Generate random password in Linux terminal

This just a log for me (& may be others) to remind me how to generate random passwords on Linux terminal. pwgen is a useful command which can generate both pronounceable and secure passwords. There are a few other creative ways to generate random text/password on linux terminal, but pwgen is specially designed for the task and is the most handy.

The usage is quite simple:

pwgen [ OPTIONS ] [ pw_length ] [ num_pw ]

By default, pwgen generates pronounceable passwords. For secure password use -s option. The pwgen man page describes more options. Some example are listed below.

Generate 6 random (pronounceable) passwords of length 20:

$ pwgen 20 6
fei7hohS9co6ahkua2ei chaiFoo2eaLedei9Oosi Ainuu5eehie5ae1eecae
co6quahbaiPahSh1good fah6Daer7geepae0teef queeLahl9us7sushawie

Generate 6 random (secure) passwords of length 20.

$ pwgen -s 20 6
PTbQ8Nc8gIJ5sHrKM0gS pMI8R8KK0MrnCd4UCEhe 25KcqpYiQTOFYf7PHwoN
ztClxu7CQiOOVPgNJFHa yKnc1obXyXLvmPmLAVWA L1fMNHRRHiC2MNWS6j2Z

Generate 6 random passwords of length 20 with special characters.

$ pwgen -y 20 6
EN5eb2eyuz2ohNgir}ei yah>l9ainohWah8afaiJ Jue-dah3quoo8wee9foh
ul)eoWie3Ees;aeh(ees pheehie+Zanahw~eiP5g dath5oozaht0fei&F4Xi

Generate 6 random (secure) passwords of length 20 with special characters.

$ pwgen -s -y 20 6
JSt]pL1UV)`u>Rz%;]Ei yx-sWF#pm_ci?(w|D0pd [#W%%E%oP7vQ~U%?#L<9
:~Y:Z?LH''aHH&A$zJ4w zZ5vZH+ABm!k;S_b^#cb c"zpT6l1HI_"ENSuNAkw

Lastly, here is the pwgen help text:

$ pwgen --help
Usage: pwgen [ OPTIONS ] [ pw_length ] [ num_pw ]

Options supported by pwgen:
  -c or --capitalize
        Include at least one capital letter in the password
  -A or --no-capitalize
        Don't include capital letters in the password
  -n or --numerals
        Include at least one number in the password
  -0 or --no-numerals
        Don't include numbers in the password
  -y or --symbols
        Include at least one special symbol in the password
  -s or --secure
        Generate completely random passwords
  -B or --ambiguous
        Don't include ambiguous characters in the password
  -h or --help
        Print a help message
  -H or --sha1=path/to/file[#seed]
        Use sha1 hash of given file as a (not so) random generator
  -C
        Print the generated passwords in columns
  -1
        Don't print the generated passwords in columns
  -v or --no-vowels
        Do not use any vowels so as to avoid accidental nasty words