I want to exchange data

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Public key encryption involves protecting data with two keys, one public and one private. This allows you to share encrypted data with anyone who has the public key, but any data they send back can only be decrypted with the private key. If you need to encrypt data with a public key because the sender cannot store any secrets, use the Hybrid Encryption primitive.

We recommend the DHKEM_X25519_HKDF_SHA256_HKDF_SHA256_AES_256_GCM key type for most hybrid encryption use cases. For all supported key types, see Supported Key Types.

The following examples get you started using the Hybrid Encryption primitive.

Python

python/examples/hybrid/hybrid_basic.py
import tink
from tink import cleartext_keyset_handle
from tink import hybrid


def example():
  """Encrypt and decrypt using hybrid encryption."""
  # Register the hybrid encryption key managers. This is needed to create
  # HybridEncrypt and HybridDecrypt primitives later.
  hybrid.register()

  # A private keyset created with
  # tinkey create-keyset \
  #   --key-template=DHKEM_X25519_HKDF_SHA256_HKDF_SHA256_AES_256_GCM \
  #   --out private_keyset.cfg
  # Note that this keyset has the secret key information in cleartext.
  private_keyset = r"""{
      "key": [{
          "keyData": {
              "keyMaterialType":
                  "ASYMMETRIC_PRIVATE",
              "typeUrl":
                  "type.googleapis.com/google.crypto.tink.HpkePrivateKey",
              "value":
                  "EioSBggBEAEYAhogVWQpmQoz74jcAp5WOD36KiBQ71MVCpn2iWfOzWLtKV4aINfn8qlMbyijNJcCzrafjsgJ493ZZGN256KTfKw0WN+p"
          },
          "keyId": 958452012,
          "outputPrefixType": "TINK",
          "status": "ENABLED"
      }],
      "primaryKeyId": 958452012
  }"""

  # The corresponding public keyset created with
  # "tinkey create-public-keyset --in private_keyset.cfg"
  public_keyset = r"""{
      "key": [{
          "keyData": {
              "keyMaterialType":
                  "ASYMMETRIC_PUBLIC",
              "typeUrl":
                  "type.googleapis.com/google.crypto.tink.HpkePublicKey",
              "value":
                  "EgYIARABGAIaIFVkKZkKM++I3AKeVjg9+iogUO9TFQqZ9olnzs1i7Sle"          },
          "keyId": 958452012,
          "outputPrefixType": "TINK",
          "status": "ENABLED"
      }],
      "primaryKeyId": 958452012
  }"""

  # Create a keyset handle from the keyset containing the public key. Because
  # this keyset does not contain any secrets, we can use
  # `tink.read_no_secret_keyset_handle`.
  public_keyset_handle = tink.read_no_secret_keyset_handle(
      tink.JsonKeysetReader(public_keyset))

  # Retrieve the HybridEncrypt primitive from the keyset handle.
  enc_primitive = public_keyset_handle.primitive(hybrid.HybridEncrypt)

  # Use enc_primitive to encrypt a message. In this case the primary key of the
  # keyset will be used (which is also the only key in this example).
  ciphertext = enc_primitive.encrypt(b'message', b'context_info')

  # Create a keyset handle from the private keyset. The keyset handle provides
  # abstract access to the underlying keyset to limit the exposure of accessing
  # the raw key material. WARNING: In practice, it is unlikely you will want to
  # use a cleartext_keyset_handle, as it implies that your key material is
  # passed in cleartext which is a security risk.
  private_keyset_handle = cleartext_keyset_handle.read(
      tink.JsonKeysetReader(private_keyset)
  )

  # Retrieve the HybridDecrypt primitive from the private keyset handle.
  dec_primitive = private_keyset_handle.primitive(hybrid.HybridDecrypt)

  # Use dec_primitive to decrypt the message. Decrypt finds the correct key in
  # the keyset and decrypts the ciphertext. If no key is found or decryption
  # fails, it raises an error.
  decrypted = dec_primitive.decrypt(ciphertext, b'context_info')

