Random PHP Password Generator

A project I was working on the other day needed an automatically generated password. I had an old script that spat out a really basic alphanumeric 6-character password, but I wanted something a bit stronger and more versatile. I thought I’d share. This code will give you a default of 8 characters, alphanumeric plus special characters, with flexibility for whatever length you want. The implementation is nothing fancy.

Code:

Random Password: <br />
<?php
$len = isset($_GET['len']) ? $_GET['len'] : 8;
$pw = '';
for($i=0; $i<$len; $i++) {
	$pw .= chr(rand(33, 126));
}
echo $pw;
?>

Output example:

W?7;q,%R

The characters it uses are pulled from the ASCII table (values 33 through 126, inclusive).

Just save that on your server and pull it up. Add a ?len=N query string in there were N is a number for the desired non-default length.

Caveat: All of that said, don’t forget that there are better choices than randomized passwords.

Thanks TravInSF for idiot-checking me