path: root/docs/man/htpasswd.1

.TH htpasswd 1 "February 1997"
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.SH NAME
htpasswd \- Create and update user authentication files
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B htpasswd 
[
.B \-c
] 
[
.B \-m
] 
.I passwdfile
.I username
.br
.B htpasswd
.B \-b  
[
.B \-c
] 
[
.B \-m
.B \-d
.B \-p
.B \-s
] 
.I passwdfile
.I username
.I password
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B htpasswd
is used to create and update the flat-files used to store
usernames and password for basic authentication of HTTP users.
If
.B htpasswd
cannot access a file, such as not being able to write to the output
file or not being able to read the file in order to update it,
it returns an error status and makes no changes.
.PP
Resources available from the
.B httpd
Apache web server can be restricted to just the users listed
in the files created by 
.B htpasswd.
This program can only be used
when the usernames are stored in a flat-file. To use a
DBM database see 
\fBdbmmanage\fP.
.PP
.B htpasswd
encrypts passwords using either a version of MD5 modified for Apache,
or the system's \fIcrypt()\fP routine.  Files managed by
.B htpasswd
may contain both types of passwords; some user records may have
MD5-encrypted passwords while others in the same file may have passwords
encrypted with \fIcrypt()\fP.
.PP
This manual page only lists the command line arguments. For details of
the directives necessary to configure user authentication in 
.B httpd 
see
the Apache manual, which is part of the Apache distribution or can be
found at <URL:http://www.apache.org/>.
.SH OPTIONS
.IP \-b 
Use batch mode; \fIi.e.\fP, get the password from the command line
rather than prompting for it. \fBThis option should be used with
extreme care, since the password is clearly visible on the command
line.\fP
.IP \-c 
Create the \fIpasswdfile\fP. If \fIpasswdfile\fP already exists, it
is rewritten and truncated.
.IP \-m 
Use MD5 encryption for passwords. On Windows and TPF, this is the default.
.IP \-d
Use crypt() encryption for passwords. The default on all platforms but
Windows and TPF. Though possibly supported by
.B htpasswd
onm all platforms, it is not supported by the
.B httpd
server on Windows and TPF.
.IP \-s
Use SHA encryption for passwords. Faciliates migration from/to Netscape
servers using the LDAP Directory Interchange Format (ldif).
.IP \-p
Use plaintext passwords. Though 
.B htpasswd
will support creation on all platofrms, the
.B httpd
deamon will only accept plain text passwords on Windows and TPF.
.IP \fB\fIpasswdfile\fP
Name of the file to contain the user name and password. If \-c
is given, this file is created if it does not already exist,
or rewritten and truncated if it does exist. 
.IP \fB\fIusername\fP
The username to create or update in \fBpasswdfile\fP. If
\fIusername\fP does not exist in this file, an entry is added. If it
does exist, the password is changed.
.IP \fB\fIpassword\fP
The plaintext password to be encrypted and stored in the file.  Only used
with the \fI-b\fP flag.
.SH EXIT STATUS
.B htpasswd
returns a zero status ("true") if the username and password have
been successfully added or updated in the \fIpasswdfile\fP.
.B htpasswd
returns 1 if it encounters some problem accessing files, 2 if there
was a syntax problem with the command line, 3 if the password was
entered interactively and the verification entry didn't match, 4 if
its operation was interrupted, 5 if a value is too long (username,
filename, password, or final computed record), and 6 if the username
contains illegal characters (see the \fBRESTRICTIONS\fP section).
.SH EXAMPLES
\fBhtpasswd /usr/local/etc/apache/.htpasswd-users jsmith\fP
.IP
Adds or modifies the password for user \fIjsmith\fP.  
The user is prompted for the password.  If executed
on a Windows system, the password will be encrypted using the
modified Apache MD5 algorithm; otherwise, the system's
\fIcrypt()\fP routine will be used.  If the file does not
exist, 
.B htpasswd
will do nothing except return an error.
.LP
\fBhtpasswd -c /home/doe/public_html/.htpasswd jane\fP
.IP
Creates a new file and stores a record in it for user \fIjane\fP.
The user is prompted for the password.
If the file exists and cannot be read, or cannot be written,
it is not altered and
.B htpasswd
will display a message and return an error status.
.LP
\fBhtpasswd -mb /usr/web/.htpasswd-all jones Pwd4Steve\fP
.IP
Encrypts the password from the command line (\fIPwd4Steve\fP) using
the MD5 algorithm, and stores it in the specified file.
.LP
.SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
Web password files such as those managed by
.B htpasswd
should \fBnot\fP be within the Web server's URI space -- that is,
they should not be fetchable with a browser.
.PP
The use of the \fI-b\fP option is discouraged, since when it is
used the unencrypted password appears on the command line.
.SH RESTRICTIONS
On the Windows and MPE platforms, passwords encrypted with
.B htpasswd
are limited to no more than 255 characters in length.  Longer
passwords will be truncated to 255 characters.
.PP
The MD5 algorithm used by
.B htpasswd
is specific to the Apache software; passwords encrypted using it will not be
usable with other Web servers.
.PP
Usernames are limited to 255 bytes and may not include the character ':'.
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR httpd(8)
and the scripts in support/SHA1 which come with the distribution.