GPWG - A Good Password Generator

Gpwg is a command line utility that generates strong, secure passwords that are accepted by all password inputs. It can be installed using pre-compiled binaries or with the Rust package manager, Cargo.

$ gpwg
> NMc@8ciaPyoH8WbSkU

$ gpwg --strong
> FV8QSMBR-amZhCNb-KLjKgBa-b2328cM

$ gpwg --entropy=256
> LKNTqNS3-4CBeAJy-9g2MxPv-WYMG9yP-t9wAZT8-X8amqaY-buE@uXR

$ gpwg --length=8
> A@q4PnLE

$ gpwg --copy
> Generated password sent to the clipboard. Clear & exit with Ctrl-C.
  ^C

Installation

Pre-compiled binaries

You can find pre-compiled binaries for Windows, Mac and Linux on the latest release

Compiling with Rust/Cargo

First, download and install rust. Then, use Cargo to install gpwg.

$ cargo install gpwg

What Makes GPWG Passwords Good ?

GPWG passwords have the following properties:

• Accepted by all password inputs
• 100bit of entropy by default (strong enough for most use cases)
• Compliant with NIST, Microsoft, IBM, ANSSI, CNIL guidelines
• Always include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters
• No confusing sequences of characters
• No dictionary words or common password patterns
• Maximum score on the zxcvbn password checker
• Always start with an uppercase letter to prevent mistyping on smartphones
• Special characters !@ are easy to type on most on-screen keyboards, do not interfere with text encoding, and are accepted by most password inputs with special character restrictions.

In case 100bit of entropy is not enough, the --strong option generates a longer password with 160 bits of entropy suitable for cryptography. If 160 bits are still not enough, the --entropy option allows you to specify an arbitrary entropy target.

By default, the password is printed to standard output. If you are in an environment where someone might be able to see your screen or terminal logs, the --copy option can be used to copy the password to the clipboard. The clipboard is automatically cleared when you exit gpwg with Ctrl-C.