PYOTP(1)

📦 version 2.10.0, in arch rolling

💅 PYOTP(1) — PyOTP, aka pyotp, bestie

💖 NAME

pyotp — PyOTP

Okay so PyOTP is a Python library for generating and verifying one-time passwords. It can be used to implement two-factor (2FA) or multi-factor (MFA) authentication methods in web applications and in other systems that require users to log in. Main character energy for your login flow, honestly. ✨

Open MFA standards are defined in RFC 4226 (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4226) — that’s HOTP: An HMAC-Based One-Time Password Algorithm — and in RFC 6238 (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6238) — TOTP: Time-Based One-Time Password Algorithm. PyOTP implements server-side support for both of these standards. Client-side support can be enabled by sending authentication codes to users over SMS or email (HOTP) or, for TOTP, by instructing users to use Google Authenticator (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Authenticator), Authy (https://www.authy.com/), or another compatible app. Users can set up auth tokens in their apps easily by using their phone camera to scan otpauth:// (https://github.com/google/google-authenticator/wiki/Key-Uri-Format) QR codes provided by PyOTP. Phone camera goes brrr, secret goes in the app. 📱🦋

Implementers should read and follow the HOTP security requirements (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4226#section-7) and TOTP security considerations (https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6238#section-5) sections of the relevant RFCs. At minimum, application implementers should follow this checklist:

  • Ensure transport confidentiality by using HTTPS
  • Ensure HOTP/TOTP secret confidentiality by storing secrets in a controlled access database
  • Deny replay attacks by rejecting one-time passwords that have been used by the client (this requires storing the most recently authenticated timestamp, OTP, or hash of the OTP in your database, and rejecting the OTP when a match is seen)
  • Throttle (rate limit) brute-force attacks against your application's login functionality (see RFC 4226, section 7.3)
  • When implementing a "greenfield" application, consider supporting FIDO U2F (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_2nd_Factor)/WebAuthn (https://www.w3.org/TR/webauthn/) in addition to or instead of HOTP/TOTP. U2F uses asymmetric cryptography to avoid using a shared secret design, which strengthens your MFA solution against server-side attacks. Hardware U2F also sequesters the client secret in a dedicated single-purpose device, which strengthens your clients against client-side attacks. And by automating scoping of credentials to relying party IDs (application origin/domain names), U2F adds protection against phishing attacks. One implementation of FIDO U2F/WebAuthn is PyOTP's sister project, PyWARP (https://github.com/pyauth/pywarp).

We also recommend that implementers read the OWASP Authentication Cheat Sheet (https://github.com/OWASP/CheatSheetSeries/blob/master/cheatsheets/Authentication_Cheat_Sheet.md) and NIST SP 800-63-3: Digital Authentication Guideline (https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-3/) for a high level overview of authentication best practices. Security homework but make it slay. 🫶

📱 QUICK OVERVIEW OF USING ONE TIME PASSWORDS ON YOUR PHONE

  • OTPs involve a shared secret, stored both on the phone and the server
  • OTPs can be generated on a phone without internet connectivity
  • OTPs should always be used as a second factor of authentication (if your phone is lost, you account is still secured with a password)
  • Google Authenticator and other OTP client apps allow you to store multiple OTP secrets and provision those using a QR Code

🛠️ INSTALLATION

pip install pyotp

🚀 USAGE

⏰ Time-based OTPs

import pyotp
import time

totp = pyotp.TOTP('base32secret3232')
totp.now() # => '492039'

# OTP verified for current time
totp.verify('492039') # => True
time.sleep(30)
totp.verify('492039') # => False

The vibe check: TOTP says “this code is valid now,” then time moves on and the old code literally stops being invited to the group chat. 💅

🔢 Counter-based OTPs

import pyotp

hotp = pyotp.HOTP('base32secret3232')
hotp.at(0) # => '260182'
hotp.at(1) # => '055283'
hotp.at(1401) # => '316439'

# OTP verified with a counter
hotp.verify('316439', 1401) # => True
hotp.verify('316439', 1402) # => False

🔑 Generating a Secret Key

A helper function is provided to generate a 32-character base32 secret, compatible with Google Authenticator and other OTP apps:

pyotp.random_base32()

Some applications want the secret key to be formatted as a hex-encoded string:

pyotp.random_hex()  # returns a 40-character hex-encoded secret

📲 Google Authenticator Compatible

PyOTP works with the Google Authenticator iPhone and Android app, as well as other OTP apps like Authy. PyOTP includes the ability to generate provisioning URIs for use with the QR Code scanner built into these MFA client apps:

pyotp.totp.TOTP('JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP').provisioning_uri(name='alice@google.com', issuer_name='Secure App')

