# open-quantum-safe/liboqs

C library for prototyping and experimenting with quantum-resistant cryptography

Repository: https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/liboqs
Homepage: https://openquantumsafe.org/
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: cryptography, key-exchange-algorithms, lattice-based-crypto, post-quantum-cryptography
Last push: 2026-08-23T01:46:43+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 88/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 68, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3674, "days_push": 11, "days_rel": 55, "gap_med": 127, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3044, forks 765 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:39.426405+00:00)

## What it is
liboqs is an open source C library providing implementations of quantum-resistant (post-quantum) key encapsulation mechanisms and digital signature algorithms behind a common API. It is the core of the Open Quantum Safe project under the Linux Foundation's Post-Quantum Cryptography Alliance, and includes test harnesses and benchmarking routines.

## Use cases
- experiment with post-quantum key encapsulation mechanisms in C
- benchmark quantum-resistant signature schemes
- integrate NIST post-quantum algorithms like Kyber and Dilithium into prototypes
- test hybrid TLS with quantum-safe key exchange via the OQS OpenSSL provider
- evaluate memory and performance characteristics of PQ crypto implementations
- prototype lattice-based cryptography research

## When to choose
- you need a common C API over many post-quantum KEM and signature implementations
- you are prototyping or researching quantum-resistant cryptography
- you want to benchmark PQ algorithms across platforms
- you are building PQ-enabled protocol integrations like TLS or X.509

## When to avoid
- you need production-grade, fully hardened cryptography without expert review
- you want a high-level language library without C bindings (use liboqs-python, liboqs-go, or Rust crates instead)
- you need only classical cryptography
- you require a formally certified FIPS-validated implementation

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: cryptography, security, benchmarking, testing
- domain: security, developer-tools
- platform: windows, cross-platform, cpp
- tags: post-quantum-cryptography, key-encapsulation, digital-signatures, lattice-based-crypto, nist-pqc, kem, quantum-resistant, cryptography, research, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- open-quantum-safe/liboqs (main) score 88

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:39.426405+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 2026-08-30T07:29:12.112676+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:39.426405+00:00, sha 389c8b56c01e)
  - homepage: https://openquantumsafe.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:44:20.330381+00:00, sha d7113e9a5b47)
  - site_page: https://openquantumsafe.org/about (fetched 2026-08-29T09:44:20.341808+00:00, sha 6ced1f47658c)
  - site_page: https://openquantumsafe.org/about/sponsors.html (fetched 2026-08-29T09:44:20.343686+00:00, sha 6c29dbc88fc2)
  - site_page: https://openquantumsafe.org/liboqs/getting-started.html (fetched 2026-08-29T09:44:20.345237+00:00, sha f33ef667e80b)
  - site_page: https://openquantumsafe.org/faq.html (fetched 2026-08-29T09:44:20.339608+00:00, sha 16266b289aba)
  - site_page: https://openquantumsafe.org/liboqs/api (fetched 2026-08-29T09:44:20.347004+00:00, sha c18a9b915b55)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.