stegano-rdh reveal -i stego.png
Secret Message
$ stegano-rdh recover -i stego.png -o cover.png   # cover.png == the original image

Hide the message with the Sieve of Eratosthenes

$ stegano-lsb hide -i ./tests/sample-files/Lenna.png -m 'Secret Message' --generator eratosthenes -o Lena2.png

The message will be scattered in the picture, following a set described by the Sieve of Eratosthenes. Other sets are available. You can also use your own generators.

This will make a steganalysis more complicated.

Running the tests

$ python -m unittest discover -v

Running the static type checker:

$ mypy stegano

Contributions

Contributions are welcome. If you want to contribute to Stegano I highly recommend you to install it in a Python virtual environment with poetry.

Donations

If you wish and if you like Stegano, you can donate via GitHub Sponsors:

or with Bitcoin to this address:
bc1q56u6sj7cvlwu58v5lemljcvkh7v2gc3tv8mj0e

Thank you !

License

This software is licensed under GNU General Public License version 3

Copyright (C) 2010-2026 Cédric Bonhomme

For more information, the list of authors and contributors is available.