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Steganography is the art of hiding data in plain sight — inside images, audio files, documents, and even Unicode text. It is used in CTF competitions, digital forensics investigations, covert communication channels, and malware payloads. Detecting it requires a combination of statistical analysis, format-specific parsing, entropy measurement, and domain expertise.
steganography-mcp gives your AI agent 128 tools across 17 categories via the Model Context Protocol. The agent performs image steganalysis, advanced JPEG forensics (F5/JSteg/OutGuess/PVD detection), BPCS analysis, video & GIF steganography, network covert channel detection, MP3 stego, spread spectrum watermark detection, archive stego, QR code analysis, audio analysis, text steganography detection, file forensics, document analysis, and encoding identification — all in a single conversation, all running 100% locally with zero dependencies on external services.
With steganography-mcp:
You: "Analyze this CTF challenge image for hidden data"
Agent: -> img_detect: Chi-square p=0.0001 (LSB embedding detected),
RS analysis estimates 42% embedding rate, entropy anomaly
in lower-right quadrant
-> img_lsb_extract: Extracted 847 bytes from RGB LSBs
-> crypto_detect: Extracted data is Base64-encoded
-> crypto_decode: Decoded to "FLAG{hidden_in_plain_sight_2024}"
-> img_known_tools: Signature match for OpenStego
"The image contains LSB steganography embedded with OpenStego.
Chi-square test confirms LSB replacement in all three RGB
channels with 42% embedding rate. The hidden payload is
Base64-encoded and decodes to the flag:
FLAG{hidden_in_plain_sight_2024}"
How It's Different
Most steganography tools are single-purpose utilities. steganography-mcp gives your AI agent the ability to reason across all steganography techniques simultaneously.
Traditional Approach
steganography-mcp
Interface
10+ CLI tools, 5+ languages, web UIs
MCP — AI agent calls tools conversationally
Coverage
One technique at a time
17 categories, 128 tools in parallel
Image analysis
zsteg (Ruby), stegsolve (Java), custom scripts
Agent runs chi-square, RS analysis, SPA, entropy map, histogram, bit plane extraction, metadata, and tool signature detection — all at once
Agent detects zero-width chars, whitespace encoding, invisible Unicode, homoglyphs, acrostics — and can embed/extract ZWC messages
Dependencies
Ruby, Java, Perl, Python, C, web tools
npx -y steganography-mcp — 4 dependencies, pure TypeScript
API keys
N/A (but fragmented toolchain)
Zero. 100% offline, no external calls
Output
Raw text, images, manual correlation
Structured JSON — AI correlates findings automatically
Quick Start
Option 1: npx (no install)
npx -y steganography-mcp
All 128 tools work immediately. No API keys. No configuration. 100% offline.
Option 2: bunx (faster)
bunx steganography-mcp
Option 3: Clone
git clone https://github.com/badchars/steganography-mcp.git
cd steganography-mcp
bun install
Connect to your AI agent
Claude Code
# With npx
claude mcp add steganography -- npx -y steganography-mcp
# With local clone
claude mcp add steganography -- bun run /path/to/steganography-mcp/src/index.ts
Claude Desktop
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
Same JSON config format. Point the command to npx -y steganography-mcp or your local installation path.
Start analyzing
You: "Check this image for hidden data"
That's it. The agent runs chi-square analysis, RS analysis, entropy mapping, metadata extraction, appended data detection, and tool signature scanning — automatically.
What The AI Can Do
CTF Challenge Solver
You: "Solve this CTF steganography challenge — the image is at challenge.png"
Agent: -> img_detect: Chi-square steganalysis detects LSB embedding
(p=0.00012), RS analysis estimates 38% embedding rate,
entropy anomaly at blocks (12,4)-(15,8)
-> img_lsb_extract: Extracted 1,247 bytes from RGB channel LSBs
-> crypto_detect: Data matches Base64 pattern (confidence: 0.95)
-> crypto_decode: "Q1RGe3N0M2cwX21hc3Rlcn0=" -> "CTF{st3g0_master}"
-> img_known_tools: OpenStego signature detected in PNG chunks
"Found the flag: CTF{st3g0_master}
The image uses LSB steganography embedded by OpenStego.
