Generating passwords

RandPass supports two password generation mechanisms, each suited to different needs. The Characters tab builds passwords by drawing from a configurable pool of individual characters. The Words tab assembles passphrases from randomly selected words — an approach that tends to produce results that are easier to remember without sacrificing strength.

The Number of passwords field and the Generate passwords button at the bottom of the window are shared between both tabs. Set the count before generating, then switch tabs to change the active mechanism.

A note on password strength: Length is the single most important factor in password strength. A longer password from a smaller character set is often stronger than a short one from a larger set. Four or more randomly chosen words typically provide strong protection while remaining practical to type and memorize.

Character-based passwords

The Characters tab constructs each password by randomly sampling from the enabled character groups. The options below control which characters are eligible and how the password is structured.

Password length

Set the total number of characters in each generated password.

Use lower letters

Include lowercase letters (abcdef…) in the character pool.

Use upper letters

Include uppercase letters (ABCDEF…) in the character pool.

Use digits

Include decimal digits (1234567890) in the character pool.

Double probability of digits

Weight the pool so that digits are drawn roughly twice as often as other characters (11223344…). Useful when a minimum digit count is required by a policy or website.

No similar characters

Exclude characters that are visually ambiguous and easy to confuse when reading or typing: 1, i, I, l, 0, o, O. Enable this option when a generated password may need to be transcribed manually.

Use custom characters

Extend the pool with additional characters entered in the accompanying field. These are added alongside whichever standard groups are enabled. Use this to include characters that none of the standard groups cover, or to define a fully custom set by enabling only this option.

Use custom format

Apply a structural pattern to each generated password instead of a purely random sequence. The pattern string is interpreted as follows:

• A decimal number draws that many characters from the generated pool, e.g. 4 places four random characters.
• * is a dynamic-length placeholder that draws all characters not already consumed by numeric placeholders. Multiple * placeholders split the remaining characters evenly, e.g. 2-*-*-2.
• Any other character passes through unchanged as a literal, allowing fixed separators or structural markers, e.g. {8-4-4-4-12} produces a GUID-like format.

The dropdown offers several predefined patterns to choose from.

Word-based passwords

The Words tab generates passphrases by combining randomly selected words, separated by a configurable delimiter. Word-based passphrases derive their strength from the number of possible word combinations rather than character complexity, making them well suited to situations where a password must also be memorized.

Number of words

Set how many words to include in each passphrase. Four words is a commonly recommended minimum for strong passphrases.

Word delimiter

Specify the character or string placed between words. Leave the field empty to join words without any separator.

Word list

Select the word list used for generation from the dropdown. Several lists are bundled with the application:

Word list	Words	Description
Diceware	7,776	Classic Diceware list.
Diceware Beale	7,776	Fewer Americanisms and obscure words than classic Diceware.
Diceware German	7,776	German-language Diceware list.
Diceware Russian	7,776	Russian-language Diceware list.
EFF	7,776	EFF long word list.
EFF Easy Long	1,296	EFF list of common, unambiguous English words (longer words).
EFF Easy Short	1,296	EFF list of common, unambiguous English words (shorter words).
Chinese Pinyin	7,776	Words from the Lexicon of Common Words in Contemporary Chinese, transliterated to the English alphabet using Pinyin (3–6 letters per word).
Chinese Wubi	7,776	Two-character words from the same lexicon, encoded using Wubi — each word is exactly 4 letters.

Larger word lists increase the total number of possible combinations for a given word count, which improves strength. EFF Easy Short and EFF Easy Long are good starting points — they use familiar English words chosen to minimize confusion between similar-sounding entries.

A custom word list file can be loaded using the folder button beside the dropdown. The file must be UTF-8 encoded with a .wordlist extension, one word per line. Lines beginning with ### are treated as comments and skipped.

Word case

Control how the capitalization of each selected word is adjusted. Available options: Original, Lower case, Upper case, Capitalize words, Random case per word.

Add random digit and symbol

Insert a randomly chosen digit and symbol into the passphrase. Enable this when a minimum complexity requirement must be satisfied alongside the word-based structure.