Cybersecurity-Projects/PROJECTS/beginner/hash-cracker/README.md

```ruby
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```

[![Cybersecurity Projects](https://img.shields.io/badge/Cybersecurity--Projects-Project%20%2318-red?style=flat&logo=github)](https://github.com/CarterPerez-dev/Cybersecurity-Projects/tree/main/PROJECTS/beginner/hash-cracker)
[![C++](https://img.shields.io/badge/C%2B%2B23-00599C?style=flat&logo=cplusplus&logoColor=white)](https://isocpp.org)
[![License: AGPLv3](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-AGPL_v3-purple.svg)](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0)

> Multi-threaded hash cracking tool with dictionary, brute-force, and rule-based mutation attacks.

*This is a quick overview — security theory, architecture, and full walkthroughs are in the [learn modules](#learn).*

## What It Does

- Crack MD5, SHA1, SHA256, and SHA512 hashes with auto-detection from hash length
- Dictionary attacks using memory-mapped wordlists for zero-copy large file handling
- Brute-force attacks with configurable character sets and keyspace partitioning
- Rule-based mutations (capitalize, leet speak, digit append, reverse, toggle case)
- Multi-threaded with zero-contention work partitioning across all CPU cores
- Salt support with prepend/append positioning
- Rich terminal progress display with speed, ETA, and progress bar

## Quick Start

```bash
./install.sh
hashcracker --hash 5e884898da28047151d0e56f8dc6292773603d0d6aabbdd62a11ef721d1542d8 \
  --wordlist wordlists/10k-most-common.txt
# ✔ CRACKED: password
```

> [!TIP]
> This project uses [`just`](https://github.com/casey/just) as a command runner. Type `just` to see all available commands.
>
> Install: `curl -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to ~/.local/bin`

## Demo Hashes

Try these — all crack instantly against the included wordlist:

| Hash | Type | Plaintext |
|------|------|-----------|
| `5e884898da28047151d0e56f8dc6292773603d0d6aabbdd62a11ef721d1542d8` | SHA256 | password |
| `8621ffdbc5698829397d97767ac13db3` | MD5 | dragon |
| `ed9d3d832af899035363a69fd53cd3be8f71501c` | SHA1 | shadow |

```bash
hashcracker --hash 8621ffdbc5698829397d97767ac13db3 --wordlist wordlists/10k-most-common.txt
hashcracker --hash ed9d3d832af899035363a69fd53cd3be8f71501c --wordlist wordlists/10k-most-common.txt --rules
hashcracker --hash 5e884898da28047151d0e56f8dc6292773603d0d6aabbdd62a11ef721d1542d8 --bruteforce --charset lower --max-length 8
```

## Learn

This project includes step-by-step learning materials covering security theory, architecture, and implementation.

| Module | Topic |
|--------|-------|
| [00 - Overview](learn/00-OVERVIEW.md) | Prerequisites and quick start |
| [01 - Concepts](learn/01-CONCEPTS.md) | Security theory and real-world breaches |
| [02 - Architecture](learn/02-ARCHITECTURE.md) | System design and data flow |
| [03 - Implementation](learn/03-IMPLEMENTATION.md) | Code walkthrough |
| [04 - Challenges](learn/04-CHALLENGES.md) | Extension ideas and exercises |


## License

AGPL 3.0