WetraceTool — WeChat Encryption Key Extractor

A lightweight Electron app that extracts the WeChat SQLCipher database encryption key from a running WeChat session. No sync, no tray — just run it, copy your key, close it.

What it does

1. Detects WeChat — waits for WeChat to be running on your PC
2. Guides logout — asks you to reach the WeChat login screen
3. Extracts the key — restarts WeChat with an injected hook via wetrace.exe, captures the key the moment you log in
4. Copy to clipboard — displays the key (and database path if detected) with one-click copy buttons

The key can then be used with decrypt_sync.exe or any other SQLCipher-aware tool to read your WeChat message databases.

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Requirements

• Windows 10/11 x64
• WeChat (国际版) or Weixin (微信) installed
• vendor/wetrace.exe — the hook backend (see Setup)

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Setup

Option A — Copy from wereadmsg project (fastest)

cp ..\wereadmsg\vendor\wetrace.exe vendor\

Option B — Build wetrace.exe from source

./build.sh --wetrace

Requires Go installed and the wetrace source at C:\cygwin64\home\dev\code\wetrace.

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Running (development)

npm install
npm start

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Building the installer

./build.sh

Produces dist/WetraceTool-Setup-<version>.exe.

To rebuild wetrace.exe and the installer in one step:

./build.sh --wetrace

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Usage

1. Launch WetraceTool
2. Open WeChat if it isn't already running — the app will detect it automatically
3. Log out of WeChat (or confirm you're already at the login screen)
4. Click Start — I'm ready to log in
5. WeChat will restart — log in within 60 seconds
6. The key is captured automatically and shown on screen
7. Click Copy Key to copy it to the clipboard
8. Close the app when done

Note: The app requires administrator privileges so wetrace.exe can attach to the WeChat process.

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Project structure

wetrace_wrapper/
  main.js          — Electron main process (window + wetrace + IPC)
  preload.js       — contextBridge API exposed to renderer
  renderer/
    index.html     — app shell
    app.js         — wizard UI (4 steps)
    styles.css     — dark theme
  assets/
    icon.ico
  vendor/
    wetrace.exe    — WeChat hook backend (not committed, copy manually)
  build.sh         — build script
  package.json

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How key extraction works

wetrace.exe is a small Go program that injects a DLL hook into the WeChat process. When WeChat initialises its SQLCipher databases at login, the hook intercepts the key derivation call and exposes it via a local HTTP API on 127.0.0.1:18888.

WetraceTool calls GET /api/v1/system/wxkey/db on that API with a 70-second timeout — long enough for you to complete the WeChat login.

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Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
"wetrace.exe not found"	Copy wetrace.exe into vendor/
Timer runs out, no key	Make sure you logged in after clicking Start
WeChat not detected	Check tasklist for Weixin.exe or WeChat.exe
App closes immediately	Run as Administrator