# pyca/cryptography 8 Hacker News commenters recommended pyca/cryptography and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Recommended as a well-designed, fast Python cryptography library with a solid API and tests. Common caveat: it now needs the Rust toolchain to build. ## Why people recommend it - Well-designed API and test methodology (2 comments): "I trust the API design and test methodology of Cryptography and use it as a model to emulate" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46625204)) "designed well and are really fast" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46637495)) - Fast and more conformant validation (2 comments): "left with a path validation implementation that's both faster and more conformant" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46625051)) "designed well and are really fast" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46637495)) - Post-quantum support in Python (2 comments): "Python (pyca/cryptography) has full support" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50169562)) "Brand new PQ in pyca is cool too." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48791139)) ## What people warn about - Rust core causes build and platform issues (2 comments): "switched out C for Rust which invalidated some platforms" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49687338)) "apparently requires the whole Rust toolchain to build" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47133322)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [BLAKE3](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blake3.md): 16 recommend - [libsodium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/libsodium.md): 10 recommend - [AWS-LC](https://hackerapproved.com/p/aws-lc.md): 10 recommend - [xxhash](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xxhash.md): 9 recommend - [BoringSSL](https://hackerapproved.com/p/boringssl.md): 7 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "pyca/cryptography", https://hackerapproved.com/p/pyca-cryptography/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).