Fiat-Crypto
Synthesizes formally verified, correct-by-construction C, Rust, Go, and other language code for cryptographic field arithmetic primitives.
What is Fiat-Crypto?
Fiat-Crypto is a Coq-based tool that synthesizes formally verified, correct-by-construction code for cryptographic field arithmetic primitives. It generates high-assurance implementations of operations like modular multiplication and addition for elliptic curves (e.g., Curve25519, NIST P-256), solving the problem of error-prone manual crypto implementation.
Cryptography engineers, security researchers, and developers building verified cryptographic libraries who need mathematically correct and efficient field arithmetic code.
Developers choose Fiat-Crypto because it provides formally verified code that eliminates subtle bugs, supports multiple output languages and optimization strategies, and integrates into existing cryptographic libraries with high assurance.
Overview
Cryptographic Primitive Code Generation by Fiat
Use Cases
Best For
- Generating verified field arithmetic code for elliptic curve implementations
- Building high-assurance cryptographic libraries in C, Rust, or Go
- Prototyping new cryptographic primitives with formal correctness guarantees
- Educational purposes for understanding verified crypto implementation
- Integrating formally verified components into existing security projects
- Reducing manual review burden for critical cryptographic software
Not Ideal For
- Teams needing quick, drop-in cryptographic libraries without formal verification setup overhead
- Projects targeting languages with poorly maintained backends like Java, where generated code may be buggy
- Developers with tight deadlines who cannot afford the hour-long builds and Coq learning curve
- Real-time applications where code generation speed is critical, as synthesis for large primes can take hours
Pros & Cons
Pros
All generated code is proven correct in Coq against mathematical specifications, eliminating subtle implementation bugs common in manual crypto code, as highlighted in the project's papers and thesis links.
Synthesizes code for C, Rust, Go, Java, Zig, and Bedrock2/C, allowing integration into diverse projects, with some backends like C and Rust tested against external test suites.
Supports multiple strategies like unsaturated Solinas and word-by-word Montgomery, enabling performance tuning for specific hardware, as demonstrated in the command-line examples for curves like Curve25519.
Includes a web interface powered by js_of_ocaml for trying synthesis without local setup, making it easier to experiment with parameters and strategies.
Cons
Requires Coq 8.20+, OCaml, and specific dependencies; the README notes builds can take over an hour, and setup involves managing submodules and package installations across different OSes.
Some backends like Java are marked as buggy and unmaintained in the status table, while others like JSON are experimental, reducing trust for production use in those languages.
Users must understand Coq and formal methods to modify or extend the synthesis, as the pipeline relies on verified transformations and proofs, limiting accessibility for non-experts.
Frequently Asked Questions
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