pngme
pngme is a command-line secret encoder that hides messages inside PNG files. It writes the secret into the least significant bits of the image data — changes so small the image looks completely untouched to the human eye.
The secret can also be decoded, printed, and deleted seamlessly, as long as the user has the required access.
The magic it demonstrates:
- Steganography over cryptography — encryption says “there’s a secret but you can’t read it”; steganography says “there’s no secret at all.” Hiding in LSBs means file size, dimensions, and visual appearance all stay identical.
- Byte-level comfort in Rust — parsing PNG chunks, flipping single bits, and re-serializing without corrupting the format is exactly the kind of careful systems work Rust’s type system makes pleasant.
A small, sharp tool: does one thing, impossible to use wrong.