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Brainflayer

Brainflayer is a C proof-of-concept command-line tool for testing cryptocurrency brainwallets and other low-entropy key-generation algorithms. It uses libsecp256k1 for public-key generation and checks candidate inputs against Bloom-filter data, with documented Bitcoin and Ethereum address modes.

Explore the practical guide ↓

Independent OpenViST project profile, based on linked sources.

Brainflayer — OpenViST project profile in Security & Custody.
OpenViST project illustration. See the linked sources for product details.
Understand the project

Practical overview

When it fits

Use Brainflayer for controlled research or educational demonstrations when candidate inputs and relevant address data are already available, and a command-line pipeline fits the task.

Who it is for

  • Security researchers studying weak brainwallets and low-entropy key algorithms.
  • Educators demonstrating why predictable cryptocurrency key generation is risky.
  • Developers who want to pass candidate inputs from an external generator into a command-line checker.

Documented uses

  • Check a list of candidate phrases against a prepared Bloom filter.
  • Evaluate selected alternative key-input formats, including Keccak passphrases and raw private keys.
  • Check hash160 values against a Bloom filter with the included blfchk utility.
Before you choose

Requirements & limits

  • The tool checks candidates but does not generate password or passphrase lists.
  • Its documented build target is Linux and requires make, OpenSSL, GMP, and libsecp256k1 build dependencies.
  • Brainflayer is not multithreaded; distributing work across cores requires an external approach.
  • The README says the project is not currently maintained and that support will not be provided.

Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.

Source-based practical guide

Check a phrase list against a prepared Bloom filter

Run Brainflayer on candidate phrases using an existing Bloom filter.

Before you start

  • A built Brainflayer installation.
  • A Bloom filter file such as example.blf.
  • A phrase list file, or an external generator that writes candidates to standard output.

Steps

  1. For file-based input, run brainflayer -v -b example.blf -i phraselist.txt.

  2. For generated input, pipe the generator output to brainflayer -v -b example.blf.

Expected outcome

Brainflayer checks the supplied candidates against the Bloom filter.

Guide limitations

  • Brainflayer does not generate candidate passwords or passphrases.
  • Bloom-filter matches can produce false positives; the documentation describes an optional -f file for verifying matches.
  • The tool is not currently maintained, and the README says support will not be provided.
Documentation 1 ↗
Evidence and transparency

Sources & review

Official repository ↗
Source record details
Source availability
Active
Sources checked
17 October 2026
Original website title
ryancdotorg/brainflayer · Official homepage title · retained in its source language
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