Mastering Python Scripting for System Administrators

Prompting for passwords during runtime and validation

In this section, we are going learn about the getpass module to handle passwords at runtime. The getpass() module in Python prompts the user to enter a password without echoing. The getpass module is used to handle the password prompt whenever programs interact with a user through the Terminal.

We are going to see some examples of how to use the getpass module:

1. Create a script called no_prompt.py and write the following code in it:

import getpasstry:            p = getpass.getpass()except Exception as error:            print('ERROR', error)else:            print('Password entered:', p)

In this script, a prompt is not provided for the user. So, by default, it is set to the Password prompt.

Run the script as follows: ...