diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 677c5ac..c86c448 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 *.dll
 *.so
 *.dylib
+/fix
 
 # ---- Cookie / secret files (NEVER commit) ----
 vc.jar
diff --git a/cmd/vocat/bootstrap_admin.go b/cmd/vocat/bootstrap_admin.go
index eed6ac8..2d4e876 100644
--- a/cmd/vocat/bootstrap_admin.go
+++ b/cmd/vocat/bootstrap_admin.go
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ func runBootstrapAdmin(args []string) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("read password: %w", err)
 	}
 	password = strings.TrimSuffix(strings.TrimSuffix(password, "\n"), "\r")
-	if len(password) < 12 || len(password) > 1024 {
-		return errors.New("bootstrap password must contain between 12 and 1024 characters")
+	if len(password) < 6 || len(password) > 1024 {
+		return errors.New("bootstrap password must contain between 6 and 1024 characters")
 	}
 	adminUsername := strings.TrimSpace(*username)
 	if len(adminUsername) < 1 || len(adminUsername) > 64 || strings.ContainsAny(adminUsername, "\r\n\t") {
diff --git a/cmd/vocat/menu.go b/cmd/vocat/menu.go
index 4f90c7a..bb8cf1f 100644
--- a/cmd/vocat/menu.go
+++ b/cmd/vocat/menu.go
@@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ func (m *menu) msg(key string) string {
 		"prompt":              {"请选择: ", "Select: "},
 		"invalid":             {"无效选项，请重试。按 Ctrl+C 退出。", "Invalid choice, try again. Press Ctrl+C to exit."},
 		"new_username":        {"新用户名（直接回车保留 %s）: ", "New username (Enter to keep %s): "},
-		"new_pw":              {"新密码 (至少 12 位): ", "New password (min 12 chars): "},
+		"new_pw":              {"新密码 (至少 6 位): ", "New password (min 6 chars): "},
 		"confirm_pw":          {"确认新密码: ", "Confirm new password: "},
 		"pw_changed":          {"管理员账号密码已修改，现有 Web 会话已退出。", "Administrator credentials changed; existing Web sessions were signed out."},
 		"current_web_address": {"当前 Web 监听地址: %s", "Current Web listening address: %s"},
diff --git a/internal/auth/service.go b/internal/auth/service.go
index e9266b4..9b2fb4a 100644
--- a/internal/auth/service.go
+++ b/internal/auth/service.go
@@ -127,8 +127,8 @@ func (s *Service) ResetAdminCredentials(ctx context.Context, username string, pa
 	if len(username) < 1 || len(username) > 64 || strings.ContainsAny(username, "\r\n\t") {
 		return errors.New("administrator username must contain between 1 and 64 characters without control whitespace")
 	}
-	if len(password) < 12 || len(password) > 1024 {
-		return errors.New("administrator password must contain between 12 and 1024 characters")
+	if len(password) < 6 || len(password) > 1024 {
+		return errors.New("administrator password must contain between 6 and 1024 characters")
 	}
 	if err := s.EnsureAdmin(ctx, username, password); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("auth: reset administrator credentials: %w", err)
@@ -284,8 +284,8 @@ func (s *Service) ChangePassword(
 	currentPassword string,
 	newPassword string,
 ) error {
-	if len(newPassword) < 12 || len(newPassword) > 1024 {
-		return errors.New("new password must contain between 12 and 1024 characters")
+	if len(newPassword) < 6 || len(newPassword) > 1024 {
+		return errors.New("new password must contain between 6 and 1024 characters")
 	}
 	admin, err := s.store.AdminByUsername(ctx, strings.TrimSpace(username))
 	if errors.Is(err, store.ErrNotFound) {
diff --git a/internal/server/general_api.go b/internal/server/general_api.go
index 8c56cb6..d4a742e 100644
--- a/internal/server/general_api.go
+++ b/internal/server/general_api.go
@@ -506,7 +506,7 @@ func (s *Server) handlePasswordChange(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		switch {
 		case errors.Is(err, auth.ErrInvalidCredentials):
 			writeError(w, http.StatusUnauthorized, "invalid_credentials", "current password is incorrect")
-		case strings.Contains(err.Error(), "between 12 and 1024"):
+		case strings.Contains(err.Error(), "between 6 and 1024"):
 			writeError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, "weak_password", err.Error())
 		case strings.Contains(err.Error(), "must differ"):
 			writeError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, "password_reused", err.Error())