How do I generate random passwords under Linux / UNIX / Mac OS X and *BSD operating systems?
You can use the following command to generate the random password:
tr -dc A-Za-z0-9_ < /dev/urandom | head -c 16 | xargs
Sample outputs:
1z2G4SVmZOdd4uK4
You can create a bash shell function as follows (add to your ~/.bashrc):
genpasswd() { local l=$1 [ "$l" == "" ] && l=16 tr -dc A-Za-z0-9_ < /dev/urandom | head -c ${l} | xargs }
Now use genpasswd as follows to create 8 character long password:
genpasswd 8
Sample outputs:
Es5Yzf8H
See also:
You should follow me on twitter here or grab rss feed to keep track of new changes.
Featured Articles:
- 30 Handy Bash Shell Aliases For Linux / Unix / Mac OS X
- Top 30 Nmap Command Examples For Sys/Network Admins
- 25 PHP Security Best Practices For Sys Admins
- 20 Linux System Monitoring Tools Every SysAdmin Should Know
- 20 Linux Server Hardening Security Tips
- Linux: 20 Iptables Examples For New SysAdmins
- Top 20 OpenSSH Server Best Security Practices
- Top 20 Nginx WebServer Best Security Practices
- 20 Examples: Make Sure Unix / Linux Configuration Files Are Free From Syntax Errors
- 15 Greatest Open Source Terminal Applications Of 2012
- My 10 UNIX Command Line Mistakes
- Top 10 Open Source Web-Based Project Management Software
- Top 5 Email Client For Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows Users
- The Novice Guide To Buying A Linux Laptop
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
more elegant :
genpasswd() { tr -dc A-Za-z0-9_ < /dev/urandom | head -c ${1:-8} | xargs }