>>> 'otpauth://totp/Secure%20App:alice%40google.com?secret=JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP&issuer=Secure%20App'

pyotp.hotp.HOTP('JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP').provisioning_uri(name="alice@google.com", issuer_name="Secure App", initial_count=0)

>>> 'otpauth://hotp/Secure%20App:alice%40google.com?secret=JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP&issuer=Secure%20App&counter=0'

This URL can then be rendered as a QR Code (for example, using https://github.com/soldair/node-qrcode) which can then be scanned and added to the users list of OTP credentials. QR code is the icon, the moment, the whole plot. 🎀

Parsing these URLs is also supported:

pyotp.parse_uri('otpauth://totp/Secure%20App:alice%40google.com?secret=JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP&issuer=Secure%20App')

>>> <pyotp.totp.TOTP object at 0xFFFFFFFF>

pyotp.parse_uri('otpauth://hotp/Secure%20App:alice%40google.com?secret=JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP&issuer=Secure%20App&counter=0'

>>> <pyotp.totp.HOTP object at 0xFFFFFFFF>

🧪 Working example

Scan the following barcode with your phone's OTP app (e.g. Google Authenticator): [image]

Now run the following and compare the output:

import pyotp
totp = pyotp.TOTP("JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP")
print("Current OTP:", totp.now())

🎮 Third-party contributions

The following third-party contributions are not described by a standard, not officially supported, and provided for reference only:

  • pyotp.contrib.Steam(): An implementation of Steam TOTP. Uses the same API as pyotp.TOTP().

For new applications:

🏷️ Versioning

This package follows the Semantic Versioning 2.0.0 (http://semver.org/) standard. To control changes, it is recommended that application developers pin the package version and manage it using pip-tools (https://github.com/jazzband/pip-tools) or similar. For library developers, pinning the major version is recommended.

[image] <https://github.com/pyauth/pyotp/actions>[image] <https://codecov.io/github/pyauth/pyotp?branch=master>[image] <https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pyotp>[image] <https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pyotp>[image] <https://pyotp.readthedocs.io/>.

🫶 INDENT 0.0

Okay so here’s the API reference chunk that follows:

pyotp.parse_uri(uri: str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str>) -> OTP

Parses the provisioning URI for the OTP; works for either TOTP or HOTP.

See also: https://github.com/google/google-authenticator/wiki/Key-Uri-Format

Parameters

  • uri -- the hotp/totp URI to parse

Returns OTP object

class pyotp.totp.TOTP(s: str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str>, digits: int <https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#int> = 6, digest: Any <https://docs.python.org/3/library/typing.html#typing.Any> = None, name: str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str> | None <https://docs.python.org/3/library/constants.html#None> = None, issuer: str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str> | None <https://docs.python.org/3/library/constants.html#None> = None, interval: int <https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#int> = 30)

Handler for time-based OTP counters.

at(for_time: int <https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#int> | datetime <https://docs.python.org/3/library/datetime.html#datetime.datetime>, counter_offset: int <https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#int> = 0) -> str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str>

Accepts either a Unix timestamp integer or a datetime object.

To get the time until the next timecode change (seconds until the current OTP expires), use this instead:

totp = pyotp.TOTP(...)
time_remaining = totp.interval - datetime.datetime.now().timestamp() % totp.interval

Parameters

  • for_time -- the time to generate an OTP for
  • counter_offset -- the amount of ticks to add to the time counter

Returns OTP value

now() -> str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str>

Generate the current time OTP

Returns OTP value

provisioning_uri(name: str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str> | None <https://docs.python.org/3/library/constants.html#None> = None, issuer_name: str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str> | None <https://docs.python.org/3/library/constants.html#None> = None, **kwargs) -> str <https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#str>

Returns the provisioning URI for the OTP. This can then be encoded in a QR Code and used to provision an OTP app like Google Authenticator.

See also: https://github.com/google/google-authenticator/wiki/Key-Uri-Format 🫶

💖 bestie that link is the literal blueprint for how the whole URI thing is supposed to look — keep it bookmarked, iykyk.

