Hash Verification Tool (In Development)

A Python command-line utility for verifying file integrity using cryptographic hashes.

Current Status

This is an active development project. While the core functionality is working, we plan to add several exciting features in the near future!

Current Features

• Automatic detection of hash algorithms based on hash format
• Support for multiple cryptographic hash algorithms
• File integrity verification
• Clear and informative output
• Built-in error handling

Planned Features

• User-specified chunk size for file processing
• Support for additional hash algorithms
• Improved error reporting
• More detailed verification statistics
• Additional output formats

Installation

No installation required. The script uses Python's built-in hashlib module.

Usage

python hash_detector.py -f <file_path> -H <expected_hash>
or 
py hash_detector.py -f <file_path> -H <expected_hash>

or  if you have more than one python version 

pythonx.xx hash_detector.py -f <file_path> -H <expected_hash>

Required Arguments:

• -f, --file: Path to the file you want to verify
• -H, --Hash: The expected hash value to verify against

Example

python hash_detector.py -f example.txt -H 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592

Supported Hash Algorithms

The script automatically detects and supports the following hash algorithms:

• MD5 (32 hexadecimal characters)
• SHA-1 (40 hexadecimal characters)
• SHA-256 (64 hexadecimal characters)
• BLAKE2 (variable length)
• bcrypt (special format starting with $2a$, $2b$, or $2y$)

Note: bcrypt is currently not supported for verification.

How It Works

1. The script automatically detects the hash algorithm based on:

   • For MD5: 32 hexadecimal characters
   • For SHA-1: 40 hexadecimal characters
   • For SHA-256: 64 hexadecimal characters
   • For bcrypt: starts with $2a$, $2b$, or $2y$

2. If the hash format is not recognized, the script will exit with an error.

3. The script then:

   • Reads the specified file in chunks
   • Generates a hash using the detected algorithm
   • Compares the generated hash with the provided expected hash
   • Displays the verification result

Output

The script will display:

• The detected hash algorithm
• The computed hash value
• The expected hash value
• A verification result indicating if the file is safe or not

Error Handling

The script handles the following error cases:

• Missing or inaccessible files
• Unsupported or unknown hash formats
• Invalid hash algorithms
• File processing errors

Exit Codes

• 0: Success (hash verification completed)
• 1: Error (invalid hash format, file not found, etc.)

Security Note

This tool is designed for file integrity verification. Always verify files from trusted sources. The script uses Python's built-in hashlib module for cryptographic operations.

Current Limitations

• The -a parameter is currently unused and will be ignored
• bcrypt verification is not supported
• The script processes files in 64KB chunks by default
• Limited hash algorithm support
• Basic error reporting only

Future Enhancements

• Customizable chunk size for file processing
• Support for additional hash algorithms:
  • SHA-3 family
  • Argon2
  • Scrypt
  • PBKDF2
• More detailed verification statistics
• Multiple output formats
• Improved error handling and reporting
• Parallel processing for large files
• Unsupported hash algorithms
• Hash format mismatches
• File access errors

Exit Codes

• 0: Success
• 1: Error (file not found, unsupported algorithm, etc.)

Security Note

This tool is for file integrity verification. Always verify files from trusted sources.