Java

package hybrid;

import static java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8;

import com.google.crypto.tink.CleartextKeysetHandle;
import com.google.crypto.tink.HybridDecrypt;
import com.google.crypto.tink.HybridEncrypt;
import com.google.crypto.tink.JsonKeysetReader;
import com.google.crypto.tink.KeysetHandle;
import com.google.crypto.tink.hybrid.HybridConfig;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.security.GeneralSecurityException;

/**
 * A command-line utility for hybrid encryption.
 *
 * <p>It loads cleartext keys from disk - this is not recommended!
 *
 * <p>It requires the following arguments:
 *
 * <ul>
 *   <li>mode: either 'encrypt' or 'decrypt'.
 *   <li>key-file: Read the key material from this file.
 *   <li>input-file: Read the input from this file.
 *   <li>output-file: Write the result to this file.
 *   <li>[optional] contex-info: Bind the encryption to this context info.
 */
public final class HybridExample {
  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
    if (args.length != 4 && args.length != 5) {
      System.err.printf("Expected 4 or 5 parameters, got %d\n", args.length);
      System.err.println(
          "Usage: java HybridExample encrypt/decrypt key-file input-file output-file context-info");
      System.exit(1);
    }

    String mode = args[0];
    if (!mode.equals("encrypt") && !mode.equals("decrypt")) {
      System.err.println("Incorrect mode. Please select encrypt or decrypt.");
      System.exit(1);
    }
    File keyFile = new File(args[1]);
    File inputFile = new File(args[2]);
    byte[] input = Files.readAllBytes(inputFile.toPath());
    File outputFile = new File(args[3]);
    byte[] contextInfo = new byte[0];
    if (args.length == 5) {
      contextInfo = args[4].getBytes(UTF_8);
    }

    // Register all hybrid encryption key types with the Tink runtime.
    HybridConfig.register();

    // Read the keyset into a KeysetHandle.
    KeysetHandle handle = null;
    try (FileInputStream inputStream = new FileInputStream(keyFile)) {
      handle = CleartextKeysetHandle.read(JsonKeysetReader.withInputStream(inputStream));
    } catch (GeneralSecurityException | IOException ex) {
      System.err.println("Cannot read keyset, got error: " + ex);
      System.exit(1);
    }

    if (mode.equals("encrypt")) {
      // Get the primitive.
      HybridEncrypt encryptor = null;
      try {
        encryptor = handle.getPrimitive(HybridEncrypt.class);
      } catch (GeneralSecurityException ex) {
        System.err.println("Cannot create primitive, got error: " + ex);
        System.exit(1);
      }

      // Use the primitive to encrypt data.
      byte[] ciphertext = encryptor.encrypt(input, contextInfo);
      try (FileOutputStream stream = new FileOutputStream(outputFile)) {
        stream.write(ciphertext);
      }
      System.exit(0);
    }

    // Get the primitive.
    HybridDecrypt decryptor = null;
    try {
      decryptor = handle.getPrimitive(HybridDecrypt.class);
    } catch (GeneralSecurityException ex) {
      System.err.println("Cannot create primitive, got error: " + ex);
      System.exit(1);
    }

    // Use the primitive to decrypt data.
    byte[] plaintext = decryptor.decrypt(input, contextInfo);
    try (FileOutputStream stream = new FileOutputStream(outputFile)) {
      stream.write(plaintext);
    }
    System.exit(0);
  }

  private HybridExample() {}
}

C++

cc/examples/hybrid_encryption/hybrid_cli.cc
// A command-line utility for testing Tink Hybrid Encryption.

