16 hours ago
Sat Dec 6, 2025 9:48am PST
Show HN: Nano.noq – Experimental key-container format
Hi! This is an experimental learning project I've been working on.

NANO.NOQ is a very small binary container format for AES-GCM keys. The entire implementation is inside a single HTML file using WebCrypto (no backend, no external dependencies).

The .noq file format is simple: - header (“NOQ1”) - key length (2 bytes) - raw AES-256-GCM key - a 4-byte integrity slice (from SHA-256(key)) - 32 bytes of random padding

The project does NOT add new cryptography on top of AES-GCM. It's purely an experiment in designing a file format for storing keys separately from ciphertext without copy/paste.

There's also a mutation step for Base64URL ciphertext, but it is obfuscation only and not meant as a security layer.

I’m not a professional programmer — I built this with AI assistance as a way to learn about key storage formats, integrity fields, and browser-based crypto workflows.

Feedback, corrections, and criticism are very welcome.

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