Autokey Vigenère Cipher — Free Online Tool

Encrypt and decrypt with the autokey cipher where the plaintext extends the keyword stream. Autokey Vigenère Cipher is a free online tool from the ToolsRift Text Encoding Tools collection. It runs entirely in your browser — nothing to install, no signup, and your data never leaves your device.

Loading Autokey Vigenère Cipher

How to use Autokey Vigenère Cipher

  1. Open the Autokey Vigenère Cipher above — it loads instantly, no account needed.
  2. Enter or upload your input. Everything is processed locally on your device.
  3. Get your result immediately and copy or download it with one click.

Frequently asked questions

How is the autokey cipher different from Vigenère?

Instead of repeating the keyword, the autokey cipher appends the plaintext to the keyword to build the key stream. This non-repeating key removes the periodicity that makes the standard Vigenère cipher easier to break.

What is the primer or keyword?

The keyword (primer) is a short starting key. Encryption uses the keyword followed by the plaintext letters as the key stream; decryption recovers the plaintext one letter at a time and feeds it back into the key.

Does a known example verify it?

Yes. Encrypting 'ATTACKATDAWN' with keyword 'QUEENLY' gives 'QNXEPVYTWTWP', the classic textbook autokey result, and decoding with the same keyword restores the original.

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