#include <stdlib.h>

#include <iostream>
#include <memory>
#include <ostream>
#include <string>

#include "absl/flags/flag.h"
#include "absl/flags/parse.h"
#include "absl/strings/string_view.h"
#include "util/util.h"
#ifndef TINK_EXAMPLES_EXCLUDE_HPKE
#include "tink/hybrid/hpke_config.h"
#endif
#include "tink/hybrid/hybrid_config.h"
#include "tink/hybrid_decrypt.h"
#include "tink/hybrid_encrypt.h"
#include "tink/keyset_handle.h"
#include "tink/util/status.h"

ABSL_FLAG(std::string, keyset_filename, "", "Keyset file in JSON format");
ABSL_FLAG(std::string, mode, "", "Mode of operation {encrypt|decrypt}");
ABSL_FLAG(std::string, input_filename, "", "Input file name");
ABSL_FLAG(std::string, output_filename, "", "Output file name");
ABSL_FLAG(std::string, context_info, "",
          "Context info for Hybrid Encryption/Decryption");

namespace {

using ::crypto::tink::HybridDecrypt;
using ::crypto::tink::HybridEncrypt;
using ::crypto::tink::KeysetHandle;
using ::crypto::tink::util::Status;
using ::crypto::tink::util::StatusOr;

constexpr absl::string_view kEncrypt = "encrypt";
constexpr absl::string_view kDecrypt = "decrypt";

// ...
}  // namespace

namespace tink_cc_examples {

Status HybridCli(absl::string_view mode, const std::string& keyset_filename,
               const std::string& input_filename,
               const std::string& output_filename,
               absl::string_view context_info) {
  Status result = crypto::tink::HybridConfig::Register();
  if (!result.ok()) return result;
#ifndef TINK_EXAMPLES_EXCLUDE_HPKE
  // HPKE isn't supported when using OpenSSL as a backend.
  result = crypto::tink::RegisterHpke();
  if (!result.ok()) return result;
#endif

  // Read the keyset from file.
  StatusOr<std::unique_ptr<KeysetHandle>> keyset_handle =
      ReadJsonCleartextKeyset(keyset_filename);
  if (!keyset_handle.ok()) return keyset_handle.status();

  // Read the input.
  StatusOr<std::string> input_file_content = ReadFile(input_filename);
  if (!input_file_content.ok()) return input_file_content.status();

  // Compute the output.
  std::string output;
  if (mode == kEncrypt) {
    // Get the hybrid encryption primitive.
    StatusOr<std::unique_ptr<HybridEncrypt>> hybrid_encrypt_primitive =
        (*keyset_handle)->GetPrimitive<HybridEncrypt>();
    if (!hybrid_encrypt_primitive.ok()) {
      return hybrid_encrypt_primitive.status();
    }
    // Generate the ciphertext.
    StatusOr<std::string> encrypt_result =
        (*hybrid_encrypt_primitive)->Encrypt(*input_file_content, context_info);
    if (!encrypt_result.ok()) return encrypt_result.status();
    output = encrypt_result.value();
  } else {  // operation == kDecrypt.
    // Get the hybrid decryption primitive.
    StatusOr<std::unique_ptr<HybridDecrypt>> hybrid_decrypt_primitive =
        (*keyset_handle)->GetPrimitive<HybridDecrypt>();
    if (!hybrid_decrypt_primitive.ok()) {
      return hybrid_decrypt_primitive.status();
    }
    // Recover the plaintext.
    StatusOr<std::string> decrypt_result =
        (*hybrid_decrypt_primitive)->Decrypt(*input_file_content, context_info);
    if (!decrypt_result.ok()) return decrypt_result.status();
    output = decrypt_result.value();
  }

  // Write the output to the output file.
  return WriteToFile(output, output_filename);
}

}  // namespace tink_cc_examples

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
  absl::ParseCommandLine(argc, argv);

  ValidateParams();

  std::string mode = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_mode);
  std::string keyset_filename = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_keyset_filename);
  std::string input_filename = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_input_filename);
  std::string output_filename = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_output_filename);
  std::string context_info = absl::GetFlag(FLAGS_context_info);

  std::clog << "Using keyset from file " << keyset_filename << " to hybrid "
            << mode << " file " << input_filename << " with context info '"
            << context_info << "'." << std::endl;
  std::clog << "The resulting output will be written to " << output_filename
            << std::endl;

