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TOTP

This is a GNOME Shell extension to generate TOTP (Time-based OTP) authentication codes (such as the ones used by Google, Facebook, Github, Steam, etc).

screenshot

Security

The OTP secret is stored in the GNOME Keyring, in a separate collection called "OTP". For improved security, users can lock this collection with its own password.

During normal usage, the extension will load the specific OTP secret (unlocking the Keyring if necessary), copy the authentication code to the clipboard, and immediately wipe the OTP secret from memory.

In the preferences window, sensitive data (the "otpauth://" URIs) are automatically erased from the clipboard after a few seconds (30 by default).

Installing from GNOME Shell Extensions website

The extension can be obtained from the GNOME Shell Extensions website.

Installing from sources

Prerequisites:

Run:

make install

Importing and exporting URIs

It's possible to import and export OTP secrets that conform to Google's Key URI Format. This format is compatible with applications like Google Authenticator, FreeOTP, Authy, etc.

Scanning QR codes

It's possible to scan QR codes from a camera and from the clipboard, if you have the ZBar package installed. In some distros (like Debian and Ubuntu) the package is named zbar-tools.

Exporting QR code

It's possible to export the OTP secret as a QR code to be scanned into other devices, if you have the qrencode package installed.

Importing Steam Guard secret

You can generate Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator codes.

  1. Search the web for instructions on how to extract your Steam Guard shared_secret. The method may vary depending on factors like your Android version, rooted status, Steam Mobile version, etc.

  2. The shared_secret is encoded in Base64, not Base32; so when you import it, select Base64. The secret will still be stored in the keyring in Base32 encoding, so don't be alarmed that it "changed" after you saved it.

  3. Set Digits = 5. Everything else is the default: Period = 30, Algorithm = SHA-1.

  4. The issuer must be Steam, to activate the special OTP encoding that Steam Guard uses, using letters. Otherwise it will generate authentication codes in decimal, which are not recognized by Steam.

Related extensions

When using this extension on a laptop, it's a good idea to also install Keyring Autolock. It will ensure your Keyring gets locked after a period of time, so you never forget to keep your OTP secrets protected.