pdf_pycrack

Command Line Interface

This guide provides comprehensive documentation for PDF-PyCrack’s command-line interface (CLI). The CLI is designed to be intuitive while offering powerful customization options for different password cracking scenarios.

Basic Syntax

pdf-pycrack <pdf_file> [options]

Required Arguments

`file`

Path to the PDF file to crack.

pdf-pycrack document.pdf
pdf-pycrack /path/to/encrypted/file.pdf
pdf-pycrack "file with spaces.pdf"

The file path can be:

Relative: document.pdf, ./pdfs/file.pdf
Absolute: /home/user/documents/file.pdf
Contains spaces: Use quotes "my document.pdf"

Optional Arguments

Core Options

`--cores CORES`

Number of CPU cores to use for parallel processing.

# Use all available cores (default)
pdf-pycrack file.pdf

# Use specific number of cores
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --cores 4

# Use most cores but leave some for system
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --cores 6  # on 8-core system

Default: All available CPU cores
Range: 1 to system maximum
Recommendation: Use N-1 or N-2 cores to leave resources for the system

`--min_len MIN_LEN`

Minimum password length to test.

# Start with 6-character passwords
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --min_len 6

# Test very short passwords (1-3 characters)
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --min_len 1 --max_len 3

Default: 4
Range: 1 to 50 (practical limit)
Strategy: Start with shorter lengths for faster results

`--max_len MAX_LEN`

Maximum password length to test.

# Test up to 8-character passwords
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --max_len 8

# Test only specific length (6 characters)
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --min_len 6 --max_len 6

Default: 5
Range: min_len to 50
Warning: Each additional character dramatically increases cracking time

`--batch_size BATCH_SIZE`

Number of passwords each worker tests before reporting progress.

# Smaller batches for more frequent updates
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --batch_size 50

# Larger batches for slightly better performance
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --batch_size 500

Default: 100
Range: 1 to 10,000
Trade-off: Smaller = more updates, larger = slightly faster

Character Set Options

Control which characters are included in password generation:

`--charset-numbers`

Include numbers (0-9) in the character set.

pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers

Character set: 0123456789 (10 characters)

`--charset-letters`

Include letters (a-z, A-Z) in the character set.

pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-letters

Character set: abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ (52 characters)

`--charset-special`

Include common special characters in the character set.

pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-special

Character set: !@#$%^&*()_+-=[]{}|;:,.<>? (25 characters)

`--charset-custom CHARSET`

Provide a custom character set.

# Only specific characters
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-custom "abcdef123456"

# Include spaces (use quotes)
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-custom "hello world 123"

# Escape special characters if needed
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-custom "abc\"def'123"

Character Set Combinations

You can combine multiple character set options:

# Numbers and letters
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --charset-letters

# All standard characters
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --charset-letters --charset-special

# Custom set plus numbers
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-custom "abcdef" --charset-numbers

Advanced Options

`--worker_errors`

Enable detailed error reporting from worker processes.

pdf-pycrack file.pdf --worker_errors

Default: Disabled
Use case: Debugging issues or understanding failures
Impact: May slightly reduce performance

Character Set Reference

Default Behavior

If no character set options are specified, PDF-PyCrack uses numbers by default:

# These are equivalent
pdf-pycrack file.pdf
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers

Available Character Sets

Option	Characters	Count	Use Case
`--charset-numbers`	`0123456789`	10	PINs, years, dates
`--charset-letters`	`a-z, A-Z`	52	Words, names
`--charset-special`	`!@#$%^&*()_+-=[]{}\|;:,.<>?`	25	Complex passwords
`--charset-custom`	User-defined	Variable	Specific patterns

Character Set Size Impact

The number of possible passwords grows exponentially with character set size:

Length	Numbers (10)	Letters (52)	All (87)
4	10,000	7.3M	57.3M
5	100,000	380M	4.98B
6	1,000,000	19.8B	433B

Usage Examples

Quick Numeric Passwords

# Test common numeric patterns
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --min_len 4 --max_len 8

Good for: Birth years, dates, PINs, simple numeric passwords

Dictionary Words

# Test alphabetic passwords
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-letters --min_len 5 --max_len 10

Good for: Names, dictionary words, simple text passwords

Alphanumeric Passwords

# Test mixed alphanumeric
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --charset-letters --min_len 6 --max_len 8

Good for: Standard passwords with letters and numbers

Complex Passwords

# Test with all character types
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --charset-letters --charset-special --min_len 4 --max_len 6

Good for: Strong passwords (warning: can take very long)

