GoCypher - A Random Key and IV Generator

This Go program generates a random cryptographic key and initialization vector (IV) that can be used in encryption algorithms. The key and IV are output in Base64-encoded format. The sizes of the key and IV are configurable via command-line flags.

Features

• Generates a random cryptographic key.
• Generates a random initialization vector (IV).
• Outputs Base64-encoded values for easy integration into various systems.
• Customizable key and IV sizes.

Requirements

This project uses Go modules. Make sure you are using Go 1.22 or later, as defined in the go.mod file.

The go.mod file for this project looks like:

module gocypher

go 1.22.0

Installation

First, clone the repository to your local machine:

git clone https://github.com/petervdpas/gocypher.git
cd gocypher

Next, make sure you have Go 1.22 or later installed. Run the following command to download dependencies (if any):

go mod tidy

Compiling the Program

To compile the program into an executable (.exe), use the following command:

go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o randombyte.exe main.go

This command minimizes the size of the executable by stripping symbol tables and debug information.

Running the Program

You can run the executable with the following command:

./myprogram.exe

By default, the program will generate a 256-bit key (32 bytes) and a 128-bit IV (16 bytes).

Command-Line Options

You can use the following flags to customize the size of the key and IV:

• --keysize: Size of the key in bytes (default is 32 for a 256-bit key).
• --ivsize: Size of the IV in bytes (default is 16 for a 128-bit IV).
• --help: Displays help information.

Example Usage

./myprogram.exe --keysize 24 --ivsize 12

This example will generate a 192-bit key (24 bytes) and a 96-bit IV (12 bytes).

Output Example

Base64 Encoded Key: YWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYWFhYQ==
Base64 Encoded IV: YmJiYmJiYmJiYmJiYmJiYmJi

Help

To display the help message:

./myprogram.exe --help

This will display:

This program generates random keys and IVs for encryption.
You can specify the size of the key and IV using the following flags:

Options:
  --help        Show this help message
  --keysize     Size of the key in bytes (default: 32 for 256-bit key)
  --ivsize      Size of the IV in bytes (default: 16 for 128-bit IV)

Example usage:
  go run main.go --keysize 32 --ivsize 16

Security Considerations

This program uses the Go crypto/rand package to securely generate random bytes for both the key and IV. If the system's random number generator fails, an error is returned, and the program will not proceed.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.