mkpasswd - generate new password, optionally apply it to a user
Contents
Example
The following example creates a 15-character password that contains at least 3 digits and 5 uppercase
characters.
mkpasswd -l 15 -d 3 -C 5
Flags
The -l flag defines the length of the password. The default is 9. The following example creates a 20
character password.
mkpasswd -l 20
The -d flag defines the minimum number of digits that must be in the password. The default is 2. The
following example creates a password with at least 3 digits.
mkpasswd -d 3
The -c flag defines the minimum number of lowercase alphabetic characters that must be in the password.
The default is 2.
The -C flag defines the minimum number of uppercase alphabetic characters that must be in the password.
The default is 2.
The -s flag defines the minimum number of special characters that must be in the password. The default
is 1.
The -p flag names a program to set the password. By default, /etc/yppasswd is used if present, otherwise
/bin/passwd is used.
The -2 flag causes characters to be chosen so that they alternate between right and left hands (qwerty-
style), making it harder for anyone watching passwords being entered. This can also make it easier for a
password-guessing program.
The -v flag causes the password-setting interaction to be visible. By default, it is suppressed.
Introduction
mkpasswd generates passwords and can apply them automatically to users. mkpasswd is based on the code
from Chapter 23 of the O'Reilly book "Exploring Expect".
Name
mkpasswd - generate new password, optionally apply it to a user
See Also
"ExploringExpect:ATcl-BasedToolkitforAutomatingInteractivePrograms" by Don Libes, O'Reilly and
Associates, January 1995.
Synopsis
mkpasswd [ args ] [ user ]
Usage
With no arguments, mkpasswd returns a new password.
mkpasswd
With a user name, mkpasswd assigns a new password to the user.
mkpasswd don
The passwords are randomly generated according to the flags below.