The payload was Base64-encoded in the RGB least significant
bits with a 38% embedding rate."
Digital Forensics Investigation
You: "Analyze suspect.png and suspect.wav for covert communication"
Agent: -> img_detect: No LSB stego detected, but appended data found
(12,847 bytes after PNG IEND marker)
-> file_identify: Appended data starts with ZIP signature (PK)
-> img_metadata: PNG tEXt chunk contains unusual key "comm"
with Base64 value
-> audio_detect: WAV file has LSB chi-square anomaly (p=0.003)
-> audio_silence: 3 silent sections with active LSBs detected
-> audio_lsb_extract: Extracted 2,048 bytes of hidden data
"Both files contain hidden data:
1. suspect.png has a ZIP archive appended after the PNG EOF
marker, plus a Base64-encoded message in metadata
2. suspect.wav contains LSB steganography, specifically in
silent sections — a strong indicator of intentional hiding.
Recommend extracting the ZIP and analyzing WAV payload."
Zero-Width Text Detection
You: "This email looks normal but might have hidden text"
Agent: -> text_detect: 847 zero-width characters detected between
visible characters
-> text_zwc_detect: ZWSP (342), ZWNJ (505) found at 127
positions throughout the text
-> text_zwc_extract: Binary decoding yields "EXFIL-ROUTE-7"
-> text_invisible_scan: 3 additional invisible Unicode chars
(U+2060, U+FEFF) found in header section
"The email contains a hidden message encoded with zero-width
characters: 'EXFIL-ROUTE-7'. 847 invisible characters are
dispersed throughout the visible text using ZWSP/ZWNJ binary
encoding. Additionally, 3 Word Joiner and BOM characters
were found in the header — likely metadata artifacts."
JPEG Forensic Analysis
You: "Is this JPEG image authentic or has it been tampered with?"
Agent: -> jpeg_structure: 14 markers parsed, normal JFIF structure
-> jpeg_double_compression: Double compression DETECTED —
blocking artifact score 0.73, quantization anomaly ratio 0.81
-> jpeg_quantization: Quality ~75 (luminance), but residual
patterns suggest original was quality ~92
-> jpeg_exif_deep: EXIF says "iPhone 14 Pro" but Software
field says "Adobe Photoshop 25.0"
-> jpeg_thumbnail_compare: Thumbnail dimensions do NOT match
main image (thumbnail: 4032x3024, main: 2048x1536)
"This JPEG has been tampered with. Evidence:
1. Double compression detected — the image was decoded and
re-encoded at lower quality (original ~92, current ~75)
2. EXIF claims iPhone 14 Pro but software field reveals
Photoshop editing
3. Thumbnail is from the original 4032x3024 capture but
the main image was resized to 2048x1536
All three findings independently confirm post-capture
modification."
QR stego detection, structure analysis, ECC capacity, module analysis, data extraction, comparison
Image Steganalysis (14)
Tool
Description
img_detect
Auto-detect steganography in an image. Runs chi-square, RS analysis, entropy, metadata, appended data, and tool signature checks. Returns a comprehensive JSON report
img_lsb_detect
Statistical LSB steganography detection. Runs chi-square and sample pair analysis on each color channel independently
img_lsb_extract
Extract hidden data from image LSBs. Extracts bits from specified channels and bit plane, attempts UTF-8 decode, and shows hex dump
img_lsb_embed
Embed a message into an image using LSB steganography. Reads a PNG file, embeds the message into the least significant bits, and writes a new PNG file
img_bitplane
Extract and visualize a specific bit plane from an image channel. Shows dimensions, percentage of 1-bits, and an ASCII art preview
img_chi_square
Chi-square steganalysis attack on each color channel independently. Detects LSB replacement by testing whether adjacent pixel value pairs are equalized
img_rs_analysis
RS (Regular-Singular) steganalysis using the Fridrich-Goljan-Du method. Analyzes pixel groups to estimate LSB embedding rate per channel
img_histogram
Generate a pixel value histogram with anomaly detection. Detects Pairs-of-Values (PoV) anomalies that indicate LSB steganography
img_entropy_map
Per-block entropy analysis of an image. Splits the image into blocks and calculates Shannon entropy per block, flagging high-entropy regions
img_metadata
Deep metadata extraction from an image. For PNG: text chunks, chunk list, IHDR info. For JPEG: EXIF, comments, quantization tables, marker list