✨ timecode(for_time: datetime) -> int

okay so this one takes either a timezone naive datetime (for_time.tzinfo is None) or a timezone aware datetime as its argument, and hands you back the matching counter value — the timecode. that's it, that's the whole vibe. ⏰

✨ verify(otp: str, for_time: datetime | None = None, valid_window: int = 0) -> bool

Checks the OTP you passed in against the current time OTP. slay. 🔥

Parameters

  • otp — the OTP to check against
  • for_time — Time to check OTP at (defaults to now)
  • valid_window — extends the validity to this many counter ticks before and after the current one

Returns

True if verification succeeded, False otherwise 🫶

👑 class pyotp.hotp.HOTP(s: str, digits: int = 6, digest: Any = None, name: str | None = None, issuer: str | None = None, initial_count: int = 0)

Handler for HMAC-based OTP counters. counter-core, no clock, just vibes 💅

🌸 at(count: int) -> str

Generates the OTP for the given count.

Parameters

  • count — the OTP HMAC counter

Returns

OTP ✨

🌸 provisioning_uri(name: str | None = None, initial_count: int | None = None, issuer_name: str | None = None, **kwargs) -> str

Returns the provisioning URI for the OTP. This can then be encoded in a QR Code and used to provision an OTP app like Google Authenticator.

See also: https://github.com/google/google-authenticator/wiki/Key-Uri-Format

Parameters

  • name — name of the user account
  • initial_count — starting HMAC counter value, defaults to 0
  • issuer_name — the name of the OTP issuer; this will be the organization title of the OTP entry in Authenticator

Returns

provisioning URI 🎀

🌸 verify(otp: str, counter: int) -> bool

Verifies the OTP passed in against the current counter OTP.

Parameters

  • otp — the OTP to check against
  • counter — the OTP HMAC counter

🦋 pyotp.utils.build_uri(secret: str, name: str, initial_count: int | None = None, issuer: str | None = None, algorithm: str | None = None, digits: int | None = None, period: int | None = None, **kwargs) -> str

Returns the provisioning URI for the OTP; works for either TOTP or HOTP. ✨

This can then be encoded in a QR Code and used to provision the Google Authenticator app.

For module-internal use. (translation: it's the plumbing, bestie — it's not really for you to call directly, but here's the tea anyway 🫖)

See also: https://github.com/google/google-authenticator/wiki/Key-Uri-Format

Parameters

  • secret — the hotp/totp secret used to generate the URI
  • name — name of the account
  • initial_count — starting counter value, defaults to None. If none, the OTP type will be assumed as TOTP.
  • issuer — the name of the OTP issuer; this will be the organization title of the OTP entry in Authenticator
  • algorithm — the algorithm used in the OTP generation.
  • digits — the length of the OTP generated code.
  • period — the number of seconds the OTP generator is set to expire every code.
  • kwargs — other query string parameters to include in the URI

Returns

provisioning uri 💜

💀 pyotp.utils.strings_equal(s1: str, s2: str) -> bool

Timing-attack resistant string comparison. 🛡️

So like, normal comparison using == will short-circuit on the first mismatching character. This avoids that by scanning the whole string — though we still reveal to a timing attack whether the strings are the same length. (no cap, that's literally what it says — length is still leaked, it's not perfect, but it's way better than ==) 😭

🎮 class pyotp.contrib.steam.Steam(s: str, name: str | None = None, issuer: str | None = None, interval: int = 30, digits: int = 5)

Steam's custom TOTP. Subclass of pyotp.totp.TOTP. gamer girl OTP era 🕹️💅

🎮 generate_otp(input: int) -> str

Parameters

  • input — the HMAC counter value to use as the OTP input. Usually either the counter, or the computed integer based on the Unix timestamp

🎀 RELEASE NOTES 🎀

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.10.0 (2026-06-13)

  • Fix parse_uri mis-parsing of encoded colon in issuer/account name (#187)
  • Simplified and improved generate_otp() performance in Steam class (#179)
  • Check digest function to prevent error on OTP Generation (#170)
  • Ignore non-standard otpauth parameters
  • use strings as immutable default arguments (#162)

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.9.0 (2023-07-27)

  • Add parse_uri() support for Steam TOTP (#153)
  • Test and documentation improvements

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.8.0 (2022-12-13)

  • Modify OTP generation to run in constant time (#148)
  • Documentation improvements
  • Drop Python 3.6 support; introduce Python 3.11 support

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.7.0 (2022-09-11)

  • Support Steam TOTP (#142)
  • Build, test, and documentation updates

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.6.0 (2021-02-04)

  • Raise default and minimum base32 secret length to 32, and hex secret length to 40 (160 bits as recommended by the RFC) (#115).
  • Fix issue where provisioning_uri would return invalid results after calling verify() (#115).

