@polkadot/util-crypto

What is @polkadot/util-crypto?

@polkadot/util-crypto is a utility library for cryptographic functions, specifically designed for use with the Polkadot and Substrate ecosystems. It provides a wide range of cryptographic utilities including hashing, key generation, signing, and verification.

What are @polkadot/util-crypto's main functionalities?

Hashing

This feature allows you to create a Blake2 hash of a given input. The code sample demonstrates how to hash the string 'hello world' using the Blake2 algorithm.

const { blake2AsHex } = require('@polkadot/util-crypto');
const data = 'hello world';
const hash = blake2AsHex(data);
console.log(hash);

Key Generation

This feature allows you to generate a mnemonic phrase for key generation. The code sample demonstrates how to generate a new mnemonic phrase.

const { mnemonicGenerate } = require('@polkadot/util-crypto');
const mnemonic = mnemonicGenerate();
console.log(mnemonic);

Signing

This feature allows you to verify a digital signature. The code sample demonstrates how to verify a signature for a given message and public key.

const { signatureVerify } = require('@polkadot/util-crypto');
const message = 'hello world';
const signature = '0x...'; // Replace with actual signature
const publicKey = '0x...'; // Replace with actual public key
const isValid = signatureVerify(message, signature, publicKey).isValid;
console.log(isValid);

Encryption

This feature allows you to encrypt and decrypt messages using the NaCl library. The code sample demonstrates how to encrypt and then decrypt a message.

const { naclEncrypt, naclDecrypt } = require('@polkadot/util-crypto');
const message = new Uint8Array([1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
const secret = new Uint8Array(32); // Replace with actual secret key
const { encrypted, nonce } = naclEncrypt(message, secret);
const decrypted = naclDecrypt(encrypted, nonce, secret);
console.log(decrypted);

Other packages similar to @polkadot/util-crypto

crypto-js

crypto-js is a widely-used library that provides standard and secure cryptographic algorithms for JavaScript. It offers functionalities like hashing, encryption, and decryption. Compared to @polkadot/util-crypto, crypto-js is more general-purpose and not specifically tailored for the Polkadot ecosystem.

tweetnacl

tweetnacl is a cryptographic library that provides high-level API for encryption, decryption, signing, and verifying signatures. It is known for its simplicity and security. While tweetnacl offers similar functionalities, it does not provide the same level of integration with the Polkadot ecosystem as @polkadot/util-crypto.

sjcl

Stanford JavaScript Crypto Library (sjcl) is a library for cryptography in JavaScript. It provides a variety of cryptographic primitives including hashing, encryption, and key generation. Like crypto-js, sjcl is a general-purpose library and does not offer specific utilities for the Polkadot ecosystem.

README

@polkadot/util-crypto

Various useful cyrpto utility functions that are used across all projects in the @polkadot namespace. It provides utility functions with additional safety checks, allowing not only for consistent coding, but also reducing the general boilerplate.

Usage

Installation -

yarn add @polkadot/util-crypto

Functions can be imported as follows:

import { mnemonicGenerate } from '@polkadot/util-crypto';