Pwgen Command: Random Password Generator for Linux

In this tutorial, we’ll look at the pwgen command—a simple yet powerful tool for generating strong, random passwords in Linux.

In This Tutorial:

Install Pwgen
Generate Random Passwords
Command Options
Make Passwords More Secure and Strong

Install Pwgen

Pwgen command isn’t installed by default. On Ubuntu or Debian-based systems, you can install it with:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install pwgen

For Fedora, CentOS, or Red Hat-based systems, use the following command to install pwgen:

sudo dnf install pwgen

Generate Random Passwords

After installing pwgen, you can start generating passwords right away. Just type: pwgen:

pwgen

The command will generate a list of secure, easy-to-remember 8-character passwords.

random password generator for Linux — Random Password Generator

If you need longer passwords, just specify the length as an argument. For example following command will generate a list of 16-character passwords:

pwgen 16

To limit the number of passwords generated, add the desired number as the second argument. For example, the following command will generate one 32 character password:

pwgen 32 1

Command Options

You can use the following command options to make passwords stronger.

-s: Generate completely random not-easy to remember passwords
-c: Include at least one uppercase letter
-n: Include at least one number
-y: Include symbols

Examples: Make Passwords More Secure and Strong

Generate a list of completely random 8 character passwords:

pwgen 8 -s

Generate a 16 character password, with at least one capital letter and a number:

pwgen 16 1 -cn

Generate a 32 character password with capital letters, numbers and symbols:

pwgen 32 1 -cny

You can save the generated passwords to a file for later use. The following command generates ten 16-character passwords and saves them in a text file called password.txt:

pwgen 16 10 > password.txt

To view the all command option for pwgen command type pwgen -h.