scrypt Hash (passlib format) Regex for Go

What this pattern does

This page provides a comprehensive, battle-tested regular expression for matching scrypt hash (passlib format), ported and verified for Go. In security-sensitive code, using an unverified regex can open the door to both false positives and denial-of-service attacks. The snippet below is ready to drop into your Go project — whether you're validating in a Gin handler, a gRPC service, or a command-line tool.

Go Implementation

// scrypt Hash (passlib format)
// ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Security > Password Formats

package validation

import "regexp"

var scryptHashPasslibFormatRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^\$scrypt\$ln=([0-9]+),r=([0-9]+),p=([0-9]+)\$([A-Za-z0-9+/]{16,64}(?:={0,2}))\$([A-Za-z0-9+/]{30,64}(?:={0,1}))$`)

func ValidateScryptHashPasslibFormat(s string) bool {
    return scryptHashPasslibFormatRe.MatchString(s)
}

// Example
// fmt.Println(ValidateScryptHashPasslibFormat("$scrypt$ln=14,r=8,p=1$aM15816PilIJep0o$nFNh2CVHVjNldFVKDHDlm0248RZvVaR8")) // true

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Security > Password Formats category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for Go developers because Go's RE2 engine is inherently safe from catastrophic backtracking, but this pattern has been additionally verified for correctness. RegexVault audits patterns against known backtracking attack vectors, ensuring you have the necessary context before using this regex in a high-stakes production environment.

Common Pitfalls

Technical Notes

Parameters: ln=log2(N) where N is the work factor, r=block size (8), p=parallelism (1). OWASP recommends N=32768 (ln=15), r=8, p=1 minimum. scrypt is memory-hard like Argon2, designed by Colin Percival. ln=14 = N=16384.