SQLitePCL.raw v3

[tranb3r]

Hi,
I've been using SQLite3MultipleCiphers with SQLitePCLRaw for a while in a .NET MAUI app, and it has been working perfectly.
However, I noticed that starting from version 3, SQLitePCLRaw no longer provides free builds with encryption support.
Is there any plan to offer free builds of SQLite3MultipleCiphers for use with SQLitePCLRaw as part of this repository?
Thanks!

[utelle]

I've been using SQLite3MultipleCiphers with SQLitePCLRaw for a while in a .NET MAUI app, and it has been working perfectly.

Glad to hear that.

However, I noticed that starting from version 3, SQLitePCLRaw no longer provides free builds with encryption support.

Yes, this is very unfortunate. The author of SQLitePCLRaw, Eric Sink, decided to drop support for builds with encryption extensions, after he became a more or less official member of the SQLite developer team. AFAIK he intends to support only the official SQliet Encryption Extension (SEE) in the future, although he claims that it will be possible to use separate encryption extensions with SQLitePCLRaw - as long as you build the binaries yourself.

Is there any plan to offer free builds of SQLite3MultipleCiphers for use with SQLitePCLRaw as part of this repository?

Actually, I have a separate repository SQLite3MultipleCiphers-cb, which I used for testing purposes in the past, while SQLite3 Multiple Ciphers binaries were still provided by SQLitePCLRaw.

Unfortunately, Eric Sink has changed the way to generate the binaries for SQLitePCLRaw version 3 - and decided to not publish his new approach. Nevertheless, I guess that the binaries generated in my test repository should be usable in conjunction with the new version of SQLitePCLRaw. But I haven't tested that myself, because the .Net world is definitely not my world.

Since the test repository was used for tests only in the past, the binaries generated by the GitHub CI workflow were never published. However, the binaries generated by the latest update are still available here - but they will be deleted by GitHub. So, I don't know how long they will be available.

In addition, I have the repository SQLite3MultipleCiphers-NuGet, which I created with huge support from @bricelam. Again, the package created by the GitHub CI workflow after the latest update is still available here.

In principle, the plan is to provide a solution that can be combined with the latest SQLitePCLRaw version, but unfortunately I am not able to do this without expert support.

[bricelam]

The plan is to provide a solution that can be combined with the latest SQLitePCLRaw version, but unfortunately I am not able to do this without expert support.

My spare time is limited these days, but I still plan on digging into this with you. I'll keep you updated as I make progress.

[utelle]

My spare time is limited these days, but I still plan on digging into this with you. I'll keep you updated as I make progress.

@bricelam: Great! 😄 Let me know, if I can prepare anything from my side. However, there is no hurry, because I'm admittedly also quite busy these days.

[tranb3r]

Hi guys,
Any update on this topic? Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.

[utelle]

Any update on this topic?

Yes, my previous test project SQLite3MultipleCiphers-NuGet is now used to generate independent NuGet packages. End of November I published NuGet packages based on SQLite3 Multiple Ciphers 2.2.6:

• SQLite3MC.PCLRaw.bundle: depends on provider and lib
• SQLite3MC.PCLRaw.provider
• SQLite3MC.PCLRaw.lib: provides independent binaries

These packages depend only on SQLitePCLRaw.core.

The packages should be used with .Net 10 (released in November 2025), because only .NET 10 correctly supports the password property of the connection objects.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.

Please test the packages and report any issues.

[tranb3r]

Wonderful! Thanks so much.

[tranb3r]

I've been able to use SQLite3 Multiple Ciphers 2.2.4 with SQLitePCLRaw 3.0.2, for dotnet maui on android:

• use the default official provider: SQLitePCLRaw.provider.e_sqlite3
• extract libsqliteX.so from sqlite3mc-2.2.4-sqlite-3.50.4-android.aar
• the lib has to be renamed into libe_sqlite3.so for the provider to use it

The only issue I've faced is when migrating from 2.2.0 to 2.2.1.
So far I was using PRAGMA key = "x'myhexkey'". This does not work anymore in 2.2.1. I have to use instead PRAGMA key = "raw:myhexkey".
Could this be a bug in sqlite3mc introduced in 2.2.1 ?
I'm using this url "file:{dbPath}?cipher=sqlcipher&legacy=4".

Now, I have to figure out how to make it work for iOS...

[FlavioGoncalves-Cayas]

Hi @tranb3r
I am in the same position as you having to update sqlcipher to a newer version to stay compliant with Android 16KB page size.
How did you get it to work with the libraries that @utelle provided? Where did you put libe_sqlite3.so?

I am currently using the following packages in my .NET MAUI app

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite.Core" Version="7.0.11" />
<PackageReference Include="SQLitePCLRaw.bundle_e_sqlcipher" Version="2.1.6" />

@utelle If I understood correctly I can not make the switch to SQLite3MultipleCiphers without any changes to my code or PRAGMAs? But I would still be able to open the encrypted database after switching to SQLite3MultipleCiphers, correct? Can you point out what changes I would have to make?

[utelle]

I am currently using the following packages in my .NET MAUI app

<PackageReference Include="Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite.Core" Version="7.0.11" />
<PackageReference Include="SQLitePCLRaw.bundle_e_sqlcipher" Version="2.1.6" />

@utelle If I understood correctly I can not make the switch to SQLite3MultipleCiphers without any changes to my code or PRAGMAs?

It depends. SQLite3 Multiple Ciphers can read and write all SQLCipher databases (from version 1 up to the latest version 4). However, it is not a drop-in replacement for SQLCipher - that is, if you use for example SQLCipher specific PRAGMA commands in your application, you would have to change them most likely.

Details of how SQLite3 Multiple Ciphers supports SQLCipher are documented here.

How to configure a cipher scheme is documented here (PRAGMA) and here (URI). Configuration via URI parameters should be preferred.

But I would still be able to open the encrypted database after switching to SQLite3MultipleCiphers, correct?

Yes.

Can you point out what changes I would have to make?

If you use the default encryption variant of SQLCipher, there is not much you have to do. Just specify the database filename as follows:

"file:databasefilename.db?cipher=sqlcipher&legacy=4"

Currently, a problem is that since SQLite version 3.48.0 the password property of Microsoft.Data.SQLite doesn't function due to a change in SQLite itself. A patch to fix the problem has been made, and if we are lucky, the next release of Microsoft.Data.SQLite version 10 will include the fix. Until then a workaround is to not use the password property and to execute PRAGMA key='passphrase'; immediately after opening a SQLite connection in your application.

[tranb3r]

@FlavioGoncalves-Cayas

Use the default provider (no bundle):

<PackageReference Include="SQLitePCLRaw.provider.e_sqlite3" Version="3.0.2" />

Init code:

SQLitePCL.raw.SetProvider(new SQLitePCL.SQLite3Provider_e_sqlite3());

The lib has to be renamed:

<AndroidNativeLibrary Include="Platforms\Android\lib\arm64-v8a\libe_sqlite3.so" />

[FlavioGoncalves-Cayas]

@utelle @tranb3r thanks a lot for your help. I got it working on Android.

@tranb3r how did you get it to work on iOS though?

[tranb3r]

For iOS, I tried this but without success:

<NativeReference Include="Platforms\iOS\lib\e_sqlite3.a" Kind="Static" />

So I ended up replacing the library inside the nuget folder. It's a hack but it worked for my test.