34 releases (18 breaking)

Uses new Rust 2024

0.19.4 Nov 14, 2025
0.19.2 Oct 27, 2025
0.18.2 Apr 16, 2025
0.18.1 Feb 21, 2025
0.2.0 Sep 9, 2019

#815 in Command line utilities

MIT license

130KB
1K SLoC

About

xkcd-style password generator

xkcd #936: Password Strength

Usage

$ xpg -h
xpg 0.19.4 <https://crates.io/crates/xpg>

xkcd-style password generator

Usage: xpg [OPTIONS] [PATTERNS]...

Arguments:
  [PATTERNS]...  Pattern(s) (see note 1) [default: `wwww`, `-L`: `{a}`]

Options:
  -s, --shuffle             Shuffle characters
  -c, --count <NUMBER>      Number of passwords (0:∞ ) [default: 1]
  -l, --length <NUMBER>     Length
  -m, --minimum <NUMBER>    Minimum length
  -M, --maximum <NUMBER>    Maximum length
  -a, --attempts <NUMBER>   Attempts (see note 2) [default: 10]
  -C, --config <PATH>       Configuration file
  -e, --extended            Merge extended words (see note 3)
  -A, --apply-case <STYLE>  Apply case style [possible values: upper, lower,
                            title, toggle, camel, pascal, upper-camel, snake,
                            constant, upper-snake, screaming-snake, kebab,
                            cobol, upper-kebab, train, flat, upper-flat,
                            alternating, random, pseudo-random, sentence]
  -L, --list                List words in `{sub}`(s)
  -d, --dump-config         Print configuration
  -r, --readme              Print readme
  -h, --help                Print help
  -V, --version             Print version

---

Notes

1. Patterns
    * Words
        * `W`: WORD
        * `w`: word
        * `T`: Word
        * `k`: `shuffle(cccc(c|d)(C|c))`
        * `{sub}`: see `WordKind`s section in readme
    * Characters
        * `C`: A-Z
        * `c`: a-z
        * `d`: 0-9
        * `s`: `~!@#$%^&*-_=+;:,./?()[]{}<>`
        * `a`: `C` | `c` | `d` | `s`
    * Special
        * `keychain`
        * `codename`
        * `codename-series`
        * `haiku--` | `haiku-condensed`
        * `haiku-` | `haiku-with-syllables-condensed`
        * `haiku`
        * `haiku+` | `haiku-with-syllables`
        * `haiku++` | `haiku-full`
        * `haiku+++` | `haiku-full-with-syllables`

2. Ten attempts are made to satisfy the given length requirements by default;
   use `-a N` and set `N` to the number of attempts to increase chances.
   It will exit with an error if unable to satisfy requirements; some
   configurations will always produce an error.

3. Extended words are only available in exclusively extended word kinds by
   default; however, with `-e`, they are merged with regular word kinds; use
   with the `-L` option to see its effect.
$ xpg -V
xpg 0.19.4

See also the Configuration section below.

Examples

$ xpg
weightsuggestedseenmatter

Generate 10 passwords

$ xpg -c 10
nailreachleftshoes
restweekplacenation
valueaugustminutesmusic
osloaustriatradethem
spreadarrivedwerewire
indicateeightbridgewoman
alabamachoosetemperaturesell
easybrotherallowhundred
companyvaluewrongiron
eachbeyondsellfiji

Generate passwords forever

or until Ctrl+C / SIGINT

$ xpg -c 0
mustpressheremillion
toolstoldeachalong
languageneighborenterheart
spreadhurrytwentyberlin
mexicovenushonorprobable
pointcrossfoodbottom
lakebelgiumespeciallysingle
quickwallwalknine
beartookbeatplant
pulledturnideabecause
^C

Generate a password with 8 words

$ xpg wwwwwwww
feelingsnowplainsthankexplainimportantalonegather

Generate 10 passwords with 8 words

$ xpg wwwwwwww -c 10
amsterdamfielddevelopedheightdaughterslowjunestation
sweetseasongreencenterbelldelawaretailflat
minutesproducemarchmovesentenceweightfiguretwelve
scenewriteoutsideincreasejoinedwhetherdenmarkfair
outsidethreeappearrollgreencurrentwaitsupply
powerthosemakeneptunewantnorthernindeedmorning
inchesdressshoutedadjectiveseemtrustscotlandpromise
tubepreparebeanfreshremembercontinuesoldiersball
noticefreetabletradequickwearouterdevice
milkjupiterfirmlifefurtherlaughedpushfinger

