decrypt

name	decrypt
description	Decrypts a DM message on localhost by granting temporary compliance extract access, running extract and decrypt CLI commands, then reverting all temporary changes. Use when the user asks to decrypt a message or run the compliance decryption workflow on localhost.

Decrypt (local debug)

End-to-end workflow for extracting and decrypting one message on localhost. All temporary backend access must be removed when finished.

After decrypt: what to do with the plaintext and files (compare, inspect, report, etc.) comes from the current conversation — not from this skill.

Prerequisites

• Web dev server running at http://localhost:8301 (browser rules default).
• compliance_keypair.txt at the Web repo root (Web/compliance_keypair.txt).
• Python deps for scripts/compliance/decryption/ (cryptography, etc.).

Step 0 — Read the compliance keypair

Read Web/compliance_keypair.txt before any decrypt step. Confirm the private key line exists (line after PRIVATE KEY header, base64).

The decrypt CLI loads compliance_keypair.txt from the current working directory. Always run extract/decrypt with cd to the Web repo root:

cd /path/to/Web

If load_compliance_private_key fails, the file format may need a PRIVATE_KEY=<base64> line (the loader expects that or a 43-char base64 line; 32-byte keys are often 44 chars with padding).

Step 1 — Create a temporary user and capture token

Generate random credentials (username 3–20 chars: letters, digits, -, _; password 5–50 chars, no spaces):

DEBUG_USER="decryptdbg$(openssl rand -hex 3)"
DEBUG_PASS="$(openssl rand -base64 12 | tr -d '/+=' | head -c 16)"
echo "user=$DEBUG_USER pass=$DEBUG_PASS"

Register and save token from the JSON response (not the derived login secret):

REGISTER_JSON=$(curl -sS -X POST "http://localhost:8301/api/register" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"username\":\"${DEBUG_USER}\",\"display_name\":\"DecryptDebug\",\"password\":\"${DEBUG_PASS}\",\"confirm_password\":\"${DEBUG_PASS}\"}")
echo "$REGISTER_JSON"
DEBUG_TOKEN=$(python3 -c 'import json,sys; print(json.load(sys.stdin)["token"])' <<< "$REGISTER_JSON")
echo "token saved (length ${#DEBUG_TOKEN})"

Alternatively export for the CLI: export FROMCHAT_API_TOKEN="${DEBUG_TOKEN}"

Save user.id from the same JSON if needed for debugging.

Step 2 — Temporary compliance extract permission (marker blocks)

GET /api/dm/compliance/extract/{message_id} is restricted to user id 1 in:

backend/services/main/routes/envelope_messaging.py (function extract_message_for_compliance).

Add a temporary bypass between searchable markers (replace DEBUG_USERNAME with the user from step 1):

    # TEMP_COMPLIANCE_DEBUG_START — remove after decrypt debug run
    _TEMP_COMPLIANCE_DEBUG_USERNAMES = {"DEBUG_USERNAME"}
    # TEMP_COMPLIANCE_DEBUG_END

    # Security check: only user ID 1 can access this
    if current_user.id != 1 and current_user.username not in _TEMP_COMPLIANCE_DEBUG_USERNAMES:

Backend will auto-reload after this change, you don't need to do anything.

To remove later: search the repo for TEMP_COMPLIANCE_DEBUG and delete the marker block + revert the if to only current_user.id != 1.

Step 3 — Extract bundle (online)

From Web repo root, set variables and run (user supplies MESSAGE_ID):

MESSAGE_ID=<message_id>
RANDOM_FOLDER="run_$(openssl rand -hex 4)"
BUNDLE_DIR="/tmp/debug_decrypt/${RANDOM_FOLDER}"
DECRYPT_DIR="/tmp/debug_decrypt/${RANDOM_FOLDER}_dec"
mkdir -p /tmp/debug_decrypt

cd /path/to/Web
python scripts/compliance/decryption/main.py extract \
  --server localhost:8301 \
  --http \
  --token "${DEBUG_TOKEN}" \
  --message-ids "${MESSAGE_ID}" \
  --out-dir "${BUNDLE_DIR}"

Equivalent using env (no --token flag):

export FROMCHAT_API_TOKEN="${DEBUG_TOKEN}"
python scripts/compliance/decryption/main.py extract \
  --server localhost:8301 \
  --http \
  --message-ids "${MESSAGE_ID}" \
  --out-dir "${BUNDLE_DIR}"

Confirm ${BUNDLE_DIR}/bundle.json exists.

Auth flags: use --token (Bearer from register/login), or --username + --password (CLI derives the login secret). Do not pass both.

Step 4 — Decrypt bundle (offline)

Still from Web repo root (compliance_keypair.txt must resolve):

python scripts/compliance/decryption/main.py decrypt \
  --bundle-dir "${BUNDLE_DIR}" \
  --output-dir "${DECRYPT_DIR}"

Outputs:

• ${DECRYPT_DIR}/messages/<message_id>/message.decrypted.txt — message plaintext
• ${DECRYPT_DIR}/messages/<message_id>/files/ — decrypted attachments
• ${DECRYPT_DIR}/index.html — HTML report

Step 5 — Use decrypted output (conversation-driven)

Follow the user’s request in the current chat for what to do next (e.g. compare hashes, inspect text, verify a specific attachment). This skill stops at producing ${DECRYPT_DIR}; do not assume a fixed post-decrypt task.

Step 6 — Cleanup (required)

1. Remove decrypt dirs:

   rm -rf "${BUNDLE_DIR}" "${DECRYPT_DIR}"
   

2. Delete temp user (local SQLite default DB):

   sqlite3 backend/data/database.db "DELETE FROM users WHERE username='${DEBUG_USER}';"
   

   If your deployment uses another DB, delete the same username there.

3. Remove temporary permission: search TEMP_COMPLIANCE_DEBUG in the repo, delete the marker block, restore the original if current_user.id != 1: check, restart backend.

4. Do not commit compliance_keypair.txt or any decrypt output.

Checklist

- [ ] Read compliance_keypair.txt
- [ ] Register DEBUG_USER; save DEBUG_TOKEN from response
- [ ] Add TEMP_COMPLIANCE_DEBUG_* bypass; restart backend
- [ ] extract --token → bundle.json present
- [ ] decrypt → output under DECRYPT_DIR
- [ ] Post-decrypt work per conversation context
- [ ] rm -rf BUNDLE_DIR and DECRYPT_DIR
- [ ] DELETE temp user from DB
- [ ] Remove TEMP_COMPLIANCE_DEBUG markers; restart backend

Reference

• Extract API: GET /api/dm/compliance/extract/{message_id} (see bundle_extract.py).
• Decrypt implementation: scripts/compliance/decryption/bundle_decrypt.py, crypto.py.
• Extract auth: --token (Bearer), env FROMCHAT_API_TOKEN / FROMCHAT_TOKEN, or --username + plain --password (CLI calls derive_auth_secret for login only).

Rules

• NEVER use sleep in any command.
• Set a timeout on EVERY command that may request user input.