- What is hackzilla/password-generator used for?
- It is a PHP library for generating random passwords with configurable length and character sets. It also supports specialized generators such as memorable word-based passphrases, PINs, and requirement-constrained passwords. It is framework-agnostic, so it can be used in plain PHP or wrapped inside a Laravel application.
- How do I install hackzilla/password-generator with Composer?
- Install it with composer require hackzilla/password-generator. The package uses PSR-4 autoloading and has no Laravel service provider or facade by default. Check the release line's composer.json PHP constraint before pinning a version in a Laravel project.
- Does hackzilla/password-generator work with Laravel?
- Yes, because it is a pure-PHP library with no framework coupling, it can be called directly from Laravel code. There is no native service provider, facade, or config file, so the recommended approach is to wrap it behind an application-specific interface or support class. Bind that wrapper in a service provider and keep the package as an implementation detail.
- Which Laravel and PHP versions support hackzilla/password-generator?
- Support depends on the exact release line you pin, not on Laravel itself. Verify the package's declared PHP constraint against your composer.lock, especially if you need PHP 8.2 or 8.3 for Laravel 11 or 12. Do not assume compatibility from the package name alone.
- Is hackzilla/password-generator cryptographically secure?
- Security depends on the version you install. Earlier release lines in this family of libraries have used mt_rand, which is not a CSPRNG, so verify that your pinned version sources randomness from random_int or Random\Randomizer. For real user accounts, only use a version whose randomness provenance you can confirm. Prefer a pluggable random source if you need to enforce that requirement.
- Should I use hackzilla/password-generator instead of Laravel Str::password()?
- Laravel 10 and later ship Str::password(), which is CSPRNG-backed and already available in the framework. Use that for ordinary random string generation unless you need the package's richer generator surface. The main justification for the dependency is human-readable passphrases, PINs, and requirement-constrained passwords, not basic random strings.
- How do I generate a memorable word-based password with hackzilla/password-generator?
- Use the human or dictionary-based generator rather than the character-set generator. Entropy depends on wordlist size, word count, and separator policy, so compute bits per password if you need to assert a security floor. Confirm that the shipped dictionary is locale-appropriate for your users.
- Can hackzilla/password-generator generate PINs or requirement-constrained passwords?
- Yes, its generator model includes specialized generators such as PIN generation and requirement-based generation. You can map these onto named profiles such as temporary-user passwords, invite tokens, or demo seed data. Keep profile definitions in application config rather than scattering generator calls through the codebase.
- How should I test password generation in Laravel?
- Do not assert exact generated strings, because they are random. Instead assert length, character-class coverage, uniqueness across a large sample, and collision counts per profile. Bind a PasswordGeneratorInterface in tests and fake it where the exact value is irrelevant. Seeders and factories should call the same wrapper used by production code.
- Is hackzilla/password-generator actively maintained and production ready?
- It is a stable but quiet project, not an actively evolving one, so treat maintenance as a real risk. The repository metadata may be unresolved, which makes CI status, CVE responsiveness, and release cadence hard to confirm from the package listing alone. Pin a version, monitor security advisories, and decide in advance who owns the fork-if-abandoned contingency.