Generate a password with 2 words followed by 3 digits

$ xpg wwddd
tieddevice325

Generate a password with 2 words followed by 2 symbols

$ xpg wwss
mistercattle@_

Generate a password with 2 words followed by a digit and a symbol

$ xpg wwds
promiseever8^

Generate a password with 4 words followed by 2 lowercase letters

$ xpg wwwwcc
kindhersviewqueengz

Generate a password with 4 words followed by 2 uppercase letters

$ xpg wwwwCC
thinkafraidfortiethsaveSV

Generate a password with 4 title case words

$ xpg TTTT
ReceiveFrontLeastTaste

Generate a password with 4 uppercase words

$ xpg WWWW
SEVERALNERVESAFETYWARSAW

Generate a password with 4 words followed by 5 any characters

An "any" character can be a lowercase letter, uppercase letter, digit, or symbol.

$ xpg wwwwaaaaa
receiveironstarkorea=o*qX

Generate a password with 3 words and at least 15 characters

$ xpg www -m 15
thrownexcitingstudent

Generate a password with 3 words and no more than 20 characters

$ xpg www -M 20
meetdoctorstop

Generate a password with 4 words and between 20 and 25 characters

$ xpg www -m 20 -M 25 -a 1000
fellowinterestacross

See also Usage note 2.

Generate a password with 2 words, 3 digits, 1 symbol, and exactly 16 characters

$ xpg wwddds -l 16 -a 1000
friendsdream436_

See also Usage note 2.

Generate a password with a 1, 2 title case words, and !

$ xpg '1TT!'
1ParkUsually!

Generate a password with 1 symbol, 2 adjectives, 1 noun, and 2 digits

$ xpg 's{adj}{adj}{n}dd'
]outsidethroughedge44

Generate a password with 2 words and 1 extended word

$ xpg 'ww{ext}'
rightviewdionysus

Generate a password with 2 words and 1 title case extended word

$ xpg 'ww{T:ext}'
shoutnationAmalthea

Generate a password with 2 words and 1 uppercase extended word

$ xpg 'ww{W:ext}'
whoserideAPOLLO

Generate 10 passwords with 4 title case words and extended words merged

$ xpg -ec 10 TTTT
EvenCareWesternMiss
TaygeteFridayNorthdakotaForget
DearBillDemandFamily
StoodMinnesotaStrengthSurface
EastTillSuchNewyork
LegsEuporieGateScale
ValetudoBodyWonderLittle
SpringRiseFingersSpoke
TurnFeelShallHalt
KoreaJordanMoneyLaughed

Generate a keychain-style password

$ xpg keychain
bhNybr-sljzqq-v0uhrs

Generate a code name

$ xpg codename
LESS PARTIAL

Generate a code name series

$ xpg codename-series
BACKMONTHS GENTLEFACE
BACKMONTHS LIVEMOTHER
BACKMONTHS TIEDIDEA
BACKMONTHS AFRAIDCORN
BACKMONTHS WORTHNOTICE
BACKMONTHS THREECLOTHES
BACKMONTHS THROWNCORNER
BACKMONTHS HALFSCIENTISTS
BACKMONTHS THERESPACE
BACKMONTHS WORNPROBLEM

Generate a code name series with 20 code names

$ xpg codename-series -c 20
DIFFERENTEUROPE AGREEDSECTION
DIFFERENTEUROPE BROKECOLLEGE
DIFFERENTEUROPE BROADWAVE
DIFFERENTEUROPE WHICHCOPY
DIFFERENTEUROPE USUALVALUE
DIFFERENTEUROPE SOUTHWORLD
DIFFERENTEUROPE RAISEDDREAM
DIFFERENTEUROPE HOWEVERNEEDLE
DIFFERENTEUROPE CONSONANTMINUTES
DIFFERENTEUROPE EASYPOWER
DIFFERENTEUROPE IRONTRUCK
DIFFERENTEUROPE FULLLEADER
DIFFERENTEUROPE ADVANCEFLOW
DIFFERENTEUROPE FUTURESQUARE
DIFFERENTEUROPE ANIMALREASON
DIFFERENTEUROPE NICESCENE
DIFFERENTEUROPE ABLEDRAW
DIFFERENTEUROPE FAMOUSSTATION
DIFFERENTEUROPE BACKCENTS
DIFFERENTEUROPE RICHFRIDAY

