1MAKEPASSWD(1)               makepasswd User Manual               MAKEPASSWD(1)
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NAME

6       makepasswd - Generates (pseudo-)random passwords and hashes
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SYNOPSIS

9       makepasswd [-c string] [-e algorithm] [-i iterations] [-l length]
10                  [-M maximum length] [-m minimum length] [-n count]
11                  [-p password] [-S] [-s salt]
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13       makepasswd [-E] [-c string] [-e algorithm] [-i iterations] [-l length]
14                  [-M maximum length] [-m minimum length] [-n count] [-S]
15                  [-s salt]
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DESCRIPTION

18       makepasswd is a program that generates pseudo-random passwords of a
19       desired length and, if so desired, along with their corresponding
20       hashes for a given encryption algorithm.
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OPTIONS

23       The following options are available:
24
25       -E
26           In this operation mode, makepasswd enumerates through all possible
27           values for a password, given the list of characters allowed and the
28           length specified.
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30       -c string
31           Sets the string of characters allowed within passwords, when
32           generating them randomly.
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34       -e
35           Apply a specific hashing algorithm to the password generated. The
36           list of passwords currently supported is:
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38           •   base64 (always supported)
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40           •   blowfish (Blowfish)
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42           •   des (single DES)
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44           •   md5 (MD5, always supported)
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46           •   sha1 (SHA-1)
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48           •   sha256 (SHA-256)
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50           •   shmd5 (shadow MD5)
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52           •   none (always supported)
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54           For the algorithms not explicitly mentioned as always supported,
55           their availability depends on the implementation of the crypt(3)
56           library on the system where makepasswd was compiled.
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58       -i
59           Force a number of iterations to be performed when hashing
60           passwords, for algorithms effectively supporting it. It otherwise
61           defaults to a random value, in a range considered reasonable for
62           the hashing algorithm selected.
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64       -l
65           Force the passwords generated to be of a fixed length.
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67       -M
68           Maximum length for the passwords generated.
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70       -m
71           Minimum length for the passwords generated.
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73       -n
74           Total number of passwords to generate. When not set, it defaults to
75           only one, except in enumeration mode where it processes the
76           complete range of possibilities until exhaustion.
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78       -p
79           Force a given value for the password generated. This is useful when
80           generating hashes for pre-determined passwords.
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82       -S
83           Do not seed the PRNG (pseudo-random number generator) ourselves.
84           With this option set, the entropy pool is often not initialized,
85           and the passwords generated predictable as a result.
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87           Use this option carefully, when you know that either the system
88           does provide better entropy than makepasswd, or that it hurts
89           performance in a situation where entropy is not required.
90
91       -s
92           Force a given value when salting the resulting password hash. This
93           is only useful when selecting a hashing algorithm that effectively
94           uses salt.
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BUGS

97       Issues can be listed and reported at
98       http://www.defora.org/os/project/bug_list/117/makepasswd.
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SEE ALSO

101       login(1), passwd(1)
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AUTHORS

104       Pierre Pronchery <khorben@defora.org>
105           Code and documentation.
106
107       Gabor Z. papp <gzp@papp.hu>
108           Testing.
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111       Copyright © 2012, 2013 Pierre Pronchery <khorben@defora.org>
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113       This manual page was written for the DeforaOS project (and may be used
114       by others).
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116       Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
117       under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Version 3 as
118       published by the Free Software Foundation.
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123makepasswd                        07/20/2023                     MAKEPASSWD(1)
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