Make your python scripts unreadable by applying a XOR cipher.
The resulting script will ask for the secret-key to decipher before execution. Arguments will be passed to the original script.
cat script.py | ./encyptopy.py <secret-key> >script.enc.py
Sample program which prints all arguments:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import sys
class Example(object):
def run(self):
for arg in sys.argv:
print(arg)
if __name__ == '__main__':
Example().run()
Showing the output of sample.py
$ ./sample.py arg1 arg2 arg2
./sample.py
arg1
arg2
arg2
Ciphering sample.py with the key 123S0M3CR4ZyK3Y546 and running it again
$ cat sample.py | ./encryptopy.py 123S0M3CR4ZyK3Y546 > sample.enc.py
$ chmod +x sample.enc.py
$ ./sample.enc.py arg1 arg2 arg3
Enter passphrase: 123S0M3CR4ZyK3Y546
./sample.enc.py
arg1
arg2
arg3
$
I was pondering about entering an attack-defend CTF event where valuable scripts should be protected from fellow competitors of the opposing team.