Generate a haiku

$ xpg haiku
Considerable / Copenhagen England cows / Resent triangle

Generate a haiku with syllable pattern

$ xpg haiku+
Sorry brother rose (2,2,1) / November feet white Silver (3,1,1,2) / Capital people (3,2)

Generate a condensed haiku with syllable pattern

$ xpg haiku-
Especially-health(4,1)/Addition-this-lower-stay(3,1,2,1)/Considerable(5)

Generate a condensed haiku

$ xpg haiku--
Factories-paper/Farmers-possible-correct/Jordan-Australia

Generate a haiku with newlines

$ xpg haiku++
Course necessary
Broken Ireland seem class
Will clock spend symbols

Generate a haiku with syllable pattern and newlines

$ xpg haiku+++
Necessary great (4,1)
Keep anything very fine (1,3,2,1)
Winter soldier cloth (2,2,1)

Generate a haiku with extended words

$ xpg -e haiku
Entire will right / Saturn enemy mail Lead / Africa prepare

Generate a password with 20 any characters

$ xpg aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
6=pf}2#[;>)Dk44W3zZs

Same as the previous example, but shorter

This works because a character-only pattern is padded to the minimum length with the last character.

$ xpg a -m 20
&FoI*<*iib{!cIH::zyW

Generate a password with 5 lowercase, 1 uppercase, 1 digit, and 1 symbol

$ xpg cccccCds
weiqwO3$

Generate a password with 5 lowercase, 1 uppercase, 1 digit, and 1 symbol and shuffle the characters

$ xpg -s cccccCds
znPjx[6f

Same as the previous example, but shorter

This works because a character-only pattern is padded to the minimum length with the last character.

$ xpg -sm 8 Cdsc
)6iyQgua

Generate 3 passwords each from a different pattern

$ xpg wwww WWWW TTTT
plainsometimesthousandtree
GENERALJAPANESERECORDWHOLE
ThereWorkFinallyFive

Apply upper casing

$ xpg -A upper 'T T T T'
KITCHEN PAGE PART FARMERS

Apply lower casing

$ xpg -A lower 'T T T T'
effect bottom hall expect

Apply title casing

$ xpg -A title 'T T T T'
Kiss School Part Upon

Apply toggle casing

$ xpg -A toggle 'T T T T'
tRUCK sTEEL mOLECULES bRIGHT

Apply camel casing

$ xpg -A camel 'T T T T'
numberScotlandGoneControl

Apply pascal casing

$ xpg -A pascal 'T T T T'
RolledCharacterOfficeAround

Apply upper-camel casing

$ xpg -A upper-camel 'T T T T'
SoldierWhileAheadPractice

Apply snake casing

$ xpg -A snake 'T T T T'
stretched_destroy_answer_expect

Apply upper-snake casing

$ xpg -A upper-snake 'T T T T'
HEART_EXACTLY_TALK_VARIOUS

Apply screaming-snake casing

$ xpg -A screaming-snake 'T T T T'
SIZE_SIDE_MATERIAL_MOTHER

Apply kebab casing

$ xpg -A kebab 'T T T T'
proud-outer-every-especially

Apply cobol casing

$ xpg -A cobol 'T T T T'
SHOP-ALABAMA-GUARD-FACTORS

Apply upper-kebab casing

$ xpg -A upper-kebab 'T T T T'
COLOR-RESENT-STORM-DISH

Apply train casing

$ xpg -A train 'T T T T'
Learn-Beauty-Usual-Possible

Apply flat casing

$ xpg -A flat 'T T T T'
decimalagreedstudentsless

Apply upper-flat casing

$ xpg -A upper-flat 'T T T T'
STRAIGHTVARIOUSTRIEDSILVER

Apply alternating casing

$ xpg -A alternating 'T T T T'
nExT oCtObEr QuEeN hUsBaNd

Apply random casing

$ xpg -A random 'T T T T'
aWaY heavy BreAK mIgHT

Apply pseudo-random casing

$ xpg -A pseudo-random 'T T T T'
FinGeRS moUNtaIn BeYOnD mOlEcuLeS

Generate a password with words with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 syllables