  Status result = tink_cc_examples::HybridCli(
      mode, keyset_filename, input_filename, output_filename, context_info);
  if (!result.ok()) {
    std::cerr << result.message() << std::endl;
    exit(1);
  }

  return 0;
}

Go

go/hybrid/hybrid_test.go
import (
	"bytes"
	"fmt"
	"log"

	"github.com/google/tink/go/hybrid"
	"github.com/google/tink/go/insecurecleartextkeyset"
	"github.com/google/tink/go/keyset"
)

func Example() {
	// A private keyset created with
	// "tinkey create-keyset --key-template=DHKEM_X25519_HKDF_SHA256_HKDF_SHA256_AES_256_GCM --out private_keyset.cfg".
	// Note that this keyset has the secret key information in cleartext.
	privateJSONKeyset := `{
		"key": [{
				"keyData": {
						"keyMaterialType":
								"ASYMMETRIC_PRIVATE",
						"typeUrl":
								"type.googleapis.com/google.crypto.tink.HpkePrivateKey",
						"value":
								"EioSBggBEAEYAhogVWQpmQoz74jcAp5WOD36KiBQ71MVCpn2iWfOzWLtKV4aINfn8qlMbyijNJcCzrafjsgJ493ZZGN256KTfKw0WN+p"
				},
				"keyId": 958452012,
				"outputPrefixType": "TINK",
				"status": "ENABLED"
		}],
		"primaryKeyId": 958452012
  }`

	// The corresponding public keyset created with
	// "tinkey create-public-keyset --in private_keyset.cfg".
	publicJSONKeyset := `{
		"key": [{
				"keyData": {
						"keyMaterialType":
								"ASYMMETRIC_PUBLIC",
						"typeUrl":
								"type.googleapis.com/google.crypto.tink.HpkePublicKey",
						"value":
								"EgYIARABGAIaIFVkKZkKM++I3AKeVjg9+iogUO9TFQqZ9olnzs1i7Sle"
				},
				"keyId": 958452012,
				"outputPrefixType": "TINK",
				"status": "ENABLED"
		}],
		"primaryKeyId": 958452012
  }`

	// Create a keyset handle from the keyset containing the public key. Because the
	// public keyset does not contain any secrets, we can use [keyset.ReadWithNoSecrets].
	publicKeysetHandle, err := keyset.ReadWithNoSecrets(
		keyset.NewJSONReader(bytes.NewBufferString(publicJSONKeyset)))
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	// Retrieve the HybridEncrypt primitive from publicKeysetHandle.
	encPrimitive, err := hybrid.NewHybridEncrypt(publicKeysetHandle)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	plaintext := []byte("message")
	encryptionContext := []byte("encryption context")
	ciphertext, err := encPrimitive.Encrypt(plaintext, encryptionContext)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	// Create a keyset handle from the cleartext private keyset in the previous
	// step. The keyset handle provides abstract access to the underlying keyset to
	// limit the access of the raw key material. WARNING: In practice,
	// it is unlikely you will want to use a insecurecleartextkeyset, as it implies
	// that your key material is passed in cleartext, which is a security risk.
	// Consider encrypting it with a remote key in Cloud KMS, AWS KMS or HashiCorp Vault.
	// See https://github.com/google/tink/blob/master/docs/GOLANG-HOWTO.md#storing-and-loading-existing-keysets.
	privateKeysetHandle, err := insecurecleartextkeyset.Read(
		keyset.NewJSONReader(bytes.NewBufferString(privateJSONKeyset)))
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	// Retrieve the HybridDecrypt primitive from privateKeysetHandle.
	decPrimitive, err := hybrid.NewHybridDecrypt(privateKeysetHandle)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	decrypted, err := decPrimitive.Decrypt(ciphertext, encryptionContext)
	if err != nil {
		log.Fatal(err)
	}

	fmt.Println(string(decrypted))
	// Output: message
}