openssl

name	openssl
description	Generate secure random strings, passwords, and cryptographic tokens using OpenSSL. Use when creating passwords, API keys, secrets, or any secure random data.

OpenSSL Secure Generation

Generate cryptographically secure random data using openssl rand.

Password/Secret Generation

# 32 random bytes as base64 (43 chars, URL-safe with tr)
openssl rand -base64 32 | tr '+/' '-_' | tr -d '='

# 24 random bytes as hex (48 chars)
openssl rand -hex 24

# alphanumeric password (32 chars)
openssl rand -base64 48 | tr -dc 'a-zA-Z0-9' | head -c 32

Common Lengths

Use Case	Command
Password (strong)	openssl rand -base64 24
API key	openssl rand -hex 32
Session token	openssl rand -base64 48
Short PIN (8 digits)	`openssl rand -hex 4

Notes

• -base64 outputs ~1.33x the byte count in characters
• -hex outputs 2x the byte count in characters
• Pipe through tr -dc to filter character sets
• Always use at least 16 bytes (128 bits) for secrets