PasswordBuilder Tool for Node.js

The PasswordBuilder library is a simple utility for securely hashing and verifying passwords using cryptographic hashing algorithms. It provides a way to hash passwords with a user-provided salt and verify passwords against hashed values. This library is intended to be used in Node.js applications and relies on the node:crypto module for cryptographic operations.

Installation

To use PasswordBuilder, you need to have Node.js installed on your system. If you don't have it installed, you can download it from the official website: Node.js.

To install the library in your Node.js project, you can use npm or yarn:

npm install password-builder
# or
yarn add password-builder

Usage

To use PasswordBuilder, you need to import it and use the provided methods for hashing and verifying passwords. The library exports a default class PasswordBuilder with two static methods: hash and verify.

Importing the library

import PasswordBuilder from "password-builder";

or get only the methods you need

import { hash, verify, generateSalt } from "password-builder";

Hashing a password

The hash method is used to hash a given password with a provided salt. It returns the hashed password as a string.

const password = "mySecurePassword";
const salt = "a-random-salt-value";

const hashedPassword = PasswordBuilder.hash(password, salt);
// or
const hashedPassword = hash(password, salt);

console.log(hashedPassword); // Output: 'a-random-salt-value.7ef0dab7e6a6...'

Generating a random salt value

You can also create a random salt value using the generateSalt method:

const password = "mySecurePassword";

const salt = PasswordBuilder.generateSalt();
// or
const salt = generateSalt();

const hashedPassword = PasswordBuilder.hash(password, salt);

This way is more secure than using a static salt value. We recommend using a random salt value for each password to enhance security.

You can also pass an optional configuration object to specify the hashing algorithm and the output encoding, to override the default values (SHA-512 for the hashing algorithm and hexadecimal for the output encoding).

const configuration = {
  hashAlgorithm: "sha256", // or 'sha512' (default)
  hashDigest: "base64", // or 'base64url', 'hex', 'binary' (default is 'hex')
};

const hashedPassword = PasswordBuilder.hash(password, salt, configuration);
// or
const hashedPassword = hash(password, salt, configuration);

console.log(hashedPassword); // Output: 'a-random-salt-value.u2tdtrRv...'

Custom salt hash separator

By default, the salt and the hashed password are separated by a dot (.). You can change this separator by passing a custom separator to the hash method, with the inSeparator property of the configuration object:

const hashedPassword = PasswordBuilder.hash(password, salt, {
  inSeparator: "-",
});

Verifying a password

The verify method is used to verify a password against a hashed password. It returns true if the password matches the hash, and false otherwise.

const password = "mySecurePassword";
const hashedPassword = "a-random-salt-value.7ef0dab7e6a6...";

const isMatch = PasswordBuilder.verify(password, hashedPassword);
// or
const isMatch = verify(password, hashedPassword);

console.log(isMatch); // Output: true

You can also pass the same configuration object used during hashing to ensure the correct hashing algorithm and encoding are used during the verification process.

const configuration = {
  hashAlgorithm: "sha256",
  hashDigest: "base64",
};

const isMatch = PasswordBuilder.verify(password, hashedPassword, configuration);
// or
const isMatch = verify(password, hashedPassword, configuration);

console.log(isMatch); // Output: true

Hash & Verify configuration

The PasswordBuilder class accepts an optional configuration object to specify the hashing algorithm and the output encoding. The configuration object has the following properties:

• hashAlgorithm: The hashing algorithm to use. The default value is sha512. The supported values are sha256 and sha512.

• hashDigest: The output encoding to use. The default value is hex. The supported values are base64, base64url, hex, and binary.

• inSeparator: The separator to use between the salt and the hashed password. The default value is ..

API

PasswordBuilder.hash(password, salt, [configuration])

Hashes a given password with a provided salt and returns the hashed password as a string.

Parameters

• password: The password to hash.
• salt: The salt value to use for hashing.
• configuration: An optional configuration object to specify the hashing algorithm and the output encoding. The default values are sha512 for the hashing algorithm and hex for the output encoding.

Returns

The hashed password as a string.

PasswordBuilder.verify(password, hashedPassword, [configuration])

Verifies a password against a hashed password and returns true if the password matches the hash, and false otherwise.

Parameters

• password: The password to verify.
• hashedPassword: The hashed password to verify against.
• configuration: An optional configuration object to specify the hashing algorithm and the output encoding. The default values are sha512 for the hashing algorithm and hex for the output encoding.

Returns

true if the password matches the hash, and false otherwise.

PasswordBuilder.generateSalt()

Generates a random salt value and returns it as a string.

Returns

The generated salt value as a string.

Full example

import { generateSalt, hash, verify } from "password-builder";

const password = "mySecurePassword";

// Generate a random salt value
const salt = generateSalt();

// Hash the password
const hashedPassword = hash(password, salt, {
  hashAlgorithm: "sha512",
  hashDigest: "hex",
  inSeparator: "-",
});

// ... Store the hashed password in the database

// Later ... Verify the password
const isMatch = verify(password, hashedPassword, {
  hashAlgorithm: "sha512",
  hashDigest: "hex",
  inSeparator: "-",
});

console.log(isMatch); // Output: true

Important Notes

• Always use a secure and unique salt value for each password to enhance security.
• Ensure that the node:crypto module is available in your Node.js environment.
• Do not store plain-text passwords; always store the hashed values.
• Keep the library up-to-date and use the latest version to benefit from potential security updates.

License

This library is open-source and distributed under the MIT License. Feel free to contribute to the project or report any issues on the GitHub repository.