Generator

The Generator creates strong, unique passwords on demand — in item editors, from the browser extension, and on its own settings page where you tune the defaults. A separate Username Generator tool (see below) creates usernames. Passwords are generated on your device using your browser's cryptographic random source, so a fresh secret never has to travel across the network to reach you.

Password generator#

Options#

Every generated password is controlled by a small set of options. The defaults are chosen to be strong out of the box:

Option	Default	What it does
Length	16	Total number of characters. Longer is stronger — the single biggest factor.
Uppercase A–Z	On	Include capital letters.
Lowercase a–z	On	Include lowercase letters.
Numbers 0–9	On	Include digits.
Symbols	On	Include punctuation such as ! @ # $ % ^ & * and more.
Avoid ambiguous	Off	Removes visually confusable characters (i l 1 L o 0 O I) so passwords are easier to read and type.

How it's generated#

PulsVault doesn't just call a random function and hope. Each password is built to be both unbiased and valid:

1. Randomness comes from crypto.getRandomValues with rejection sampling, which eliminates the modulo bias that naive random % n code introduces — every character is equally likely.
2. If you enabled a character set, the result is guaranteed to contain at least one character from it, so a password can never come back missing a required class.
3. The characters are then shuffled with a cryptographic Fisher–Yates shuffle, so the guaranteed characters aren't stuck in predictable positions.

Strength meter#

As you adjust the options, a strength meter rates the result Weak, Average, or Strong. The score rewards length and character variety:

Signal	Points
Length ≥ 12	+1
Length ≥ 20	+1
Each of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols enabled	+1 each

Two points or fewer reads as Weak, three to four as Average, and five or more as Strong. It's a quick sanity check, not a guarantee — a long passphrase you'll actually remember can be excellent even if the meter is conservative.

Username generator#

Alongside passwords, PulsVault can generate usernames to help you avoid reusing the same handle everywhere. This is a separate tool — Username Generator in the Tools section of the sidebar — not part of the password settings page. It has two modes:

• Memorable combines an adjective and a noun (for example SwiftFalcon), optionally seeded with a word of your own and decorated with a separator, numbers, or a symbol.
• Random produces an opaque string of the length you choose from letters, and optionally numbers and symbols.

Your defaults, synced#

Open App settings → Generator Settings (Password Generator Settings) to set the options you want as your defaults. The page has a live preview with Copy, a strength meter, a Password Length slider and one switch each for Uppercase, Lowercase, Numbers, Symbols and Avoid Ambiguous Characters. Select Save Preferences and:

1. Your preferences are stored to your PulsVault account so they follow you to every device and to the browser extension.
2. A local copy is cached in your browser, so the generator opens instantly with your settings even before the network responds.

Changing the settings here updates the defaults used everywhere the generator appears — it doesn't alter any password you've already saved.

Rules that set a floor#

Two things can put a floor under the generator, and the page treats them the same way:

• An organization's password policy — Team Business Enterprise. An administrator enforces it for every member.
• Your family's password rules — Family. The organizer sets them; see Family password rules.

When one is active:

• The length slider's range follows the rule, and a label beside it reads "Set by source (min–max)" — naming where the rule came from, such as your organization or your family.
• Required character types are switched on, marked Required, and locked, so every generated password stays compliant.
• If you may not change the settings at all (for example while an organization's plan is read-only), a notice at the top says so, and passwords you generate still follow the settings shown.

In an organization, where you are allowed to propose a change, a Request policy change button appears beside Save Preferences. It opens a task targeting the password-generator app config that an administrator with the right permission can review and apply in one click. See Password & authentication policies for how these policies are defined.

Troubleshooting#

Symptom	Cause & fix
Some toggles are greyed out	An organization policy or your family's rules require those character classes. Ask an admin or the family organizer, or use Request policy change where it is offered.
The length won't go lower	Your organization or family enforces a minimum length.
Generator opens with old settings	Select Save Preferences again to refresh the synced copy; the cache updates on every save.
Password is missing symbols I expected	Check that Symbols is enabled and, if Avoid ambiguous is on, that the excluded characters aren't the ones you were looking for.

Related#

• Password history — find and restore a password you previously generated
• Password & authentication policies — how admins set organization requirements
• Zero-knowledge in 2 minutes — why on-device generation matters