Efficiency = (% Recovered ÷ Rules Count) × 1000
Deep dive into ruleset performance. Smaller sets offer exponentially higher efficiency for fast‑paced or GPU‑limited tasks.
The "Golden Zone" (Top-Left) shows rulesets that hit a high percentage of hashes with very few rules. Efficiency drops as you move towards larger, exhaustive lists.
| Ruleset | % Rec. | Efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| HashMob.20k.rule | 31.08% | 1.55 |
| conc_MT_25000.rule | 31.82% | 1.27 |
| conc_MT_50000.rule | 36.71% | 0.73 |
| HashMob.50k.rule | 37.40% | 0.75 |
| sapphire_medium.rule | 35.99% | 0.72 |
| ORTRTS.rule | 35.74% | 0.74 |
| recondite_35399.rule | 32.01% | 0.90 |
| A1131_25k.rule | 28.70% | 1.15 |
| sapphire_small.rule | 25.35% | 2.54 |
| HashMob.10k.rule | 26.21% | 2.62 |
Choose a ruleset based on your task, hardware, and available time. The table below matches real‑world scenarios with the most suitable rule file from the benchmark.
| Task / Scenario | Size Tier | Recommended Ruleset | Rules Count | % Recovered | Why / When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTF speedrun (limited time, fast hash) | Small (<1k) | concentrator_MT_250.rule | 250 | 10.00% | Excellent recovery for only 250 rules — ideal when you need fast results during a CTF or live engagement. |
| Very big wordlists | Small (<1k) | concentrator_MT_64 | 64 | 4.27% | Tiny optimized ruleset — minimizes keyspace expansion which is critical when each candidate is expensive to test. |
| Daily standard cracking workflow | Medium (5k–50k) | HashMob.20k.rule | 20000 | 31.08% | Best overall balance of recovery vs runtime — go-to ruleset for routine cracking sessions. |
| Maximize recovery in the medium tier | Medium (5k–50k) | HashMob.50k.rule | 50000 | 37.40% | Highest recovery in the 50k class. Use when you can afford a longer run but don't want a multi-hundred-thousand ruleset. |
| Fast medium‑tier pass | Medium (5k–50k) | concentrator_MT_25000.rule | 25000 | 31.82% | Top crack rate in its class — great when you want strong recovery and high keys/sec throughput. |
| Wordlist enrichment / mutation | Medium (5k–50k) | sapphire_medium.rule | 50000 | 35.99% | Diverse mutations — useful to expand a curated wordlist with high‑quality permutations. |
| Overnight / long run, max recovery | Large (250k+) | misty.rule | 322163 | 45.22% | Highest recovery measured — run unattended overnight on fast hashes for the deepest crack. |
| Final exhaustive pass on tough hashlist | Large (250k+) | concentrator_MT_250000.rule | 250000 | 44.39% | Near‑top recovery with the smallest large‑tier ruleset — best efficiency among 250k+ sets. |
| Research / squeezing remaining hashes | Large (250k+) | sapphire_v3.rule | 749996 | 49.44% | Strong complementary recovery — pair with misty.rule to catch hashes the other one missed. |
| GPU‑limited / low‑power environment | Small (<1k) | Robot-Best10.rule | 10 | 1.36% | Minimal keyspace expansion — best for laptops or modest GPUs where large rulesets would take days. |
| Tiny ruleset with disproportionate hits | Medium (5k–50k) | sapphire_small.rule | 10000 | 25.35% | Excellent compact ruleset — punches well above its size for opportunistic cracking. |
| Combo strategy (chain of rulesets) | Mixed | Robot-Best10 → HashMob.20k → misty | 10 / 20k / 322k | ≈45%+ | Recommended escalation: start tiny for instant wins, then medium for the bulk, finish with a large set for stragglers. |
All data derived from the Hashcat ruleset benchmark. Efficiency = (%Recovered ÷ Rules) × 1000.