Search for a tool
Tap Code Cipher

Tool for decrypting / coding with the Tap code/cipher, it takes his name because it consists of transmitting coordinates in a letter grid by knocking/hitting things/a wall (or producing sounds)

Results

Tap Code Cipher -

Tag(s) : Substitution Cipher, GRID_CIPHER

Share
Share
dCode and more

dCode is free and its tools are a valuable help in games, maths, geocaching, puzzles and problems to solve every day!
A suggestion ? a feedback ? a bug ? an idea ? Write to dCode!


Please, check our dCode Discord community for help requests!
NB: for encrypted messages, test our automatic cipher identifier!


Feedback and suggestions are welcome so that dCode offers the best 'Tap Code Cipher' tool for free! Thank you!

Tap Code Cipher

Tap Code Decoder

 


Loading...
(if this message do not disappear, try to refresh this page)


Tap Code Encoder

 


Loading...
(if this message do not disappear, try to refresh this page)



Answers to Questions (FAQ)

What is Tap Code? (Definition)

Tap Code, also known as tap cipher, is an encryption method that uses sequences of taps to represent letters in a grid/matrix.

How to encrypt using Tap code cipher?

The tap code cipher uses a grid of letters, usually 5x5, containing 25 of the 26 letters of the alphabet. The letter that is omitted is often J (replaced by I) or K (replaced by C).

The coordinates (row, column) of the cells of the grid are numbered from 1 to 5 and thus any cell has an quivalent pair of digits (row, column)

Example:

\12345
1ABCDE
2FGHIJ
3LMNOP
4QRSTU
5VWXYZ

Each character of the plain message must be present in the grid otherwise it can not be encoded.

The principle of the tap code is to strike a number of hits corresponding to the coordinates of each character.

Example: D in position 1,4 (row 1 column 4) corresponds to 1 then 4 shots and so DCODE translates to . .... . ... ... .... . .... . .....

How to decrypt Tap code cipher?

The decryption of the tap code requires knowing the grid and counting the numbers of tap/knock by arranging them in groups of 2 forming the coordinates (row, column) of each letter of the plain message.

Example: To decode the message .... ..... . ... ....., count the dots (the taps): 4 4 1 1 3 5, rewrite in groups of 2 (4,4) (1,1) (3,5) and translate these coordinates into letters, respectively T,A,P, so TAP is the message in plain text.

How to recognize a Tap ciphertext?

The message is composed of a single character repeated between 1 and 5 times, a separator (like /) can be used, similar to the Morse.

The message can be in the form of a sound or a or light, again repetitive.

The name tap or knock is the onomatopoeia of the noise when the code is tapped or knocked on a surface such as a wall.

How to decipher tap cipher without grid?

By default the grid is often the same: composed of the alphabet but without the letter K or the letter J (sometimes the letter Z), testing these few grids should be enough, otherwise to use a random grid and use the mono-alphabetic substitution decryption tool.

What are the variants of the knock code cipher?

The grid can have a different size, different content such as a mixed alphabet or even reverse the writing of the coordinates (row-column or column-row).

A 6x6 grid containing 36 characters (26 letters and 10 digits) can be used to encode alphanumeric messages containing words and numbers.

Any communication/tapping containing 6, 7, 8 or more successive taps may indicate something special, a start of a message, an end of a message, a mistake made, etc.

When was tap code invented?

The code is certainly very old, but there is no specific date. It has been used by prisoners in jails for centuries.

A little more recently, this code was used during the Vietnam War by a certain Captain Carlyle (Smitty) Harris.

What is the algorithm of the tap code?

A source code for tap code encryption would look like // Pseudo-code
function tapCodeEncrypt(message) {
tapCodeGrid = [
["A", "B", "C", "D", "E"],
["F", "G", "H", "I", "J"],
["L", "M", "N", "O", "P"],
["Q", "R", "S", "T", "U"],
["V", "W", "X", "Y", "Z"]
]
encryptedMessage = "";
for each character in message {
for i from 0 to 4 {
for j from 0 to 4 {
if (tapCodeGrid[i][j] == character) {
encryptedMessage += (i+1)*"." + " " + (j+1)*"." + " "
}
}
}
}
return encryptedMessage
}

Source code

dCode retains ownership of the "Tap Code Cipher" source code. Except explicit open source licence (indicated Creative Commons / free), the "Tap Code Cipher" algorithm, the applet or snippet (converter, solver, encryption / decryption, encoding / decoding, ciphering / deciphering, breaker, translator), or the "Tap Code Cipher" functions (calculate, convert, solve, decrypt / encrypt, decipher / cipher, decode / encode, translate) written in any informatic language (Python, Java, PHP, C#, Javascript, Matlab, etc.) and all data download, script, or API access for "Tap Code Cipher" are not public, same for offline use on PC, mobile, tablet, iPhone or Android app!
Reminder : dCode is free to use.

Cite dCode

The copy-paste of the page "Tap Code Cipher" or any of its results, is allowed (even for commercial purposes) as long as you credit dCode!
Exporting results as a .csv or .txt file is free by clicking on the export icon
Cite as source (bibliography):
Tap Code Cipher on dCode.fr [online website], retrieved on 2024-12-04, https://www.dcode.fr/tap-cipher

Need Help ?

Please, check our dCode Discord community for help requests!
NB: for encrypted messages, test our automatic cipher identifier!

Questions / Comments

Feedback and suggestions are welcome so that dCode offers the best 'Tap Code Cipher' tool for free! Thank you!


https://www.dcode.fr/tap-cipher
© 2024 dCode — The ultimate 'toolkit' to solve every games / riddles / geocaching / CTF.
 
Feedback