pysodium
python libsodium wrapper
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you have libsodium already installed or can install it on your system and need direct access to libsodium's cryptographic functions. The high install friction (external C dependency) and Beta status are real drawbacks, but the package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and offers a permissive license. Consider it when you need low-level control over cryptographic primitives that higher-level libraries may not expose.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- libsodium must be pre-installed on the system; pysodium is a wrapper and cannot function without it.
- Installation requires a pre-built libsodium library already present on the system, creating high friction for users unfamiliar with system-level dependency management.
- The package is actively maintained with recent commits, but the external compiled dependency is a significant barrier.
License · maintenance · safety
BSD (permissive) — BSD permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for most projects that can satisfy the system dependency requirement.
last release 2024-08-07 (737 days) · last repo commit 2026-03-25 · 137 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 391,117 downloads/mo, #7,018 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import pysodium
# Generate a keypair for public-key encryption
pk, sk = pysodium.crypto_box_keypair()
# Encrypt a message
nonce = pysodium.randombytes(pysodium.crypto_box_NONCEBYTES)
ciphertext = pysodium.crypto_box(b'hello', nonce, pk, sk)- Whether libsodium installation is straightforward on all major platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Performance characteristics compared to pure-Python or alternative cryptography libraries.
- Whether the package is suitable for production use given its Beta development status.
What it is and what it does
Pysodium exposes libsodium's cryptographic primitives to Python as a thin wrapper, providing direct access to authenticated encryption schemes (ChaCha20-Poly1305, AES-GCM variants), public-key cryptography (Curve25519), digital signatures (Ed25519), hashing (BLAKE2, SHA-512), and password hashing (Argon2, scrypt). It is designed for developers who want libsodium's battle-tested algorithms without the overhead of higher-level abstractions.
The package trades ease of use for directness: you work with raw bytes, manage nonces and keys yourself, and call low-level functions that map almost one-to-one to libsodium's C API. This makes it suitable for applications where you need fine-grained control over cryptographic operations, but it requires understanding the underlying primitives and their correct usage patterns.
Use it for
- Encrypt and decrypt messages with authenticated encryption (ChaCha20-Poly1305, AES-GCM) for secure communication.
- Perform Diffie-Hellman key exchange using Curve25519 to establish shared secrets between parties.
- Sign and verify messages using Ed25519 for non-repudiation and authenticity verification.
- Hash passwords with Argon2 or scrypt for secure credential storage.
- Generate and verify message authentication codes (HMAC-SHA256/512) for data integrity.
- Stream encryption with ChaCha20 for large data or streaming scenarios.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you have libsodium already installed or can install it on your system and need direct access to libsodium's cryptographic functions.
The high install friction (external C dependency) and Beta status are real drawbacks, but the package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and offers a permissive license. Consider it when you need low-level control over cryptographic primitives that higher-level libraries may not expose.
Install
pysodium on PyPI
Before you install
Installation requires a pre-built libsodium library already present on the system, creating high friction for users unfamiliar with system-level dependency management. The package is actively maintained with recent commits, but the external compiled dependency is a significant barrier.
libsodium must be pre-installed on the system; pysodium is a wrapper and cannot function without it.
License in practice
BSD permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for most projects that can satisfy the system dependency requirement.
Quickstart
import pysodium
# Generate a keypair for public-key encryption
pk, sk = pysodium.crypto_box_keypair()
# Encrypt a message
nonce = pysodium.randombytes(pysodium.crypto_box_NONCEBYTES)
ciphertext = pysodium.crypto_box(b'hello', nonce, pk, sk)Verify before relying
- Whether libsodium installation is straightforward on all major platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux).
- Performance characteristics compared to pure-Python or alternative cryptography libraries.
- Whether the package is suitable for production use given its Beta development status.
Package facts
| License | BSD permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 737 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 391,117 / month, #7,018 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseTopic :: SecurityTopic :: Security :: Cryptography |
Evidence: pysodium-0.7.18.tar.gz
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See also PyNaCl · libnacl · dilithium-py · eciespy · bcrypt · pyscrypt · keyrings.cryptfile · pycryptodomex · pwdlib · sslcrypto