Installation¶

Requirements¶

• Python 3.8 or higher
• pip (Python package manager)

Note: qcrypto relies on the Open Quantum Safe liboqs native library. On some platforms, the liboqs shared library must be installed separately.

Install from PyPI¶

pip install qcrypto

This installs the Python dependencies:

• liboqs-python (Python bindings for Open Quantum Safe)
• cryptography (AES-GCM encryption and key derivation)

Verify Installation¶

python -c "import qcrypto; print('qcrypto installed successfully')"

Or test the CLI:

qcrypto --help

Install from Source¶

git clone https://github.com/victorpostea/qcrypto.git
cd qcrypto
pip install -e .

Platform Notes¶

macOS¶

Usually works out of the box on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

If you encounter errors related to liboqs, install it with Homebrew:

brew install liboqs

Linux¶

On Linux, qcrypto installs the Python bindings (liboqs-python), but the liboqs shared library (liboqs.so) may need to be installed separately.

If you see an error like:

RuntimeError: No oqs shared libraries found

Build and install liboqs from source:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git cmake ninja-build build-essential libssl-dev

git clone https://github.com/open-quantum-safe/liboqs
cd liboqs
git fetch --tags
git checkout 0.14.0

cmake -S . -B build -GNinja \
  -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$HOME/.local

cmake --build build
cmake --install build

Ensure the shared library can be found at runtime:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$HOME/.local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"

To make this permanent:

echo 'export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$HOME/.local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Windows¶

Not officially supported at this time.

If you want to experiment with qcrypto on Windows, use WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux).

Available Algorithms¶

The available algorithms depend on your liboqs build.

To list supported algorithms:

import oqs

print("KEMs:", oqs.get_enabled_KEM_mechanisms())
print("Signatures:", oqs.get_enabled_sig_mechanisms())

Or via the command line:

python -c "import oqs; print('\n'.join(oqs.get_enabled_KEM_mechanisms()))"

Troubleshooting¶

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'oqs'¶

The Python bindings were not installed correctly. Try:

pip install --force-reinstall liboqs-python

RuntimeError: No oqs shared libraries found¶

The liboqs shared library is missing or not discoverable by the dynamic linker. Install liboqs and ensure it is on your library path (LD_LIBRARY_PATH on Linux).

Algorithm not available¶

Your liboqs build may not include all algorithms. The standard liboqs release includes all NIST-selected algorithms.

Permission errors on key files¶

The CLI creates key material with restricted permissions (0600). Ensure you have write access to:

~/.qcrypto/