go_chacha20poly1305_openssh/README.md

# cc20p1305ssh

A Golang library variant of ChaCha20-Poly1305 that OpenSSH uses ("chacha20-poly1305@openssh.com").

Note that this module *only* supports the OpenSSH variant.

## Why is this necessary?

Because Golang.org/x/crypto [removes functionality](https://github.com/golang/go/issues/36646) (even for [very common tech](https://github.com/golang/go/issues/44226)) and thinks OpenSSH is a "weird" use case.

I *really, really* hope this library is [no longer necessary](https://github.com/golang/go/issues/57699) by the time I'm done writing it, but based on my past experiences with core Golang devs, my expectations are extremely low.

They have no decent support for OpenSSH keys or lower-level operations. And guess what -- sometimes you need lower-level functionality. Who knew?

So now because I'm just a single individual, bug fixes will probably lag behind upstream. All because Golang.org/x/crypto decided the OpenSSH variant was "too weird".

But, of course, not "weird" enough to [not support the *wire* protocol](https://go.googlesource.com/crypto/+/master/ssh/cipher.go#647) for SSH. Just the key encryption. Because of course. And not publicly exposed either. Because of course.

## Why is the name so ugly?

I couldn't think of a better one and I wanted something notably distinct from stdlib-x.

## Why don't you expose the rest of ChaCha20/Poly1305/ChaCha20-Poly1305?

* To keep code light (and thus easier to debug, audit, etc.)
* Because otherwise the module name is inaccurate
* Because OpenSSH has their own specific variant
  * Which means we can handle SSH-specific functionality if needed
* Because Golang/x/crypto has made it painfully clear that if you want something that deviates from what they think is "best practice", you need to do it yourself