gchq/cyberchef

📈 Trending★ 34,874JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5ActiveLicenseSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((CyberChef))
    What it does
      Encode and decode data
      Encrypt and decrypt
      Hash and compress
      Parse protocols
    How it works
      Drag operations into recipe
      Chain multiple steps
      See results instantly
      Save recipes as URLs
    Use cases
      Analyze suspicious files
      Debug data pipelines
      Reverse engineer payloads
      Verify encryption
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Browser-based
      Node.js API
    Operations
      Base64 Hex URL encoding
      AES DES Blowfish
      MD5 SHA hashing
      Magic auto-detection

mindmap root((CyberChef)) What it does Encode and decode data Encrypt and decrypt Hash and compress Parse protocols How it works Drag operations into recipe Chain multiple steps See results instantly Save recipes as URLs Use cases Analyze suspicious files Debug data pipelines Reverse engineer payloads Verify encryption Tech stack JavaScript Browser-based Node.js API Operations Base64 Hex URL encoding AES DES Blowfish MD5 SHA hashing Magic auto-detection

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Analyze suspicious files by decoding obfuscated payloads and extracting embedded data.

USE CASE 2

Debug data pipelines by converting between formats like Base64, Hex, and JSON without writing scripts.

USE CASE 3

Verify encryption by testing how data transforms through AES, DES, or other algorithms with custom keys.

USE CASE 4

Reverse engineer unknown data by using Magic mode to automatically detect and decode nested encoding schemes.

Tech stack

JavaScriptNode.js

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice and license text.

In plain English

CyberChef is a browser-based data transformation tool built by GCHQ, the UK's signals intelligence agency. The problem it solves is the everyday need analysts, security researchers, and developers have to convert, decode, encrypt, or inspect data in various formats without writing custom scripts or installing specialized software. Everything runs inside the browser, so no data ever leaves your machine and there is nothing to install. The interface works through a recipe concept. You drag operations from a searchable list into a central recipe panel, set any options for each operation, and then paste or drop your data into the input box on the right. CyberChef immediately processes your data through every step of the recipe and shows the result in an output box. You can chain any number of operations in sequence, for example, take a string, convert it from Base64 encoding, decompress it with gzip, and then calculate a SHA-256 hash of the result, all in one recipe. Recipes can be saved and shared via a URL that encodes the entire configuration. The operations library is extensive, covering encoding schemes like Base64, Hex, and URL encoding; symmetric encryption algorithms like AES, DES, and Blowfish; hashing algorithms like MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-256; compression formats; network protocol parsing; character set conversions; and many more. There is also an automatic detection mode called Magic that tries to identify and decode nested encoding schemes without you having to guess what they are. You would use CyberChef when analyzing a suspicious file, debugging a data pipeline, reverse engineering an obfuscated payload, verifying encryption, or whenever you need to quickly transform data between formats. It is a JavaScript application that can be used from the hosted site, run locally from a downloaded HTML file, or embedded in other applications via its Node.js API.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I have a Base64-encoded string that I think contains gzip-compressed data. How do I use CyberChef to decode it and decompress it in one recipe?

Prompt 2

Show me how to create a CyberChef recipe that takes a string, converts it to Hex, then calculates the SHA-256 hash of the result.

Prompt 3

I want to encrypt a message using AES in CyberChef. Walk me through setting up the operation with a custom key and IV.

Prompt 4

How do I save a CyberChef recipe and share it with a colleague using just a URL?

Prompt 5

Can I use CyberChef's Node.js API to automate data transformations in my own application?

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Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.