Code Generator

What this does

So you need a few short codes, for testing, placeholders, sample IDs, coupon style strings, that sort of thing, and you do not want to make them up by hand. This generates them for you. Pick the kind of code, set how long it should be and how many you want, press Generate, and copy the results.

How to use it

1. Choose a code type from the menu.
2. Set the length, and the quantity if you want more than one, up to 100 at a time.
3. Press Generate and copy the codes from the result.

One thing to note about the length: for the dashed XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX type, the length you set applies to each of the four blocks, so a length of 4 gives four blocks of four characters. For the other types, the length is the total number of characters.

How it works

The tool builds each code one character at a time, picking at random from a set of characters that depends on the type you chose. The dashed type and the number and easy options each draw from their own pool, and the strong option draws from the widest pool of letters, digits, and symbols. The random picks come from the browser's built in Math.random function, and the whole thing runs locally, with nothing sent anywhere.

The four code types

The XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX type produces four blocks separated by dashes, each made of uppercase letters and digits. It is the shape you see on licence keys and serial numbers, handy when you want something that looks like a product code.

The strong type mixes uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, and symbols into a single string, for the most varied, hardest to guess looking output. Please read the note below before using it as an actual password.

The easy type uses lowercase letters only. With no symbols, mixed case, or look alike characters to trip over, these are simple to read aloud, type, and remember, which suits things like a short reference a person has to repeat.

The number type is digits only, for when you need a plain numeric code, like a sample PIN or an order number for testing.

A word on passwords and security

This is the important part, so I will be straight about it. The strong option produces a complex looking string, but the randomness behind every type here comes from Math.random, which is a pseudo random generator. It is perfect for test data, placeholders, and throwaway codes, but it is not designed to be unpredictable in the way security needs, so its output should not be trusted to protect anything real.

In plain terms: do not use a code from here as the password on a real account. For a genuine password, use a password manager, which both generates and stores strong passwords with a secure generator, or generate it from the browser's cryptographic function, Crypto.getRandomValues, which is the one built for this purpose. Think of this tool as a quick way to fill a field during development, not as a way to secure an account.

Questions people ask

References

1. MDN Web Docs. Math.random(). https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Math/random
2. MDN Web Docs. Crypto: getRandomValues() method. https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Crypto/getRandomValues