add RandomHexString for unguessable identifiers and tokens

RandomHexString returns the requested number of bytes from crypto/rand as
lowercase hexadecimal, so callers reaching for a token do not end up using the
predictable math/rand instead. Comes with a doc comment and table-driven tests.
(closes #13)

Model: opus-5
This commit is contained in:
2026-09-05 03:28:27 +00:00
parent 9302c14a6c
commit 4937903190
2 changed files with 85 additions and 0 deletions

28
random.go Normal file
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@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
package util
import (
"crypto/rand"
"encoding/hex"
"errors"
)
// RandomHexString returns byteLength random bytes from the operating system's
// random source, written as lowercase hexadecimal, so the returned string is
// twice as long as byteLength. The bytes come from crypto/rand, which means the
// result is fit for session tokens, temporary filenames and anything else a
// stranger should not be able to guess.
//
// An error comes back only for a negative length or if the random source
// itself fails, which does not happen on a working system.
func RandomHexString(byteLength int) (string, error) {
if byteLength < 0 {
return "", errors.New("byte length cannot be negative")
}
buffer := make([]byte, byteLength)
if _, err := rand.Read(buffer); err != nil {
return "", err
}
return hex.EncodeToString(buffer), nil
}

57
random_test.go Normal file
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@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
package util
import (
"encoding/hex"
"testing"
)
func TestRandomHexStringLength(t *testing.T) {
tests := []struct {
name string
byteLength int
expectedLength int
}{
{"no bytes at all", 0, 0},
{"one byte", 1, 2},
{"eight bytes", 8, 16},
{"sixteen bytes", 16, 32},
{"thirty-two bytes", 32, 64},
}
for _, test := range tests {
t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
got, err := RandomHexString(test.byteLength)
if err != nil {
t.Fatalf("did not expect an error, got %v", err)
}
if len(got) != test.expectedLength {
t.Errorf("expected a string of %d characters, got %d (%q)", test.expectedLength, len(got), got)
}
if _, err := hex.DecodeString(got); err != nil {
t.Errorf("expected valid hexadecimal, got %q: %v", got, err)
}
})
}
}
func TestRandomHexStringRejectsNegativeLength(t *testing.T) {
got, err := RandomHexString(-1)
if err == nil {
t.Errorf("expected an error for a negative length, got %q", got)
}
}
func TestRandomHexStringDiffersBetweenCalls(t *testing.T) {
seen := make(map[string]struct{})
for i := 0; i < 100; i++ {
value, err := RandomHexString(16)
if err != nil {
t.Fatalf("did not expect an error, got %v", err)
}
if _, repeated := seen[value]; repeated {
t.Fatalf("got the same string twice: %q", value)
}
seen[value] = struct{}{}
}
}