Show HN: Generate age encryption keys with custom prefixes

3 points

10 months ago

Hello,

I built a tool that generates age (modern file encryption https://github.com/FiloSottile/age) keys with vanity prefixes.

The key innovation is using the fastest search algorithm available – it can check ~40'000'000 keys per second on a laptop, finding 6-character prefixes within a minute.

For example, running `age-vanity-keygen hacker` will find a key like:

  $ age-vanity-keygen hacker
  Found age1hacker... in 23s after 973647953 attempts (42686172 attempts/s)
  # created: 2025-08-18T22:22:22+02:00
  # public key: age1hackerxf9wukrzxfjt56xmq7c3y5ua5ylgrk0pmhlmdsg3773q8qh3ym6v
  AGE-SECRET-KEY-1K9G5Y6DRJPSXUFE2ELZULCG6SET7YC0676KR33WXSULW2CDHLGGS0EMJA2

The output is identical to the standard `age-keygen` tool, so it's a drop-in replacement when you want memorable or branded public keys.

I've packaged it as both a Go binary and Docker image. The core algorithm is in a separate library (https://github.com/AlexanderYastrebov/vanity25519) if anyone wants to use it for other X25519-based systems.

Would love your feedback, thanks!