How to Use This Book
This book is designed to be practical, modular, and domain-focused.
You can read it front to back, or jump directly to the domains and primitives most relevant to your work.
Structure
The book is organized into four major parts:
Foundations — Why Rust is uniquely suited for secure cryptographic engineering
Primitives — The core building blocks of cryptography, with Rust-focused usage and implementation
Applied Domains — Real-world systems and how they use cryptography in practice (blockchain, defense, aerospace, medical, infrastructure, etc.)
Crate Building — How to architect, test, audit, and publish your own cryptographic crate in Rust
Each chapter includes:
- Plain-language explanations
- Rust code examples using community crates
- Security insights and common pitfalls
- Domain-specific applications
Code and Examples
Most chapters include runnable Rust code to illustrate key concepts.
- You’ll need a working Rust toolchain (
rustup,cargo) - Code examples are written for Rust 2021 edition
Each folder in that repo corresponds to a chapter or concept from the book.
You can clone it, run the examples, and experiment freely without touching production code or complex crates.
Note: These examples are minimal and didactic. They are not full cryptographic libraries.
Where to Find the Code
New! Want hands-on exercises for each chapter?
Check out the companion repository: sealed-in-rust-book-code repo
Non-linear Reading
This book doesn’t assume linear progress.
- Want to build a secure file encryption tool? Symmetric Ciphers + Secure Infrastructure
- Curious about smart contracts? Go directly to ECC and Blockchain & Web3
- Working on embedded firmware? Check out Ascon, PRESENT, and Defense & Aerospace
Each domain chapter reminds you of the necessary primitives — like a map, not a locked path.
Contributing, Feedback, & Issues
This book is a living project.
- Errors? Open an issue or PR on the GitHub repo
- Suggestions? You’re welcome to share ideas for domains, examples, or improvements
- Contributions to the examples repo are also welcome
Final Note
This is not a cryptography textbook — it’s a cryptographic engineering manual.
By the end, you’ll not only understand the primitives, you’ll know how to use them to secure real systems — in Rust, by design, not by accident.
Let’s begin.