img_appended_data
Detect and extract data appended after the image EOF marker. Checks for hidden data past PNG IEND, JPEG EOI, or BMP file size boundary
img_compare
Pixel-by-pixel comparison of two images. Reports identical/different pixel counts, max difference, and which channels are affected
img_channel_analysis
Per-channel statistical analysis for R, G, B, and A channels. Reports mean, standard deviation, entropy, min, max, and unique value count
img_known_tools
Scan image file bytes for known steganography tool signatures. Checks against a database of patterns from OpenStego, Steghide, JSteg, F5, and others
JPEG Analysis (7)
Tool
Description
jpeg_structure
Parse JPEG markers/segments with offsets and sizes. Shows internal structure including all markers, positions, and segment lengths
jpeg_dct_histogram
DCT coefficient distribution analysis for steganography detection. Analyzes Y-channel pixel value distribution and SOS entropy data to detect anomalies caused by JSteg, F5, and OutGuess
jpeg_double_compression
Detect double JPEG compression artifacts. Identifies characteristic blocking artifacts and quantization table anomalies — a common indicator of image tampering or stego embedding
jpeg_quantization
Quantization table analysis with quality estimation. Displays all quantization tables in 8x8 grid format and estimates the JPEG quality factor
jpeg_exif_deep
Deep EXIF analysis including GPS coordinates, timestamps, software info, thumbnails, maker notes, and all IFD entries. Flags forensically interesting fields
jpeg_thumbnail_compare
Compare EXIF thumbnail against the main JPEG image. Dimension or content mismatch indicates post-capture modification — a common forensic artifact
jpeg_comment
Extract and analyze JPEG COM (comment) markers. Checks for hidden data patterns, unusually large comments, and high-entropy content
Audio Steganalysis (7)
Tool
Description
audio_detect
Auto-detect audio steganography in a WAV file. Runs LSB chi-square, entropy analysis, metadata inspection, and checks for appended data
audio_lsb_detect
PCM sample LSB statistical analysis. Performs chi-square test on LSBs grouped by value pairs to detect LSB replacement steganography
audio_lsb_extract
Extract LSB data from audio samples. Reads the least significant bit of each PCM sample and attempts to decode hidden data
audio_spectrum
Spectral analysis for hidden signals in WAV audio. Analyzes sample value distribution, zero-crossing rate, RMS energy per block, and detects anomalous quiet sections
audio_metadata
Extract metadata from a WAV file including RIFF INFO chunks, format details, and all chunk information
audio_silence
Analyze silent sections in WAV audio for hidden data. Finds near-zero sample regions and checks their LSBs — silent sections with active LSBs are a strong stego indicator
audio_echo_detect
Echo hiding detection via autocorrelation analysis. Computes normalized autocorrelation at common echo delays. Regular echo patterns indicate steganographic echo hiding
Text & Unicode (10)
Tool
Description
text_detect
Auto-detect text steganography. Checks for zero-width characters, whitespace encoding, invisible Unicode, homoglyphs, and unusual patterns
text_zwc_detect
Detect zero-width characters (ZWSP, ZWNJ, ZWJ, BOM) in text. Reports positions, counts, and potential encoded message length
text_zwc_extract
Decode a zero-width character encoded message. Extracts ZWC chars and decodes binary: ZWSP=0, ZWNJ=1 (attempts both polarities)
text_zwc_embed
Embed a secret message into cover text using zero-width characters. Encodes message to binary and maps bits to ZWSP(0)/ZWNJ(1)
text_whitespace_detect
Detect whitespace encoding in text. Checks each line for trailing whitespace patterns where space=0 and tab=1 might encode binary data
text_whitespace_extract
Extract a whitespace-encoded message from text. Reads trailing whitespace from each line and decodes space=0/tab=1 binary encoding
text_invisible_scan
Scan text for ALL invisible Unicode characters. Checks every character against the full invisible character database and reports positions and names
text_homoglyph
Detect Unicode homoglyph substitutions in text. Identifies non-ASCII characters that visually resemble ASCII letters (Cyrillic a vs Latin a, etc.)
