diff --git a/pytest_abra/utils.py b/pytest_abra/utils.py
index 828e6b9..b5bd3cf 100644
--- a/pytest_abra/utils.py
+++ b/pytest_abra/utils.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import random
+import string
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from datetime import datetime
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -35,3 +37,12 @@ def rmtree(root_dir: Path):
             child.unlink()
 
     root_dir.rmdir()
+
+
+def generate_random_string(length: int, punctuation=False) -> str:
+    """returns a random string of the given length"""
+    characters = string.ascii_letters + string.digits
+    if punctuation:
+        characters += string.punctuation
+    random_string = "".join(random.choice(characters) for _ in range(length))
+    return random_string