{"id":58248,"date":"2025-03-04T18:25:57","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T18:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/18bd3cce-84a2-4fd0-9c65-f8064d6428d0"},"modified":"2025-03-04T18:25:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T18:25:57","slug":"how-to-generate-random-passwords-from-the-linux-command-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/how-to-generate-random-passwords-from-the-linux-command-line\/","title":{"rendered":"How to generate random passwords from the Linux command line"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\"How<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>
ZDNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I often need random passwords. Mostly, those passwords are used for the creation of user accounts on apps and services, at which point I’ll use my password manager<\/a> that includes a very good random password generator.<\/p>\n

But other times, I might need a temporary password that doesn’t require saving in a password manager. Or maybe it’s a permanent password, but I’m logged into my desktop from a remote machine<\/a>, and the command line is the only tool I have. <\/p>\n

Also: 5 Linux commands I use to keep my device running smoothly<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless of why, there’s a simple Linux command<\/a> that makes it very easy to generate random passwords. That tool is called pwgen, and here’s how you install and use it. <\/p>\n

How to install pwgen <\/h2>\n

What you’ll need: <\/strong>The only things you’ll need for this are a Linux distribution and a user with sudo privileges. <\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n

To install pwgen on Debian or Ubuntu-based distributions, open a terminal window and issue the command:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Show more <\/a> <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\n

sudo apt-get install pwgen -y <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n

To install pwgen on Fedora-based distributions, open a terminal window and issue the command:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Show more <\/a> <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\n

sudo dnf install pwgen <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n

To install pwgen on Arch-based distributions, open a terminal window and issue the command:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Show more <\/a> <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

sudo pacman -S pwgen <\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n

To install pwgen on SUSE-based distributions, open a terminal window and issue the command:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Show more <\/a> <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\n

sudo zypper install pwgen <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

At this point, the app should be ready to go. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How to use pwgen<\/h2>\n

Also: <\/strong>5 best Linux commands for troubleshooting problems<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

1. Generate a single password <\/h2>\n

Let’s say you want to generate a single password that is 16 characters long. For that, the command would be: <\/p>\n

pwgen 16 1 <\/p>\n

2. Generate three passwords <\/h2>\n

You might need to create 3 random passwords, each of which is 16 characters long. For that, the command would be: <\/p>\n

pwgen 16 3 <\/p>\n

3. Generate a list of passwords <\/h2>\n

You might want a list of passwords, each of which is 16 characters long. To do that, issue the command: <\/p>\n

pwgen 16 <\/p>\n

As you can see, the first option tells pwgen how long the password should be, and the second option tells pwgen how many passwords to generate. <\/p>\n

Also: <\/strong>5 Linux commands you need to have ready – just in case<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

You can also use a number of options with pwgen. Those options are: <\/p>\n