# pq-crystals/kyber

Repository: https://github.com/pq-crystals/kyber
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/kyber
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: lattice-based-crypto, key-exchange-algorithms, module-lattices, cryptography, crypto, post-quantum-cryptography, post-quantum
Last push: 2026-08-02T08:41:17+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 75/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 95, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3373, "days_push": 31, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1235, forks 293 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:04.875510+00:00)

## What it is
The official reference implementation of the Kyber key encapsulation mechanism (ML-KEM), a NIST-standardized post-quantum KEM, written in C with an optimized AVX2 variant. The repository is no longer actively maintained and points users to mlkem-native for production use.

## Use cases
- implement post-quantum key exchange in C
- benchmark ML-KEM key encapsulation performance
- study the reference implementation of Kyber
- test post-quantum KEM correctness with known-answer vectors
- evaluate AVX2-optimized lattice cryptography

## When to choose
- you need the canonical reference implementation for research or verification
- you want to study how Kyber/ML-KEM works at the algorithm level
- you need a simple, readable C implementation for prototyping

## When to avoid
- you need production-quality, maintained code - use mlkem-native instead
- you require formally verified or side-channel-hardened implementations - use mlkem-libjade
- you need long-term security support for a deployed system

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: abandoned
- function: cryptography
- domain: security
- platform: cpp
- tags: post-quantum-cryptography, key-encapsulation-mechanism, ml-kem, lattice-based, reference-implementation, avx2, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- pq-crystals/kyber (main) score 75

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:04.875510+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T08:22:08.002716+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/pq-crystals/kyber (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:04.875510+00:00, sha 2d13334f3cc1)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.