# HACKERALERT/Picocrypt

A very small, very simple, yet very secure encryption tool.

Repository: https://github.com/HACKERALERT/Picocrypt
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/picocrypt
Language: Go
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: sha3, xchacha20, encryption, cryptography, security, security-tools, privacy-tools, privacy, serpent, reed-solomon, portable, blake2b, password, argon2, golang, file-encryption
Archived: true
Last push: 2025-09-07T18:52:04+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 40, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2022, "days_push": 360, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2488, forks 146 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:55.730568+00:00)

## What it is
Picocrypt is a very small, simple, and secure file encryption tool written in Go, using modern cryptography like XChaCha20, Argon2, and SHA3. It is portable and focuses on privacy with features such as Reed-Solomon error correction and keyfile support.

## Use cases
- encrypt sensitive files with a password
- securely share encrypted files with others
- add error correction to encrypted archives
- encrypt files with a keyfile plus password
- portable encryption tool that runs from a USB drive

## When to choose
- you want a lightweight, auditable encryption tool without heavy dependencies
- you need strong modern cryptography (XChaCha20, Argon2) in a simple GUI
- you need file integrity and Reed-Solomon parity protection
- you want a portable cross-platform encryptor

## When to avoid
- you need full-disk encryption rather than per-file encryption
- you require enterprise key management or centralized auditing
- you need command-line-only bulk automation with mature scripting support

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: cryptography, security, privacy, compression
- domain: security, privacy, files, cross-platform
- platform: cross-platform, windows, go
- tags: file-encryption, xchacha20, argon2, sha3, reed-solomon, portable, gui, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- HACKERALERT/Picocrypt (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:55.730568+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 2026-08-30T02:27:51.362758+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/HACKERALERT/Picocrypt (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:55.730568+00:00, sha 01afe923e967)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.