Getting Started¶
Welcome to CipherToken — the next-generation token management library.
What is CipherToken?¶
CipherToken is a next-generation token engine built for developers who demand speed, security, and reliability. Unlike conventional JWT libraries limited to simple generation and verification, CipherToken delivers a complete token lifecycle — from creation and decoding to rotation and expiry tracking — all backed by the raw performance of Rust.
Built on PyO3 and Rust, CipherToken compiles down to native machine code, giving you near-zero overhead cryptography in a Pythonic interface. While focused on JWT today, it is architected as a modular token layer that will expand beyond JWT in future releases.
Why Next-Generation?¶
| Conventional JWT Libraries | CipherToken | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Pure Python | Rust + PyO3 |
| Performance | Interpreted overhead | Near-native speed |
| Async | Often limited or absent | Fully async (Tokio) |
| Token lifecycle | Generate / verify | Create · Decode · Verify · Rotate · Inspect |
| Key management | Manual | Built-in HMAC + RSA key generation |
| Expiry tracking | Manual | Built-in (remaining_time) |
| Type safety | Runtime | Compiled Rust core |
Key Features¶
- Built with Rust — Compiled to native code via PyO3 for maximum throughput
- High Performance — Token operations in microseconds, GIL-free for async workloads
- Complete Token Lifecycle — Sign, verify, decode, inspect, rotate, and track expiry
- Sync and Async — Drop-in async equivalents for every operation
- Multi-Algorithm — HMAC, RSA, ECDSA, RSA-PSS, EdDSA out of the box
- Built-in Key Generation — HMAC secrets and RSA key pairs directly from Python
- ABI3 Compatible — One wheel for Python 3.8+
What CipherToken is (and isn't)¶
CipherToken is built for JWT right now. It provides a complete JWT lifecycle: key generation, token minting, validation, rotation, and expiry tracking. It is architected to expand beyond JWT in future releases, but today its scope is focused on JWT.
Project¶
Developed and maintained by Cipher-Unit.