A Python CLI application for generating RSA public and private key pairs using the cryptography library

Features • Installation • Usage • Configuration • Development • License

Encryption Helper is a robust Python package designed to simplify the process of creating RSA key pairs. It leverages the cryptography library to offer:

• Generation of 2048-bit RSA key pairs
• Automatic saving of keys in PEM format
• Logging of key generation for debugging purposes
• Simple CLI interface for ease of use

This package requires Python 3.8 or later and uses cryptography for cryptographic operations.

Ensure you have Poetry installed, then follow these steps:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/hsbc/encryption-helper-python.git
cd encryption-helper-python

# Install dependencies (including cryptography)
poetry install

If you prefer to use pip:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/hsbc/encryption-helper-python.git
cd encryption-helper-python

# Create a virtual environment (optional but recommended)
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use `venv\Scripts\activate`

# Install the package and its dependencies (including cryptography)
pip install .

To generate an RSA key pair using Poetry:

poetry run encryption-helper

If you installed the package using pip:

# If you're using a virtual environment, make sure it's activated
encryption-helper

Or run the module directly:

python -m encryption_helper

These commands will:

• Use cryptography to generate a 2048-bit RSA key pair
• Save the private key to keys/pem/private-key.pem
• Save the public key to keys/pem/public-key.pem
• Display both keys in the console
• Log the key generation process

The key generation process uses cryptography with the following specifications:

• Standard: PKCS#1
• Type: RSA
• Size: 2048 bits

To modify these settings, you'll need to edit the generate_rsa_key() function in encryption_helper/main.py. Refer to the cryptography documentation for more advanced configurations.

To set up the development environment using Poetry:

# Create a virtual environment and install dependencies
poetry install

# Activate the virtual environment
poetry shell

# Run tests
pytest tests/

# Generate documentation
pydoc -w encryption_helper

If you're not using Poetry:

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows use `venv\Scripts\activate`

# Install development dependencies
pip install .[dev]

# Run tests
pytest tests/

# Generate documentation
pydoc -w encryption_helper

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.