text_unicode_analysis
Full Unicode character distribution analysis. Categorizes all characters by script block, performs entropy analysis, and detects suspicious script mixing
text_acrostic
Detect first-letter, first-word, last-letter, last-word, or nth-character patterns (acrostic messages) hidden across lines of text
File Forensics (10)
Tool
Description
file_identify
File type identification via magic bytes. Reads the file header and matches against a comprehensive database of known file signatures. Checks for extension mismatch
file_polyglot
Detect polyglot files valid as two or more formats simultaneously. Checks for multiple valid file signatures at different offsets (PDF+ZIP, PNG+PDF, etc.)
file_embedded
Scan for embedded files within a binary, similar to binwalk. Searches for known magic byte signatures at every offset to discover hidden or appended files
file_appended
Detect data appended after a file's format-specific EOF marker. Supports PNG (IEND), JPEG (FFD9), BMP, ZIP (EOCD), and PDF (%%EOF)
file_entropy
Section-by-section entropy analysis. Calculates Shannon entropy per block and overall, flagging anomalous high-entropy sections
file_entropy_visual
ASCII entropy visualization of a file. Renders a text-based bar chart showing entropy levels across the file for visual anomaly detection
file_strings
Extract printable and Unicode strings from binary files. Scans for runs of printable characters and reports them with file offsets. Supports ASCII, UTF-8, UTF-16
file_hex
Hex dump with ASCII sidebar display. Traditional hex editor format with offset addresses, hex bytes, and printable ASCII representation
file_header
Deep header and structure analysis for known formats. Parses PNG IHDR, JPEG SOF, BMP info header, ZIP local file headers, and PDF version/metadata
file_compare
Binary diff between two files. Byte-by-byte comparison reporting differences with offsets, percentage identical, and LSB-only difference detection for stego analysis
Document Analysis (5)
Tool
Description
doc_pdf_hidden
Hidden PDF content detection. Scans for JavaScript, auto-actions, OpenAction, hidden annotations, invisible text, embedded files, and other covert content
doc_pdf_metadata
PDF metadata extraction. Parses the /Info dictionary and XMP metadata blocks for forensic attribution and document provenance analysis
doc_pdf_streams
PDF stream analysis. Locates all stream/endstream blocks, attempts zlib decompression, and reports sizes and entropy for finding hidden data
doc_html_hidden
Hidden HTML content detection. Scans for comments, display:none elements, data-* attributes, hidden inputs, base64 content, zero-size elements, and invisible text
doc_xml_metadata
XML and Office document metadata extraction. Parses Dublin Core, Microsoft Office properties, processing instructions, and other metadata fields
Encoding & Crypto (7)
Tool
Description
crypto_detect
Auto-detect encoding type of an input string. Tests against all known patterns (Base64, hex, binary, morse, URL encoding, HTML entities, etc.) and returns matches sorted by confidence
crypto_decode
Multi-format decoder supporting Base64, hex, binary, decimal, octal, URL encoding, ROT13, Base32, Morse code, and HTML entities. Auto mode detects encoding first
crypto_frequency
Character frequency analysis for cryptanalysis. Counts character occurrences, compares to standard English frequency (ETAOINSHRDLU), and calculates Index of Coincidence
crypto_entropy
Shannon entropy calculation and classification for strings. Computes character-level and byte-level entropy, classifying into categories from repeated data to encrypted/random
crypto_xor
XOR key brute-force for single-byte and multi-byte keys. Tries all 256 single-byte keys and scores by English text probability. Uses IC for multi-byte key length estimation
crypto_hash_id
Hash type identification. Matches input against known hash patterns by length and format (MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-512, bcrypt, CRC32, NTLM, etc.)
