The McEliece cryptosystem

mceliece.org pages:

• classic.mceliece.org: the Classic McEliece home page, including the Classic McEliece specification, Sage version of the Classic McEliece specification, guide for implementors, documentation for NIST, documentation for ISO, guide for security reviewers
• isd.mceliece.org: information-set decoding, the state-of-the-art attack strategy against the McEliece cryptosystem
• lib.mceliece.org: the libmceliece software library for Classic McEliece

Further resources:

• Adva Network Security: "Our real-world use-case ... Encrypted layer 1 optical transport solutions (OTNsec) with 10-400 Gbit/s including BSI approval" (2024)
• Arch Linux integration of libmceliece into AUR (starting 2024)
• bench.cr.yp.to: benchmarks of software for many cryptosystems including Classic McEliece
• Botan software library (C++): many cryptosystems including Classic McEliece (starting with Botan 3.7.0 in 2025)
• Bouncy Castle software library (Java, C#): many cryptosystems including Classic McEliece
• BSI recommendations: two cryptosystems, including Classic McEliece (mceliece460896 and larger), are "cryptographically suitable for long-term confidentiality protection" (2020); the "most conservative choices from the BSI's point of view" (2021); "at BSI, we support international standardization of ... Classic McEliece" (2022); "cryptographically suitable to protect confidential information on a long-term basis" (2023); "cryptographically suitable for the long-term protection of confidential information" (2024)
• classic-mceliece-rust software library: pure Rust implementation of Classic McEliece
• Crypto4A: "Crypto4A currently uses Classic McEliece in all of its HSMs for three important use cases" (2024)
• Debian integration of libmceliece (starting 2023; released in 2025 in Debian 13)
• Ericsson: "We strongly think NIST should standardize Classic McEliece, which has properties that makes it the best choice in many different applications. We are planning to use Classic McEliece" (2024)
• katzenpost-circl-mceliece software library: pure Go implementation of Classic McEliece
• libgcrypt software library: starting with 1.11.0 (2024), includes gcrypt-mceliece patches to support Classic McEliece (mceliece6688128)
• libmcleece: file-encryption software using Classic McEliece
• liboqs software library: various cryptosystems including Classic McEliece
• mceliece-arm-m4: speed-optimized Classic McEliece software for ARM Cortex-M4
• McEliece attack challenges (started in 2019, ongoing)
• McOutsourcing: space-optimized Classic McEliece software for ARM Cortex-M4
• McTiny: fast Classic McEliece key erasure for tiny network servers
• Mullvad VPN software: 2022 announcement of Classic McEliece experiment on some servers, 2022 announcement of Classic McEliece experiment on all servers, 2023 announcement of stable support for Classic McEliece
• ncsc.nl recommendation (2022) of three cryptosystems, including Classic McEliece
• node-mceliece-nist software library: Node.js bindings for Classic McEliece
• Nym mixnet: "We are also putting Classic McEliece into production in Nym" (2025)
• openssh-mceliece: how to patch OpenSSH to support Classic McEliece (mceliece6688128)
• pqc-classic-mceliece: FPGA implementation of Classic McEliece
• PQClean repository: various cryptosystems including Classic McEliece
• PQConnect software (2024): uses Classic McEliece (mceliece6960119) for static keys
• PQ-WireGuard VPN software (2020): uses Classic McEliece (mceliece460896) for static keys
• pymceliece: Python interface to Classic McEliece, as a wrapper for libmceliece
• python-mceliece: another Python interface to Classic McEliece, as a wrapper for libmceliece
• Rosenpass VPN software (2023): uses Classic McEliece (mceliece460896) for static keys
• Ubuntu integration of libmceliece (starting in 2024 with Ubuntu 24.04)