goaes

goaes is a very simple tool for encrypting files with AES-256-GCM.

about

I wanted to write some Go and encryption fascinates me, so I wrote goaes.

what it is

• it's fun
• it's fast
• it's simple

what it isn't

• it's not meant for production
• it's not meant for sensitive data
• it's not secure

how it works

• it uses Argon2id
  • time: 3
  • memory: 256mb
  • threads: 4
  • key length: 32
• it uses key wrapping

getting started

1. Generate a new passphrase.

goaes generate

Don't use this one. This one is mine.

XGfpiNUvKJy8k7KeUEyhev4jkTIajb1s9CMJP9xH/7A=

2. Set GOAES_PASSPHRASE to the passphrase.
3. Run the goaes encrypt command.

export GOAES_PASSPHRASE=XGfpiNUvKJy8k7KeUEyhev4jkTIajb1s9CMJP9xH/7A=

goaes encrypt ./input.txt

hexdump -C ./input.txt.goaes

00000000  d0 17 66 f2 cb b9 14 af  56 14 75 26 9b 89 50 f1  |..f.....V.u&..P.|
00000010  4c a2 14 ed 58 58 82 a3  64 8d 98 e9 02 ff a0 e5  |L...XX..d.......|
00000020  40 a7 bc 2e 81 65 24 68  3c c4 e3 c3 c3 de 2b 55  |@....e$h<.....+U|
00000030  3c 1a d7 26 59 8f f7 cf  88 00 ac 06 4a b7 dc 25  |<..&Y.......J..%|
00000040  75 46 60 6a 15 a9 2e 3a  ff 15 6d 25 39 25 15 71  |uF`j...:..m%9%.q|
00000050  a1 10 55 28 cc 2d 7e 67  58 46 f6 8e 48 ce e3 7e  |..U(.-~gXF..H..~|
00000060  4c 4c 7a b3 c6 c9 ef 4d  3a a0 3f 41 03 7e 2f 3f  |LLz....M:.?A.~/?|
00000070  09 6d b3 74 4c d9 ae 5f  a5 ea 49 5d 8f f8 87 6f  |.m.tL.._..I]...o|
00000080  c3 4a 7d 67                                       |.J}g|
00000084

usage

NAME:
   goaes - Simple AES encryption built with Go

USAGE:
   goaes [global options] [command [command options]]

VERSION:
   0.7.0

COMMANDS:
   generate, g  Generate a base64 encoded key
   encrypt, e   Encrypt a file
   decrypt, d   Decrypt a file
   help, h      Shows a list of commands or help for one command

GLOBAL OPTIONS:
   --help, -h     show help
   --version, -v  print the version

reference material

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_wrap
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Encryption_Standard
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galois/Counter_Mode
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authenticated_encryption
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argon2
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_derivation_function
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_(cryptography)
• https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Password_Storage_Cheat_Sheet.html
• https://words.filippo.io/2025-state/

inspiration

• https://github.com/FiloSottile/age
• https://github.com/restic/restic