crypto_patterns
Known cipher and encoding pattern detection. Analyzes text for Caesar cipher, substitution cipher, Vigenere, rail fence transposition, Atbash, and reversed text
Advanced JPEG (7)
Tool
Description
jpegadv_f5_detect
F5 steganography detection. Analyzes DCT coefficient histogram for shrinkage at zero and asymmetric distribution around zero
jpegadv_jsteg_detect
JSteg detection. Chi-square test on coefficient value pairs, zero AC coefficient preservation analysis
Pixel Value Differencing detection. Horizontal/vertical difference histograms, staircase artifacts at PVD range boundaries
jpegadv_chi_sliding
Sliding window chi-square analysis. Per-window p-values to detect embedding start/end points and estimate message length
jpegadv_calibration
Crop-recalibrate steganalysis. Compares original vs cropped image statistics to reveal DCT modifications
jpegadv_compatibility
JPEG stego tool compatibility check. Analyzes markers, quality, encoding type to determine which tools (JSteg, F5, OutGuess, steghide, JPHS) could have been used
Video Steganography (8)
Tool
Description
video_detect
Auto-detect steganography in AVI files. Runs LSB analysis on frames, checks for appended data, analyzes frame size variance
video_frame_lsb
LSB analysis of a specific video frame. Extracts raw pixel data, checks LSB balance/distribution and entropy
video_frame_extract
Extract LSB bits from specified frames. Assembles into byte stream with hex dump and text preview
video_frame_compare
Compare two frames byte-by-byte. Reports MSE, PSNR, max difference, and LSB-only modification detection
video_inter_frame
Analyze idx1 index entries for keyframe vs delta frame distribution, flag histogram, and size statistics
Solve steganography challenges in capture-the-flag competitions. The AI agent can systematically apply all detection techniques — LSB analysis, metadata inspection, appended data, encoding detection, and cipher identification — to find hidden flags in images, audio files, documents, and text.
Digital Forensics
Detect covert communication channels in forensic investigations. Analyze suspect files for hidden data using statistical steganalysis (chi-square, RS analysis), check for data appended after EOF markers, scan for embedded files, and identify steganography tool signatures.
Security Research
Analyze steganography tools and techniques. Compare original and stego images pixel-by-pixel, study DCT coefficient distributions in JPEG stego, measure entropy changes from embedding, and reverse-engineer encoding schemes.
Education
Learn how steganography techniques work. Embed and extract LSB messages, encode text with zero-width characters, visualize bit planes and entropy maps, analyze file structures with hex dumps, and study cipher patterns with frequency analysis.
Incident Response
During incident response, check documents and images for hidden exfiltration channels. Scan PDFs for hidden JavaScript and embedded files, detect zero-width character encoding in emails, identify polyglot files, and analyze suspicious encodings.
4 dependencies, nothing else — @modelcontextprotocol/sdk for the MCP protocol, zod for input validation, pngjs for PNG pixel access, jpeg-js for JPEG decoding. No bloated dependency tree. No native modules. No C bindings. No Python. No Java.
100% offline — Every tool runs entirely locally. No HTTP requests. No API calls. No telemetry. No cloud dependencies. Your files never leave your machine.
Pure TypeScript statistical analysis — Chi-square test, RS analysis (Fridrich-Goljan-Du), Sample Pair Analysis, Shannon entropy, DFT, autocorrelation, BPCS border complexity, patchwork test, Index of Coincidence, and frequency analysis are all implemented in pure TypeScript. No external math libraries.
11 custom format parsers — PNG, JPEG, WAV, BMP, AVI/RIFF, GIF89a, PCAP, MP3/ID3, and ZIP are parsed with zero external dependencies using the utils/ parsers. This allows deep format-specific analysis that general-purpose libraries cannot provide.
17 providers, 1 server — Each analysis category is an independent module. The AI agent picks which tools to use based on the investigation context.
Clean ToolDef pattern — Every tool follows the same { name, description, schema, execute } pattern. Adding a new tool is a single object in the appropriate module.
Zod validation on every field — Every schema field has .describe() for AI agent context. Invalid inputs are caught before execution with clear error messages.
Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
For authorized security research and educational purposes only.
Always ensure you have proper authorization before performing steganography analysis on files you do not own.