CSPRNG Functions
PHP Manual

random_bytes

(PHP 7)

random_bytesGenerates cryptographically secure pseudo-random bytes

Description

string random_bytes ( int $length )

Generates an arbitrary length string of cryptographic random bytes that are suitable for cryptographic use, such as when generating salts, keys or initialization vectors.

The sources of randomness used for this function are as follows:

Note: Although this function was added to PHP in PHP 7.0, a » userland implementation is available for PHP 5.2 to 5.6, inclusive.

Parameters

length

The length of the random string that should be returned in bytes.

Return Values

Returns a string containing the requested number of cryptographically secure random bytes.

Errors/Exceptions

Examples

Example #1 random_bytes() example

<?php
$bytes 
random_bytes(5);
var_dump(bin2hex($bytes));
?>

The above example will output something similar to:

string(10) "385e33f741"

See Also


CSPRNG Functions
PHP Manual