Cryptography GUI Tool (cryptography-gui-tool)

Chinese version: 中文文档

Overview

• A PyQt5-based graphical cryptography tool that supports encrypting and decrypting strings and files, plus MD5 digests.
• The algorithm library is decoupled from the GUI. Implementations under algorithm can be used as a standalone library.
• No performance optimization at present. Processing large files may freeze the UI. Recommended for demos, teaching, or small data.

Features

• Covers 11 classical ciphers, 2 stream ciphers, 2 block ciphers, 2 public-key ciphers, and 1 hash algorithm.
• Supports both “String mode” and “File mode” for encryption and decryption.
• Offers key import/export, plaintext import, ciphertext export, key visibility toggle, and default output path convenience.

Supported Algorithms and Key Requirements

Classical ciphers (string):

• Caesar: key is an integer shift.
• Keyword: key is a keyword string.
• Affine: key is two integers a b (space separated); a must be coprime to 26 (not even and not a multiple of 13).
• Multilateral: key is a string.
• Vigenere: key is a string.
• Autokey Ciphertext: key is a string; recommended key length greater than plaintext length.
• Autokey Plaintext: key is a string.
• Playfair: key is a string.
• Permutation: key is a string.
• Column Permutation: key is a string; spaces in plaintext are removed before encryption.
• Double-Transposition: key is two strings separated by a single space.

Stream ciphers (string and file):

• RC4: key is a string.
• CA: key is an integer in 0–255.

Block ciphers (string and file):

• DES-64: key must be 8 characters long.
• AES-64: key must be 8 characters long (per current implementation).

Public-key ciphers (string and file):

• RSA: supports keypair generation; public key is saved as rsa_public_key_<random>.txt (two lines: e and n); private key (d) is shown in the UI and can be exported.
• ECC: supports keypair generation; public key is saved as ecc_public_key_<random>.txt (two lines: point x and y); private key is shown in the UI and can be exported.

Hash:

• MD5: supports generating MD5 for either a string or a file; only one can be chosen at a time.

Environment

• Python 3.x
• Dependencies in requirements.txt: pyqt5, pyqt5-qt5, pyqt5-sip

Installation and Run

Recommended: virtual environment

# 1) Create venv
python -m venv .env

# 2) Activate
# Windows (cmd)
.\.env\Scripts\activate.bat
# Windows (PowerShell)
.\.env\Scripts\Activate.ps1
# Linux / macOS
source ./.env/bin/activate

# 3) Install and start
pip install -r requirements.txt
python3 main.py

Using uv (recommended):

# Install (macOS recommended)
brew install uv
# Or generic script
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Create venv and install deps
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run GUI (can run without activating the venv)
uv run python main.py

GUI Usage Guide

Layout:

• Left: algorithm categories (Classical, Stream, Block, Public-key, Hash, About).
• Right: tabs for “with key / string / file”, inputs, buttons, and a status bar.

Common operations:

• Toggle key visibility via the checkbox.
• Import plaintext from a UTF-8 text file.
• Export ciphertext to a chosen file (appended).
• Import input file for file mode.
• Choose output path; if not set, the program will save to the input path with a suffix: .encrypted for encryption and .decrypted for decryption.
• Watch the status bar for success/error messages.

Example flows:

• String encrypt/decrypt (RC4)
  1. Select “Stream” → “RC4”.
  2. Enter a string key.
  3. Enter plaintext and click “Encrypt”; ciphertext appears on the right.
  4. Paste ciphertext back, use the same key, click “Decrypt” to restore plaintext.
• File encrypt/decrypt (DES)
  1. Select “Block” → “DES”.
  2. Use an 8-character key.
  3. Import the input file; optionally set output path.
  4. Click “Encrypt” or “Decrypt”; without output path, it uses .encrypted / .decrypted suffixes.
• Public-key (RSA)
  1. Select “Public-key” → “RSA”.
  2. Click “Generate Keypair”; public key saved as rsa_public_key_<random>.txt, private key shown.
  3. String mode: encrypt/decrypt within the text panes.
  4. File mode: similar with input/output paths.
• MD5
  1. Provide either a string or a file.
  2. Click “Generate MD5”.

Notes:

• Large files: >1MB may freeze the UI.
• Text encoding: plaintext import requires UTF-8 text; non-text or other encodings will fail.
• Key specs:
  • DES/AES: 8-character key.
  • CA: integer 0–255.
  • Affine: a b, a coprime to 26.
  • Double-Transposition: two keys separated by a space.

Project Structure

.
├── algorithm            # Cipher implementations (usable as a library)
│   ├── block_cipher
│   │   └── aes
│   ├── classical_cipher
│   ├── hash_algorithm
│   ├── public_cipher
│   │   ├── ecc
│   │   └── rsa
│   └── stream_cipher
│       └── ca
├── assets               # Icons and optional QSS styles
│   ├── icons
│   ├── python
│   └── qss
├── event                # GUI event bindings and flows
├── ui                   # GUI definitions
├── test_file            # Example/Test files
├── main.py              # Entry point
├── requirements.txt     # Dependencies
└── pyproject.toml       # Optional project config

Developer Usage (without GUI)

# RC4 string encrypt/decrypt
from algorithm.stream_cipher.rc4_cipher import RC4
cipher = RC4()
c = cipher.encrypt('key', 'plaintext')
p = cipher.decrypt('key', c)

# DES file encrypt/decrypt
from algorithm.block_cipher import des_cipher
desc = des_cipher.DESCipher()
desc.new('12345678')
desc.encrypt_file('input.txt', 'output.encrypted')
desc.decrypt_file('output.encrypted', 'output.decrypted')

# AES string encrypt/decrypt
from algorithm.block_cipher.aes import aes_string
c = aes_string.encrypt('hello world', '12345678')
p = aes_string.decrypt(c, '12345678')

# MD5
from algorithm.hash_algorithm import md5_string, md5_file
md5_s = md5_string.md5('hello')
md5_f = md5_file.md5('path/to/file')

FAQ

• No response on encrypt/decrypt: ensure an algorithm is selected and inputs/keys are provided.
• Wrong key length: DES/AES require 8 characters; errors shown in the status bar.
• CA key range: must be an integer within 0–255.
• Text import failure: input must be UTF-8 text; use file mode for binary files.

Version & Credits

• See repository history for version records.
• Please credit the author: morsuning, for public use.

License

Mozilla Public License 2.0