Custom Patterns

# Test specific pattern (e.g., you know it contains only these chars)
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-custom "Password123!" --min_len 8 --max_len 12

Performance-Optimized

# Balanced performance on 8-core system
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --cores 6 --batch_size 200 --charset-numbers --charset-letters --max_len 6

Exit Codes

PDF-PyCrack returns different exit codes to indicate the result:

Code	Meaning	Description
0	Success	Password found
1	Not found	All combinations tested, no password found
2	File error	File not found, not encrypted, or corrupted
3	Invalid arguments	Command-line arguments are invalid
4	Interrupted	User interrupted with Ctrl+C
5	System error	System-related error (memory, permissions)

Using Exit Codes in Scripts

#!/bin/bash

pdf-pycrack document.pdf --charset-numbers --min_len 4 --max_len 6

case $? in
    0)
        echo "Password found successfully!"
        ;;
    1)
        echo "Password not found. Try different parameters."
        ;;
    2)
        echo "File error. Check file path and encryption status."
        ;;
    3)
        echo "Invalid arguments. Check command syntax."
        ;;
    4)
        echo "Process interrupted by user."
        ;;
    5)
        echo "System error. Check resources and permissions."
        ;;
    *)
        echo "Unknown error occurred."
        ;;
esac

Tips and Best Practices

🎯 Start Smart

Begin with specific character sets:

# Try numbers first (fastest)
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers

# Then letters if numbers fail
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-letters

Use shorter lengths initially:

# Quick check for short passwords
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --min_len 1 --max_len 4

⚡ Optimize Performance

Use appropriate core count:

# Leave 1-2 cores for system on desktop
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --cores $(($(nproc) - 2))

Adjust batch size for your system:

# Larger batches on high-performance systems
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --batch_size 500

🧠 Think Strategically

Consider the context:
- Personal files: names, dates, simple words
- Corporate files: policy-compliant passwords
- Old files: simpler passwords were common

Use character set intelligence:

# If you suspect it's a year
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --min_len 4 --max_len 4

# If you think it's a name + number
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --charset-letters --min_len 5 --max_len 10

⏰ Manage Time Expectations

Estimate before starting:
- 4-digit numbers: seconds
- 6-digit numbers: seconds to minutes
- 6-char mixed: minutes to hours
- 8-char full: hours to days

Use progressive strategy:

# Start narrow and expand
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --max_len 6
# If fails, expand:
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --charset-letters --max_len 6

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

“No password found”

# Try expanding search space
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --min_len 1 --max_len 8 --charset-numbers --charset-letters

“File not found”

# Check file path
ls -la "your_file.pdf"
pdf-pycrack "$(pwd)/your_file.pdf"

“Permission denied”

# Check file permissions
chmod 644 your_file.pdf

Very slow performance

# Reduce search space
pdf-pycrack file.pdf --charset-numbers --max_len 6 --cores 4

Getting Help

# Show all options
pdf-pycrack --help

# Check version
pdf-pycrack --version  # (if available)

Integration Examples

Shell Scripts

#!/bin/bash
# crack_pdf.sh - Progressive PDF cracking script

PDF_FILE="$1"
if [ -z "$PDF_FILE" ]; then
    echo "Usage: $0 <pdf_file>"
    exit 1
fi

echo "Starting progressive crack on $PDF_FILE"

# Strategy 1: Numbers only
echo "Trying numeric passwords..."
if pdf-pycrack "$PDF_FILE" --charset-numbers --min_len 4 --max_len 8; then
    exit 0
fi

# Strategy 2: Letters only
echo "Trying alphabetic passwords..."
if pdf-pycrack "$PDF_FILE" --charset-letters --min_len 4 --max_len 8; then
    exit 0
fi

# Strategy 3: Mixed alphanumeric
echo "Trying alphanumeric passwords..."
if pdf-pycrack "$PDF_FILE" --charset-numbers --charset-letters --min_len 4 --max_len 6; then
    exit 0
fi

echo "All strategies failed"
exit 1

Batch Processing

#!/bin/bash
# batch_crack.sh - Process multiple PDFs

for pdf in *.pdf; do
    echo "Processing $pdf..."
    if pdf-pycrack "$pdf" --charset-numbers --min_len 4 --max_len 6 > "${pdf%.pdf}_result.txt" 2>&1; then
        echo "✅ $pdf: Password found"
    else
        echo "❌ $pdf: Failed"
    fi
done

Next Steps

🐍 Python Library: Use PDF-PyCrack programmatically
⚙️ Configuration: Advanced configuration options
📊 Performance: Optimize for maximum speed
🛠️ Error Handling: Handle errors and edge cases

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