basex64 0.0.1.250102
BaseX64: A simple cryptographic tool for storing data in distributed version control systems like Git.
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.8
Keywords: cipher, cryptography, encryption, base64, git

# BaseX64

## What is it?

The **BaseX64** script is a simple cryptographic tool that uses dynamic `XOR` for encryption, combined with a `Base64`-like encoding scheme, ensuring that only printable `ASCII` characters are used. Additionally, it supports line-by-line ciphering, which ensures that only the corresponding lines in the ciphertext are updated after changes in the original data and re-encryption.

Why reinvent the wheel? I needed a `Python` tool that would allow storing encrypted data on distributed version control systems such as `Git`, while meeting the following criteria:

  - Using only `ASCII` characters.
  - Ensuring that small changes in the source do not cause a total change in the ciphertext.

While `AES-CTR` could fulfill these requirements, `Python` does not have native `AES` support in its standard library. To avoid relying on third-party libraries, I decided to implement a custom solution.

## Main features

  - Encrypt and decrypt files using a Base64-like scheme with dynamic XOR shifts.
  - Customizable initialization vector (IV) length and divided store mode.
  - Handling for both inline data and file input/output.
  - Ability to handle IV-based dynamic shifts for encryption/decryption.
  - Command-line interface (CLI) for simple usage.

## Installation

- from GitHub
  ```bash
  git clone https://github.com/codyverse/basex64.git
  cd basex64
  ```

- via PIP
  ```bash
  pip install basex64
  ```

## Usage

### Options:

```
  -h, --help          Show this help message and exit.
  -i, --input         Path to the input file.
  -o, --output        Path to the output file.
      --inline        Inline data to encrypt/decrypt.
  -e, --encrypt       Encrypt the input file or data.
  -d, --decrypt       Decrypt the input file or data.
  -k, --key           Encryption/Decryption key.
  -l, --vector-length Length of the initialization vector (IV). Default: 16.
  -s, --vector-slice  Slice n symbols from the IV and prepend them to the ciphertext. Default: 0.
  -f, --force         Force rewrite of output file if it exists.
      --self-test     Self-test mode to verify encryption/decryption integrity with random data.
```

### Examples

- Encrypt the `input.txt` file and save the output as `output.enc`:
  ```
  python3 basex64.py -e -k your_secret_key -i input.txt -o output.enc
  ```

- Decrypt the `output.enc` file and save the decrypted data to `output.txt`:
  ```
  python3 basex64.py -d -k your_secret_key -i output.enc -o output.txt
  ```

- Encrypt inline data:
  ```
  python3 basex64.py -e -k your_secret_key --inline "Hello, World!"
  ```

- Decrypt inline data:
  ```
  python3 basex64.py -d -k your_secret_key --inline "20c+U4QAm0AjyUhe3F374d794a95cdcfd8"
  ```

- Perform self-testing (generating random data):
  ```
  python3 basex64.py --self-test 100
  ```
  This will run 100 iterations of random data encryption and decryption with random parameters to ensure the integrity of the cipher.

- Encrypt inline data with the IV slicing using, for example, `--vector-slice 8`:
  ```
  python3 basex64.py -e -k your_secret_key --inline "Hello, World!" -s 8
  ```
  The encryption result will be `374d794a20c+U4QAm0AjyUhe3F95cdcfd8`. In this case, `8` IV characters (`374d794a`) are added at the beginning, and the remainder (`95cdcfd8`) is left at the end of the data ciphertext (`20c+U4QAm0AjyUhe3F`). Obviously, if specify `--vector-length 16` and `--vector-slice 16`, the entire IV (`374d794a95cdcfd8`) will be moved to the beginning of the ciphertext and the result will be `20c+U4QAm0AjyUhe3F374d794a95cdcfd8`.

  This changes the structure of the ciphertext and adds an additional layer of security, since without knowing the encryption parameters, an attacker cannot directly recover the IV from the ciphertext.
  **Important**: To decrypt the ciphertext, you must specify the same `--vector-slice` value used during encryption.

## Contributing

Feel free to contribute by submitting issues or pull requests!

## License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.