# build-trust/ockam

Orchestrate end-to-end encryption, cryptographic identities, mutual authentication, and authorization policies between distributed applications – at massive scale.

Repository: https://github.com/build-trust/ockam
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/ockam
Homepage: https://docs.ockam.io/
Language: Rust
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: messaging, authentication, key-management, identity, trust, kafka, rust, security, end-to-end-encryption, encrypted-connections, encrypted-messages, zero-trust, e2ee, encryption, credentials, authorization, distributed-systems, snowflake
Last push: 2026-01-04T22:01:38+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 61/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 60, release rhythm 40, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2833, "days_push": 241, "days_rel": 429, "gap_med": 6.5, "n_releases_24m": 23}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4633, forks 558 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:55.390759+00:00)

## What it is
Ockam is a Rust library and CLI toolkit for building secure-by-design distributed applications with end-to-end encryption, cryptographic identities, mutual authentication, and authorization policies. It creates secure channels between systems in private networks without exposing public endpoints, audited by Trail of Bits.

## Use cases
- connect to customer databases behind firewalls without exposing public endpoints
- establish end-to-end encrypted channels between distributed services
- manage cryptographic identities and credentials for machine-to-machine authentication
- replace VPNs and reverse proxies for secure SaaS-to-customer-data connections
- enforce zero-trust authorization policies on data in motion
- securely tunnel Kafka or database traffic across networks

## When to choose
- you need end-to-end encryption and mutual authentication between services across untrusted networks
- you want to eliminate publicly exposed API endpoints and ad-hoc credential distribution
- you need audited, formally reviewed cryptographic protocols for zero-trust networking
- you want a CLI plus Rust library to orchestrate secure connections at scale

## When to avoid
- you only need standard TLS between services and have no identity or policy requirements
- your stack requires non-Rust SDKs today (TypeScript support is not yet available)
- you need a general-purpose VPN or full mesh networking solution rather than application-layer secure channels

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: auth, authorization, cryptography, security, networking, chat-interface, cli, sdk
- domain: security, microservices, networking, developer-tools
- platform: rust, windows, cli, cross-platform
- tags: end-to-end-encryption, zero-trust, mutual-authentication, secure-channels, key-management, e2ee, tunnels, credentials, messaging, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- build-trust/ockam (main) score 61

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:55.390759+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 2026-08-29T18:19:35.389138+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/build-trust/ockam (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:55.390759+00:00, sha 1a731f0496a6)
  - homepage: https://docs.ockam.io/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.811901+00:00, sha f897f1b587bf)
  - site_page: https://docs.ockam.io/documentation/protocols (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.826353+00:00, sha 94f4d56e96f9)
  - site_page: https://docs.ockam.io/readme/how-to-access-these-docs-from-chatgpt-cursor-etc (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.821268+00:00, sha fb2172369139)
  - site_page: https://docs.ockam.io/documentation/command (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.823138+00:00, sha beb711580ca2)
  - site_page: https://docs.ockam.io/documentation/libraries (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.824812+00:00, sha 09d7a9f445c3)
  - site_page: https://docs.ockam.io/documentation/audit-by-trail-of-bits (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.828104+00:00, sha 7b41e79e1745)
  - site_page: https://docs.ockam.io/video-tutorials/how-product-managers-should-think-about-secure-connections-to-customer-data (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.829828+00:00, sha 5b98d8d078d8)
  - site_page: https://docs.ockam.io/video-tutorials/dont-forget-about-data-integrity-when-you-think-about-security (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.832381+00:00, sha 65f4803d9181)
  - registry_crates: https://crates.io/api/v1/crates/ockam (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:23.834370+00:00, sha 8c05e9fe8730)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.