Easy Python Project: Create a Password Generator with Source Code

Introduction

Welcome to PythonSage! Today, we are diving into a mini Python project where we will create a password generator. This project is beginner-friendly and a great way to practice Python skills that we are learning in previous posts while learning some new concepts. By the end of this post, you will have a functional password generator that can create passwords of specified lengths and include numbers and special characters based on user preferences.

Why Create a Password Generator?

In today's digital world, strong passwords are important for protecting our online accounts. A password generator ensures that you create secure, random passwords, reducing the risk of your accounts being compromised. Plus, this project is an excellent way to practice Python programming and enhance your problem-solving skills.

Getting Started

Before we start coding, ensure you have Python installed on your system. You can download it with this PythonSage post about: How to Update Your System to Run Python. Once you have Python set up, you can use any code editor you prefer. In this post, we will use PyCharm and if you want to download and install the PyCharm you can do this with the PythonSage post about: How to Download and Install PyCharm.

Project Outline

Our password generator will:

1. Allow the user to specify the minimum length of the password.
2. Give the option to include numbers and special characters.
3. Generate a password based on the given criteria.

Password Generator

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Import Necessary Modules

We will use the random and string modules to help us generate random characters for our password.

import random

import string

2. Define the Password Generation Function

We will create a function that takes the minimum length, and options for including numbers and special characters as input.

def generate_password(min_length, numbers=True, special_characters=True):

    letters = string.ascii_letters

    digits = string.digits

    special = string.punctuation

   

    characters = letters

    if numbers:

        characters += digits

    if special_characters:

        characters += special

   

    pwd = ''

    meets_criteria = False

    has_number = False

    has_special = False

   

    while not meets_criteria or len(pwd) < min_length:

        new_char = random.choice(characters)

        pwd += new_char

       

        if new_char in digits:

            has_number = True

        if new_char in special:

            has_special = True

       

        meets_criteria = True

        if numbers and not has_number:

            meets_criteria = False

        if special_characters and not has_special:

            meets_criteria = False

   

    return pwd

3. User Input

We will prompt the user to input the minimum length of the password and whether they want to include numbers and special characters.

min_length = int(input("Enter the minimum length: "))

has_number = input("Do you want to include numbers? (y/n): ").lower() == 'y'

has_special = input("Do you want to include special characters? (y/n): ").lower() == 'y'

 

password = generate_password(min_length, has_number, has_special)

print(f"The generated password is: {password}")

4. Full Code

Here's the complete code for the password generator:

import random

import string

 

def generate_password(min_length, numbers=True, special_characters=True):

    letters = string.ascii_letters

    digits = string.digits

    special = string.punctuation

   

    characters = letters

    if numbers:

        characters += digits

    if special_characters:

        characters += special

   

    pwd = ''

    meets_criteria = False

    has_number = False

    has_special = False

   

    while not meets_criteria or len(pwd) < min_length:

        new_char = random.choice(characters)

        pwd += new_char

       

        if new_char in digits:

            has_number = True

        if new_char in special:

            has_special = True

       

        meets_criteria = True

        if numbers and not has_number:

            meets_criteria = False

        if special_characters and not has_special:

            meets_criteria = False

   

    return pwd

 

min_length = int(input("Enter the minimum length: "))

has_number = input("Do you want to include numbers? (y/n): ").lower() == 'y'

has_special = input("Do you want to include special characters? (y/n): ").lower() == 'y'

 

password = generate_password(min_length, has_number, has_special)

print(f"The generated password is: {password}")

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully created a password generator in Python. This project has helped you practice working with strings, user input, and random selections. Strong passwords are crucial for online security, and now you have a tool to generate them easily.

Python's random module - Link to the official documentation of the random module, which is often used in creating password generators.

Stay tuned to PythonSage for more exciting posts and projects.

Happy coding!