Hashing a password in python

published on: 2025/04/25 by: Irfan TOOR | Ask Irfan

categories: CYBERNETICS

keywords: Hash Password Python NaCl Salt

There are several libraries that implement the BCrypt hashing algorithm. The most popular ones are: PyNaCl and PassLib.

I've been able to modify the table using sqlite3. I'm on mac and the program bcrypt is not present. So, I used a php coding 'password_hash($password, PASSWORD_BCRYPT, ['cost'=>11]);' in php. I know it's a little cheating as php is not installed by default on Mac, but as I develop using PHP and python, so, I've already installed PHP using homebrew. Do you know an alternative in python to hash a password using bcrypt?

Using php and its built-in password_hash function might be considered cheating, but it's a common practice when working with different languages.

Moving on to Python, there are several libraries that implement the BCrypt hashing algorithm. The most popular ones are:

1. PyNaCl: This is the official Python binding for the NaCl (libsodium) library, which includes the BCrypt implementation. You can install it using pip: pip install PyNaCl

2. Passlib: This is a more comprehensive password hashing library that supports various algorithms, including BCrypt. It's widely used and well-maintained.

Here's an example of how you could use Passlib to hash a password:

from passlib.context import CryptContext

# Initialize the context with default settings
pwd_context = CryptContext(schemes=['bcrypt'], default='bcrypt')

# Hash a password
hashed_password = pwd_context.hash('mysecretpassword', 'salt')

print(hashed_password)

# Verify a password (it will fail if you use an incorrect password)
if pwd_context.verify('mysecretpassword', hashed_password):
    print("Password is correct")
else:
    print("Password is incorrect")

# You can also specify the cost factor when hashing
hashed_password = pwd_context.hash('mysecretpassword', 'salt', cost=11)

And here's an example using PyNaCl:

import hashlib
from nacl import secret

def hash_password(password):
    # Generate a random salt
    salt = secret.random(16)
    
    # Derive the hashed password from the password and salt using PBKDF2HMAC
    key = secret.Hashing.password(password, salt).encode('ascii')
    
    # Store the salt and hashed password in a secure format
    stored_salt = hashlib.sha256(salt).hexdigest()
    return {'salt': stored_salt, 'key': bytes(key)}

password = "mysecretpassword"
hashed_password = hash_password(password)
print(hashed_password)

Please note that when using PyNaCl, you'll need to store the salt separately from the hashed password in your database.

Both libraries will give you a salted and hashed version of your input password, which is suitable for storing passwords securely.

you now what, you have made the recipe delicious with the salt !!! Thankyou for your help. See you later ;-)

It was my pleasure to assist you in "seasoning" your password storage with a pinch of salt (and a dash of Python!).

I hope you enjoy your secure and flavorful database. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, don't hesitate to reach out.

Until next time, stay cryptic and keep those passwords salty! ;-)