$ xpg '{a:1}-{W:a:2}-{T:a:3}-{olympian:4}-{T:ext:5}'
earth-BODY-Molecules-aphrodite-Northcarolina

List the words in Color / {color}

$ xpg -L '{color}'
black
blue
brown
gray
green
white
yellow

List the words in Color / {color} in uppercase

$ xpg -L '{W:color}'
BLACK
BLUE
BROWN
GRAY
GREEN
WHITE
YELLOW

List the words in Color / {color} in title case

$ xpg -L '{T:color}'
Black
Blue
Brown
Gray
Green
White
Yellow

Count the words in Color / {color}

$ xpg -L '{color}' |wc -l
7

List the words in Color / {color} and Element / {W:el}

$ xpg -L '{color}' '{W:el}'
black
blue
brown
gray
green
white
yellow
GOLD
IRON
LEAD
MERCURY
OXYGEN
SILVER

Count words

$ xpg -L |wc -l
1257

Count words with extended

$ xpg -Le |wc -l
1403

Configuration

See config.json or use -d for the default configuration compiled into the binary executable.

If another file is placed at any of the following locations or the path provided via the -C option at runtime, it will be used instead.

  • Linux: /home/username/.config/xpg/config.json
  • Windows: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\qtfkwk\xpg\config\config.json
  • macOS: /Users/username/Library/Application Support/com.qtfkwk.xpg/config.json

WordKinds

  • AllExtended / {a.ext}
    • All / {a}
      • Adjective / {adj}
        • Color* / {color}
        • Nationality / {nat}
      • Adverb / {adv}
      • Conjunction / {conj}
      • Interjection / {i}
      • Noun / {n}
        • PluralNoun / {n.pl}
        • Pronoun / {n.pro}
        • SingularNoun / {n.s}
          • Astronomy / {ast}
            • Moon / {moon}
            • Planet / {planet}
          • Color* / {color}
          • Day / {day}
          • Month / {mon}
          • ProperNoun / {n.prop}
            • Element / {el}
            • Name / {name}
              • FemaleName / {fname}
              • MaleName / {mname}
            • Place / {place}
              • City / {city}
              • Continent / {cont}
              • Country / {country}
              • UsState / {us-state}
            • Mythology / {myth}
              • GreekMyth / {greekmyth}
                • Olympian / {olympian}
                • Chthonic / {chthonic}
              • RomanMyth / {romanmyth}
      • Preposition / {prep}
      • Verb / {v}
        • AuxiliaryVerb / {v.aux}
        • IntransitiveVerb / {v.int}
        • TransitiveVerb / {v.tr}
        • VerbPast / {v.past}
    • Extended / {ext}
      • Noun / {n}
        • SingularNoun / {n.s}
          • Astronomy / {ast}
            • Moon / {moon}
              • MarsMoon / {marsmoon}
              • JupiterMoon / {jupitermoon}
              • SaturnMoon / {saturnmoon}
              • UranusMoon / {uranusmoon}
              • NeptuneMoon / {neptunemoon}

Notes

  1. WordKind / {sub}

  2. It is only necessary to set the most descriptive WordKind(s) since they are automatically included in the larger word kinds.

  3. The characters object value must contain the C, c, and d keys with non-empty values. Additional keys/values can be added and used.

  4. {sub}s produce lowercase words by default, but if prefixed with W: or T: words will be uppercase or title case, respectively: i.e. {W:sub} or {T:sub} (replace sub with an actual {sub} name above).

  5. {sub}s include all words by default, but if suffixed with :N where N is a number, it will only include words with that number of syllables: i.e. {sub:N} (replace sub with an actual {sub} name above and N with the desired number of syllables ~1-5).

Changelog

Please find the CHANGELOG.md in the repository.

References

Dependencies

~4–16MB
~192K SLoC