.\" Copyright (C) 1997-1998 Johnie Ingram (johnie@debian.org).
.\"
.\" This is free documentation; you can redistribute it and/or
.\" modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
.\" published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of
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.\"
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.\" GNU General Public License for more details.
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.\"
.TH makepasswd 1 "1998 February 9" "Debian Distribution" "UNIX Reference Manual"
.SH NAME
makepasswd \- generate and/or encrypt passwords
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B makepasswd
[
.B \--chars
.I N
]
[
.B \--clearfrom
.I file
]
[
.B \--count
.I N
]
[
.B \--crypt | --nocrypt | --crypt-md5
]
[
.B \--cryptsalt
.I N
]
[
.B \--help
]
[
.B \--maxchars
.I N
]
[
.B \--minchars
.I N
]
[
.B \--randomseed
.I N
]
[
.B \--rerandom
.I N
]
[
.B \--repeatpass
.I N
]
[
.B \--string
.I string
]
[
.B \--verbose | --noverbose
]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.LP
.B makepasswd
generates true random passwords using /dev/urandom, with the emphasis on
security over pronounceability.
It can also encrypt plaintext passwords given on the command line.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.B --chars N
Generate passwords with exactly N characters (do not use with options
--minchars and --maxchars).
.TP
.B --clearfrom FILE
Use password from FILE instead of generating passwords.  Requires
the --crypt or the --crypt-md5
options; may not be used with these options: --chars, --maxchars, --minchars,
--count, --string, --nocrypt.  Trailing newlines are removed but other white
space is not.
.TP
.B --count N
Produce a total of N passwords (the default is one).
.TP
.B --crypt
Produce encrypted passwords.
.TP
.B --crypt-md5
Produce encrypted passwords using the MD5 digest (hash) algorithm.
.TP
.B --cryptsalt N
Use crypt() salt N, a positive number <= 4096.  If random seeds are
desired, specify a zero value (the default).
.TP
.B --help
Ignore other operands and produce only a help display.
.TP
.B --maxchars N
Generate passwords with at most N characters (default = 10).
.TP
.B --minchars N
Generate passwords with at least N characters (default = 8).
.TP
.B --nocrypt
Do not encrypt the generated password(s) (the default).
.TP
.B --noverbose
Display no labels on output (the default).
.TP
.B --randomseed N
Use random number seed N, between 0 and 2^32 inclusive.  A zero value
results in a real-random seed.
This generates much less secure passwords than the default; not only does it
generate predictable passwords due to the fixed seed, but the range of
available seeds is 32 bits rather than the default of 256 bits, and cannot
be changed without breaking expectations of previous users of this option.
If possible, do not use this option.
.TP
.B --rerandom N
Set the random seed value every N values used.  Specify zero to use a
single seed value (the default). Specify one to get true-random
passwords, though note that doing this too frequently will deplete the
supply of entropy available in the kernel's entropy pool.
.TP
.B --repeatpass N
Use each password N times (4096 maximum, --crypt must be set and
--cryptsalt may not be set).
.TP
.B --string STRING
Use the characters in STRING to generate random passwords.
.TP
.B --verbose
Display labelling information on output.
.SH HISTORY
.LP
.B makepasswd
was originally part of the
.B mkircconf
program used to centrally administer the Linux Internet Support
Cooperative IRC network.  It may potentially be of use in any
situation where passwords must be secure and need not be memorized by
humans.
.LP
Colin Watson modified it to use Bytes::Random::Secure.
.SH COPYRIGHT
.LP
Copyright (c) 1997-1998 by lilo <lilo@linpeople.org>.  All rights are
reserved by the author.  This program may be used under the terms of
version 2 of the GNU Public License.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.LP
.BR passwd (5)