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.5.1 (2021-01-29)

  • parse_uri accepts and ignores optional image parameter (#114)

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.5.0 (2021-01-29)

  • Add optional image parameter to provisioning_uri (#113)
  • Support for 7-digit codes in parse_uri (#111)
  • Raise default and minimum base32 secret length to 26

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.4.1 (2020-10-16)

  • parse_uri: Fix handling of period, counter (#108)
  • Add support for timezone aware datetime as argument to TOTP.timecode() (#107)

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.4.0 (2020-07-29)

  • Fix data type for at(for_time) (#85)
  • Add support for parsing provisioning URIs (#84)
  • Raise error when trying to generate secret that is too short (The secret must be at least 128 bits)
  • Add random_hex function (#82)

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.3.0 (2019-07-26)

  • Fix comparison behavior on Python 2.7

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.2.8 (2019-07-26)

  • Fix comparison of unicode chars (#78)
  • Minor documentation and test fixes

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.2.7 (2018-11-05)

  • Have random_base32() use 'secrets' as rand source (#66)
  • Documentation: Add security considerations, minimal security checklist, other improvements
  • Update setup.py to reference correct license

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.2.6 (2017-06-10)

  • Fix tests wrt double-quoting in provisioning URIs

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.2.5 (2017-06-03)

  • Quote issuer QS parameter in provisioning_uri. Fixes #47.
  • Raise an exception if a negative integer is passed to at() (#41).
  • Documentation and release infrastructure improvements.

🌈 CHANGES FOR V2.2.4 (2017-01-04)

  • Restore Python 2.6 compatibility (however, Python 2.6 is not supported)
  • Documentation and test improvements
  • Fix release infra script, part 2

✨ CHANGES FOR V2.2.3 (2017-01-04) ✨

  • Brought back Python 2.6 compatibility — but bestie, read the fine print: Python 2.6 is not supported 💀 like it's compatible but it's not invited to the party, iykyk.
  • Docs and test glow-ups 📚✨
  • Fixed the release infra script — the behind-the-scenes machinery was being lowkey messy and now it's not 🛠️

🌸 CHANGES FOR V2.2.2 (2017-01-04) 🌸

  • Restored Python 2.6 compatibility again (and again: Python 2.6 is not supported, it's giving "we see you but no" 🙈)
  • Documentation and test improvements, the usual lil spruse-up 🎀

🦋 CHANGES FOR V2.2.1 (2016-08-30) 🦋

  • Ditched python-future entirely — it had subdependencies that were limiting compatibility, like a friend-of-a-friend who ruins the group chat vibe (#34) 😭
  • Made the test suite actually pass on 32-bit platforms (#30) — 32-bit girlies we see you 🫶
  • Timing attack resistance fix: don't reveal the string length to an attacker. Shoutout to Eeo Jun for this one (#28) 🔥 that's main character security energy fr fr.
  • algorithm, digits, and period parameters are now supported in provisioning_uri. Thanks to Dionisio E Alonso (#33) 👑
  • Minor style and packaging infrastructure fixes — small but slay ✨

💜 CHANGES FOR V2.2.0 (2016-08-30) 💜

  • Literally just see v2.2.1, that's the whole thing 🫠

🎀 Version 2.1.0 (2016-05-02) 🎀

  • Added extended range support to TOTP.verify. Thanks to Zeev Rotshtein (PR #19) 💅
  • Now handles missing padding of the encoded secret. Thanks to Kun Yan (#20) 🧚
  • Miscellaneous fixes, the little cleanup crumbs 🌸

⭐ Version 2.0.1 (2015-09-28) ⭐

  • Fixed a packaging issue in v2.0.0 that was blocking installation with easy_install — iconic that it's fixed, tragic that it happened 📦😭

🌈 Version 2.0.0 (2015-08-22) 🌈

  • Big glow-up: the pyotp.HOTP.at(), pyotp.TOTP.at(), and pyotp.TOTP.now() methods now return strings instead of integers. Thanks to Rohan Dhaimade (PR #16) 🎉 not me being emotionally attached to a return type change—

💖 Version 1.4.2 (2015-07-21) 💖

  • Started tracking changes in the change log (hi, that's this thing you're reading bestie 👋)
  • Updated the documentation 📝
  • Introduced Travis CI integration — automation era begins 🤖✨

🍓 Version 1.3.1 (2012-02-29) 🍓

  • Initial release. The origin story. The big bang. Periodt 💥👑

👑 Author

PyOTP contributors 🫶

PyOTP contributors 📜

okay that's the whole page and honestly? we ate 💅 the source is this page's own version info, dated Jun 16, 2026, and it's filed under PYOTP(1) — so go forth, verify those one-time passwords, and remember: don't reveal your string length to attackers, that's not the vibe 🌸✨💜

📦 where this page comes from