Password Generator

A secure password generator in Python with support for alphanumeric passwords and memorable passphrases.

Features

• Alphanumeric passwords: Generate passwords with customizable length
• Passphrases: Create memorable phrases using random words
• Ambiguous character exclusion: Option to avoid confusing characters like 0, O, l, I
• Symbol inclusion: Add special characters for enhanced security
• Command-line interface: Easy to use with customizable arguments

Installation

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• requests library

pip install requests

Clone the repository

git clone git@github.com:Feldt/password-generator.git
cd password-generator

or

git clone https://github.com/feldt/password-generator.git
cd password-generator

Usage

Basic syntax

python password_gen.py [options]

Available arguments

Argument	Short form	Type	Default	Description
--length	-l	int	10	Password length
--passphrase	-p	flag	False	Generate passphrase instead of password
--include-symbols	-i	flag	False	Include special symbols
--no-ambiguous	-s	flag	False	Exclude ambiguous characters
--words	-w	int	5	Number of words in passphrase

Usage examples

Basic password (10 characters)

python password_gen.py
# Output: K7mN9qR2Ax

Long password with symbols

python password_gen.py --length 16 --include-symbols
# Output: 8K#mN9@qR2$xP5&w

Password without ambiguous characters

python password_gen.py --length 12 --no-ambiguous
# Output: 8KmN9qR2xP5w

Passphrase (5 words)

python password_gen.py --passphrase --words 5
# Output: mountain-whisper-digital-elephant-sunrise

Custom passphrase

python password_gen.py -p -w 3
# Output: ocean-keyboard-adventure

Code Architecture

Main functions

generate_random_string(length, include_symbols, no_ambiguous)

• Purpose: Generates random alphanumeric passwords
• Parameters:
  • length: Desired password length
  • include_symbols: Include special characters
  • no_ambiguous: Exclude ambiguous characters (0, O, l, I)
• Returns: String with generated password

generate_random_phrase(passphrase, words)

• Purpose: Generates passphrases using random words
• Word source: MIT wordlist (10,000 common words)
• Parameters:
  • passphrase: Boolean to activate phrase mode
  • words: Number of words to include
• Returns: String with hyphen-separated words

Execution flow

flowchart TD
    A[Start] --> B[Parse arguments]
    B --> C{Passphrase mode?}
    C -->|Yes| D[Download MIT wordlist]
    D --> E[Generate random phrase]
    E --> F[Display result]
    C -->|No| G[Configure character set]
    G --> H{Include symbols?}
    H -->|Yes| I[Add special symbols]
    H -->|No| J[Letters and numbers only]
    I --> K{Exclude ambiguous?}
    J --> K
    K -->|Yes| L[Filter ambiguous characters]
    K -->|No| M[Use all characters]
    L --> N[Generate random password]
    M --> N
    N --> F
    F --> O[End]

Loading

Implemented improvements

Ambiguous character handling

The script distinguishes between visually confusing characters:

• Excluded: 0 (zero), O (uppercase O), l (lowercase L), I (uppercase i)
• Included: Clearly distinguishable characters

External word source

• Uses MIT's wordlist with 10,000 common English words
• Real-time download to ensure variety
• Words connected with hyphens for improved readability

Future improvements

• Local cache: Save wordlist locally for offline use
• Multiple languages: Support for Spanish and other language wordlists
• Strength analysis: Calculate and display password entropy
• Save history: Option to save generated passwords to file
• Graphical interface: Create GUI with tkinter or similar
• Custom configuration: Configuration file for default values

Dependencies

• Python Standard Library:

  • random: Random number generation
  • string: Character constants
  • argparse: CLI argument parsing

• External libraries:

  • requests: Download wordlist from MIT

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/new-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -am 'Add new feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/new-feature)
5. Create a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.