Obfuscation Settings

Complete reference for configuring IronBrew 2 obfuscation settings

The ObfuscationSettings class controls all aspects of IronBrew 2’s obfuscation behavior. Configure these settings to balance between obfuscation strength and performance.

Configuration Properties

EncryptStrings · bool · default: "false"

Enables encryption of all string constants in the Lua script. When enabled, all strings are XOR-encrypted using dynamically generated decryption tables.

See String Encryption for details.

EncryptImportantStrings · bool · default: "false"

Selectively encrypts strings containing sensitive keywords like “http”, “function”, “metatable”, and “local”. More targeted than EncryptStrings.

See Important String Encryption for details.

ControlFlow · bool · default: "true"

Enables control flow obfuscation by flattening and complicating the execution flow. Makes reverse engineering significantly harder by obscuring the program’s logical structure.

BytecodeCompress · bool · default: "true"

Compresses the virtual machine bytecode to reduce output size. The VM decompresses instructions at runtime.

DecryptTableLen · int · default: "500"

Maximum length of XOR decryption tables used for string encryption. Larger values provide stronger encryption but increase VM size.

Used when EncryptStrings is enabled. The actual table length may be smaller based on the longest string in your script.

PreserveLineInfo · bool · default: "false"

Preserves original line number information in error messages. Useful for debugging but reveals source structure.

Enabling this reduces obfuscation effectiveness. Only use during development.

Mutate · bool · default: "true"

Enables instruction mutation, which randomizes how bytecode operations are executed while preserving functionality.

MaxMutations · int · default: "200"

Maximum number of instruction mutations to apply. Higher values increase obfuscation strength but may impact performance.

SuperOperators · bool · default: "true"

Enables super operator folding, which combines multiple instructions into single optimized operations.

See Super Operators for details.

MaxMiniSuperOperators · int · default: "120"

Maximum number of mini super operators (5-10 instructions) to generate. Mini operators provide good obfuscation with minimal performance impact.

See Super Operators for details.

MaxMegaSuperOperators · int · default: "120"

Maximum number of mega super operators (60-80 instructions) to generate. Mega operators provide exceptional obfuscation but may increase VM size.

See Super Operators for details.

Usage Example

Here’s how to configure obfuscation settings programmatically:

using IronBrew2.Obfuscator;

// Create settings with custom configuration
var settings = new ObfuscationSettings
{
    // Enable string encryption
    EncryptStrings = true,
    DecryptTableLen = 750,
    
    // Disable line info for production
    PreserveLineInfo = false,
    
    // Enable all obfuscation features
    ControlFlow = true,
    Mutate = true,
    SuperOperators = true,
    
    // Increase super operator limits
    MaxMiniSuperOperators = 150,
    MaxMegaSuperOperators = 100,
    
    // Moderate mutation level
    MaxMutations = 250
};

// Use settings with obfuscator
var obfuscator = new Obfuscator(settings);
string obfuscated = obfuscator.Obfuscate(luaSource);

Default Settings

The default constructor initializes settings optimized for balanced obfuscation:

var settings = new ObfuscationSettings();
// EncryptStrings: false
// EncryptImportantStrings: false
// ControlFlow: true
// BytecodeCompress: true
// DecryptTableLen: 500
// PreserveLineInfo: false
// Mutate: true
// SuperOperators: true
// MaxMegaSuperOperators: 120
// MaxMiniSuperOperators: 120
// MaxMutations: 200

Configuration Strategies

Maximum Protection

Use when security is the top priority:

var settings = new ObfuscationSettings
{
    EncryptStrings = true,
    EncryptImportantStrings = true,
    DecryptTableLen = 1000,
    ControlFlow = true,
    Mutate = true,
    SuperOperators = true,
    MaxMiniSuperOperators = 200,
    MaxMegaSuperOperators = 150,
    MaxMutations = 300,
    PreserveLineInfo = false
};

Balanced

Default settings provide good protection with reasonable performance:

var settings = new ObfuscationSettings();
// Uses defaults

Development

Lighter obfuscation for faster iteration:

var settings = new ObfuscationSettings
{
    EncryptStrings = false,
    ControlFlow = true,
    Mutate = false,
    SuperOperators = false,
    PreserveLineInfo = true  // Enable error line numbers
};

Performance Considerations

Different settings have varying performance impacts:

• Low Impact: ControlFlow, BytecodeCompress, PreserveLineInfo
• Moderate Impact: Mutate, MaxMiniSuperOperators
• Higher Impact: EncryptStrings, MaxMegaSuperOperators, high MaxMutations

For performance-critical applications, start with defaults and increase settings incrementally while testing runtime performance.

Source Reference

Settings are defined in: IronBrew2/Obfuscator/ObfuscationSettings.cs:3