How to Generate a Random Password using JavaScript?

Last Updated : 02 Jan, 2025

Creating a random password generator is an excellent beginner-friendly project that can be useful in real-world applications. Passwords are vital for securing accounts, and strong, randomized passwords enhance security significantly.

How to Generate a Random Password using JavaScript

What We're Going to Create

We will create a Password Generator application that lets users:

Define the password length.
Include or exclude uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
Generate a random password based on the selected criteria.
Reset the input fields to default values.

Generate Random Password - HTML Structure

This code represents the structure of a simple password generator application. It includes input fields for customizing the password's length and character composition, along with buttons to generate or reset the password display.

HTML

<html>
<head></head>
<body>
    <div class="container">
        <h1>Password Generator</h1>
        <label>
            Password Length:
            <input id="len" min="6" type="number" value="12" />
        </label>
        <br />
        <label>
            <input id="upper" type="checkbox" checked /> Include Uppercase
        </label>
        <br />
        <label>
            <input id="nums" type="checkbox" checked /> Include Numbers
        </label>
        <br />
        <label>
            <input id="special" type="checkbox" checked /> Include Special Characters
        </label>
        <br />
        <button class="btn" onclick="generate()">Generate Password</button>
        <button class="btn" onclick="reset()">Reset</button>
        <div class="output" id="passOut">Your password will appear here</div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

In this example

The <div> with class container organizes the UI components.
<input> elements capture user preferences for password length and character types.
Buttons trigger the password generation and reset functions.
The <div> with id="passOut" displays the generated password.

Generate Random Password - CSS Styles

This CSS styles a simple password generator interface. It sets a vibrant gradient background for the page, centers the content using flexbox, and applies a transparent, modern look to the container with a subtle shadow.

CSS

body {
    font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
    background: linear-gradient(135deg, #6a11cb, #2575fc);
    color: #fff;
    display: flex;
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
    height: 100vh;
    margin: 0;
}

.container {
    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.1);
    padding: 20px;
    border-radius: 10px;
    box-shadow: 0 4px 15px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
    text-align: center;
    width: 300px;
}

.container h1 {
    margin-bottom: 20px;
}

.container input[type="number"] {
    width: 50px;
    margin-bottom: 20px;
}

.container input[type="checkbox"] {
    margin-right: 10px;
}

.output {
    margin: 20px 0;
    font-size: 1.2em;
    background: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2);
    padding: 10px;
    border-radius: 5px;
    word-wrap: break-word;
}

.btn {
    background-color: #6a11cb;
    border: none;
    color: white;
    padding: 10px 20px;
    border-radius: 5px;
    cursor: pointer;
    transition: 0.3s;
    margin: 5px;
}

.btn:hover {
    background-color: #2575fc;
}

In this example

The body tag styles the page with a gradient background and centers the content.
The .container styles the password generator box with padding, shadow, and rounded corners.
.output styles the password display area for clarity and emphasis.
.btn defines the appearance and hover effect for buttons.

Generate Random Password - JavaScript Logic

This JavaScript code defines functions to generate a random password based on user preferences, such as length and character types (uppercase, numbers, special characters).

JavaScript

function genPass(len, upper, nums, special) {
    const lower = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz";
    const upperChars = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ";
    const numChars = "0123456789";
    const specialChars = "!@#$%^&*()-_=+[]{}|;:,.<>?";
    let chars = lower;

    if (upper) chars += upperChars;
    if (nums) chars += numChars;
    if (special) chars += specialChars;

    let pass = "";
    for (let i = 0; i < len; i++) {
        const randIdx = Math.floor(Math.random() * chars.length);
        pass += chars[randIdx];
    }

    return pass;
}

function generate() {
    const len = parseInt(document.getElementById("len").value);
    const upper = document.getElementById("upper").checked;
    const nums = document.getElementById("nums").checked;
    const special = document.getElementById("special").checked;

    const pass = genPass(len, upper, nums, special);
    document.getElementById("passOut").textContent = pass;
}

function reset() {
    document.getElementById("len").value = 12;
    document.getElementById("upper").checked = true;
    document.getElementById("nums").checked = true;
    document.getElementById("special").checked = true;
    document.getElementById("passOut").textContent = "Your password will appear here";
}

In this example

genPass generates a random password based on the selected length and character types.
generate fetches user input, generates a password, and updates the display.
reset restores default values and clears the password display.