password-presets 1.0.3

Cryptographically secure, preset-based password generation. Zero config. Zero dependencies.

password-presets

Cryptographically secure, preset-based password generation.
Zero config. Zero dependencies.

npm install password-presets
pip install password-presets

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The idea

Every other password library makes you configure your way to correctness — specify uppercase: true, symbols: true, length: 16. You have to know what you're doing to use them right.

password-presets flips this. You pick a use case, and get a provably strong password. No options required.

generate("human")       // a password a person types
generate("machine")     // a password a machine stores
generate("token")       // an API key or env var
generate("passphrase")  // a password a person remembers
generate("pin")         // a numeric PIN

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Presets

Preset	Type	Length / Words	Entropy	Use case
human	char	14 chars	~85 bits	User accounts, wifi — anything typed by hand
machine	char	22 chars	~144 bits	DB passwords, service creds — never typed
token	char (url-safe)	22 chars	132 bits	API keys, bearer tokens, env vars
pin	numeric	19 digits	~63 bits	PINs, numeric codes — only where numeric is required
passphrase	EFF wordlist	7 words	~90 bits	Master passwords, recovery keys — must be remembered

Entropy minimums are tiered by use case:

• pin ≥ 60 bits
• human, passphrase ≥ 80 bits
• machine, token ≥ 128 bits

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JavaScript

Install

npm install password-presets

From a checkout of this repo, the npm package lives under js/:

npm install ./js

Run tests:

cd js && npm test

API

import { generate, inspect, presets } from "password-presets";

// Generate — always returns an array
generate("human")                     // ["kR7m!vZ3Kp2xQwLn"]
generate("human", { count: 3 })       // ["...", "...", "..."]
generate("passphrase")                // ["correct-horse-battery-staple-pivot-ankle-clay"]
generate("passphrase", { words: 10 }) // 10-word passphrase

// Inspect — understand a preset before using it
inspect("human")
// {
//   preset: "human",
//   type: "char",
//   description: "For passwords a person types...",
//   whenToUse: "User account passwords...",
//   length: 14,
//   charsetSize: 67,
//   entropy_bits: 84.92,
//   strength: "strong",
//   minEntropyBits: 80,
//   example: "kR7m!vZ3Kp2xQw"
// }

// List all presets
presets() // ["human", "machine", "token", "pin", "passphrase"]

CLI

npx password-presets                        # human preset, 1 password
npx password-presets token --count 3       # 3 API tokens
npx password-presets passphrase --words 8  # 8-word passphrase
npx password-presets human --inspect       # show preset metadata
npx password-presets --list                # list all presets
npx password-presets --json                # raw JSON output

Requirements

• Node ≥ 18
• ESM ("type": "module" or .mjs)
• Full TypeScript types included

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Python

Install

pip install password-presets

From a checkout of this repo, install the Python package from the py directory:

pip install ./py

Run tests from py (requires Python ≥ 3.11 and pytest):

cd py && pytest

API

from password_presets import generate, inspect, presets

# Generate — always returns a list
generate("human")                     # ["kR7m!vZ3Kp2xQwLn"]
generate("human", count=3)            # ["...", "...", "..."]
generate("passphrase")                # ["correct-horse-battery-staple-pivot-ankle-clay"]
generate("passphrase", words=10)      # 10-word passphrase

# Inspect — understand a preset before using it
inspect("human")
# {
#   "preset": "human",
#   "type": "char",
#   "description": "For passwords a person types...",
#   "when_to_use": "User account passwords...",
#   "length": 14,
#   "charset_size": 67,
#   "entropy_bits": 84.92,
#   "strength": "strong",
#   "min_entropy_bits": 80,
#   "example": "kR7m!vZ3Kp2xQw"
# }

# List all presets
presets()  # ["human", "machine", "token", "pin", "passphrase"]

CLI

password-presets                        # human preset, 1 password
password-presets token --count 3       # 3 API tokens
password-presets passphrase --words 8  # 8-word passphrase
password-presets human --inspect       # show preset metadata
password-presets --list                # list all presets
password-presets --json                # raw JSON output

# or via module
python -m password_presets passphrase

Requirements

• Python ≥ 3.11
• Zero dependencies (uses built-in secrets module)
• Full type hints included

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Security

• Zero modulo bias — JavaScript uses rejection sampling via crypto.randomBytes; Python uses secrets.randbelow
• Pool guarantee — character-based presets always include at least one character from each character class
• Entropy gate — every preset is validated against a tiered minimum at definition time
• EFF wordlist — passphrase preset uses the EFF large wordlist (7776 words, ~12.9 bits/word)

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Which preset should I use?

Does a human need to type it?
  Yes → Does it need to be remembered long-term?
          Yes → passphrase
          No  → human
  No  → Is it an API key, token, or env var?
          Yes → token
          No  → machine

Is numeric-only required?
  Yes → pin

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Cross-language parity

The JS and Python packages are intentionally identical in behavior:

• Same preset names and definitions
• Same default lengths and word counts
• Same entropy minimums
• Same API shape (generate, inspect, presets)
• Same EFF wordlist

The only intentional difference: Python uses snake_case for keyword arguments and dict keys (when_to_use, charset_size, min_entropy_bits); JavaScript uses camelCase (whenToUse, charsetSize, minEntropyBits).

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License

MIT — wordlist licensed CC BY 3.0 by EFF