pynacl

library1.6.2pypypi✓ verified 27d ago

PyNaCl is a Python binding to the Networking and Cryptography (NaCl) library, providing cryptographic operations such as digital signatures, secret-key and public-key encryption, hashing, and password-based key derivation. The current version is 1.6.2, released on January 1, 2026. PyNaCl follows a regular release cadence, with updates approximately every 1-2 years.

auth-security serialization

pip install pynacl

github ↗package ↗docs ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · PYNACL

pynacl

auth-securitypythonv1.6.2

Install

2.2s avg

Import

23ms

Disk

22MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v1.6.2 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.024s · 23.3MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 2.2s · import 0.022s · 24MB

22MB installed

● package 22MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

PublicKeyBox

✓ from nacl.public import Box

✗ from nacl.public import PublicKeyBox

This example demonstrates how to generate a private key, derive the corresponding public key, create a PublicKeyBox for encryption, and encrypt and decrypt a message using PyNaCl.

from nacl.public import PrivateKey, PublicKey, PublicKeyBox # Generate a private key private_key = PrivateKey.generate() # Derive the corresponding public key public_key = private_key.public_key # Create a PublicKeyBox for encryption box = PublicKeyBox(public_key) # Encrypt a message message = b"Secret message" encrypted = box.encrypt(message) # Decrypt the message decrypted = box.decrypt(encrypted) print(decrypted.decode())

Debug

Known issues

breakingPyNaCl 1.6.2 requires Python 3.8 or higher.

fix

Upgrade your Python installation to version 3.8 or higher.

affects: 1.6.2

gotchaEnsure that the 'libsodium' library is installed on your system, as PyNaCl depends on it for cryptographic operations.

fix

Install the 'libsodium' library using your system's package manager or by following the installation instructions provided in the PyNaCl documentation.

affects: 1.6.2

breakingThe class `PublicKeyBox` has been removed from the `nacl.public` module in PyNaCl versions 1.5.0 and later. This will result in an `ImportError`.

fix

Replace `PublicKeyBox` with `Box` in your code. The `Box` class provides equivalent functionality for public-key authenticated encryption. Consult the PyNaCl documentation for guidance on migrating from `PublicKeyBox` to `Box`.

affects: 1.6.2

breakingThe 'PublicKeyBox' class was removed from 'nacl.public' in PyNaCl version 1.6.0. If you are using PyNaCl 1.6.0 or later, use 'Box' instead.

fix

Update your code to import 'Box' from 'nacl.public' instead of 'PublicKeyBox'.

affects: 1.6.2

Upgrade

Version history

1.6.2latest on PyPI · released Jan 1, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

libsodiumrequiredPyNaCl is a Python binding to the libsodium library, which provides the underlying cryptographic operations.

Agent activity

29 hits · last 30 days

node

Amazon

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/pyca/pynacl ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/pynacl/ ↗

docshttps://pynacl.readthedocs.io ↗