Practical overview
When it fits
Use OpenFHE when building software that needs to perform supported computations while data remains encrypted, and you can integrate a C++ cryptography library.
Who it is for
- C++ developers adding encrypted computation to applications.
- Teams exploring privacy-preserving computation on integer, real-number, Boolean, or lookup-table data.
Documented uses
- Add encrypted integer arithmetic with BFV or BGV.
- Implement approximate encrypted real-number arithmetic with CKKS.
- Evaluate Boolean circuits or supported functions over encrypted inputs.
- Explore multiparty FHE capabilities, including threshold FHE and proxy re-encryption.
Requirements & limits
The project is open source under the BSD 2-Clause license. Installation guidance is provided for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- BFV and BGV target integer arithmetic; CKKS targets real-number arithmetic and supports approximate bootstrapping.
- The library also documents schemes for Boolean circuits and lookup-table function evaluation, plus hybrid scheme switching.
- The README specifies GNU C++ compiler version 9 or later, or clang version 10 or later.
- The repository provides separate examples for schemes and tasks, including arithmetic, bootstrapping, serialization, and scheme switching.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Choose an OpenFHE scheme and locate its example
Identify an example matching an application’s encrypted arithmetic or function-evaluation needs.
Before you start
- A use case involving integer arithmetic, real-number arithmetic, or Boolean circuits and functions.
Steps
For integer arithmetic, select BFV or BGV and consult the corresponding simple example in the repository.
For real-number arithmetic, select CKKS and consult its simple real-numbers example.
For Boolean circuits or arbitrary functions over larger plaintext spaces, consult the listed FHEW/TFHE Boolean examples.
Expected outcome
A scheme family and corresponding example are identified for further implementation work.
Guide limitations
- The repository README links to examples but does not provide their full implementation steps here.
- The README describes CKKS real-number arithmetic and BFV/BGV integer arithmetic; it does not establish that these schemes are interchangeable.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 14 October 2026
- Original website title
- openfheorg/openfhe-development · Official homepage title · retained in its source language