
_[Photo](https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-standing-near-old-stone-wall-with-carved-images-4577718/)
by [Rachel Claire](https://www.pexels.com/@rachel-claire/) on
[pexels.com](https://www.pexels.com/)_

## Overview

A comparison of two approaches to encrypting and decrypting data: a modularized
Python application using the Fernet symmetric encryption method, and the GnuPG
(`gpg`) command-line tool. The project covers both file encryption and string
encryption, with each task split into its own single-purpose file.

## Task Modularization

The Python approach splits encryption and decryption into individual files by
responsibility:

- `create_key.py` — generates a 128-bit AES encryption key
- `get_key.py` — loads the generated key for use in the other scripts
- `encrypt_file.py` / `decrypt_file.py` — encrypt and decrypt a file
- `encrypt_string.py` / `decrypt_string.py` — encrypt and decrypt a string

The string-based functions required a bit more care: the encrypted message
generated in `encrypt_string.py` has to be imported into `decrypt_string.py` so
the correct token gets passed to `message_decrypt`, avoiding an `InvalidToken`
error from the `cryptography` package.

## Command Line Alternative

The same encrypt/decrypt tasks are also carried out using GnuPG, comparing the
tradeoffs of a programmatic approach against a quicker, less structured
command-line workflow using AES256 symmetric encryption.

## Related Resources

- [Encrypting and Decrypting Files and Strings](/blog/encrypting-and-decrypting-files-and-strings):
  companion post covering both approaches in full detail


A Python encryption/decryption toolkit comparing Fernet symmetric encryption in Python against GnuPG on the Command Line, for encrypting and decrypting both files and strings.

projects tag: symmetric encryption

Encrypting/Decrypting Files and Strings