Static Encrypt

Protect your strings from static analysis tools.

static_encrypt is a Rust proc-macro crate that encrypts string literals at compile time. The plain text strings never appear in your compiled binary. They are encrypted using a unique, random key generated during every build, and only decrypted at runtime when needed.

This crate is a modernized and advanced version, featuring 6 different encryption algorithms and automatic key management.

Features

• Compile-Time Encryption: Strings are encrypted before they ever reach the binary.
• Unique Random Keys: A fresh random key is generated automatically via build.rs every time you compile. No need to manage environment variables manually.
• 6 Encryption Algorithms: Choose the balance of speed and obfuscation that fits your needs.
• Zero Dependencies (Runtime): Extremely lightweight runtime footprint.
• UTF-8 Support: Full support for Emoji, CJK (Chinese/Japanese/Korean), and Cyrillic characters.

Installation

cargo add static_encrypt

(or)

Add this to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
static_encrypt = "0.1.0"

Usage

Example:

#[macro_use]
extern crate static_encrypt;

// Initialize the decryption runtime. 
// This injects the decryption code specific to your selected algorithm.
set_crypt!();

fn main() {
    // Use enc!() to encrypt strings.
    let message = enc!("This is a secret message");
    
    println!("Message: {}", message);
}

Real Example:

#[macro_use]
extern crate static_encrypt;

set_crypt!();

use reqwest::header::{AUTHORIZATION, HeaderValue};
use reqwest::Client;
use std::env;

#[tokio::main]
async fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {

    let enc_key = 
    let api_key = std::env::var(enc!("TEST"))
        .expect("MY_API_KEY not set in environment variables");

    let client = Client::new();
    let url = enc!("https://api.example.com/data");

    let response = client.get(url)
        .header(AUTHORIZATION, format!("Bearer {}", api_key))
        .send()
        .await?
        .text()
        .await?;

    println!("Response: {}", response);

    Ok(())
}

2. Switching Algorithms

You can change the underlying encryption algorithm using Cargo Features. The default is xor.

To use RC4 (Stream Cipher):

[dependencies]
static_encrypt = { version = "0.1.0", features = ["rc4"] }

To use XorR (Rolling Key XOR - harder to crack):

[dependencies]
static_encrypt = { version = "0.1.0", features = ["xorr"] }

Supported Algorithms

Select one via features in Cargo.toml.

How It Works

1. Build Script (build.rs): When you run cargo build, this script runs first. It generates a high-entropy random key (64 bytes) and saves it into the compilation environment.
2. Macro Expansion: The enc!("string") macro reads this key, encrypts your string using the selected algorithm (e.g., RC4), and replaces your string with a byte array: [23, 114, 210, ...].
3. Runtime: The set_crypt!() macro injects a tiny decryptor function. When your program runs, it takes the byte array and decrypts it back to a string in memory.

License

• Apache License, Version 2.0, (LICENSE-APACHE or https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0)
• MIT license (LICENSE-MIT or https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)