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4 <manualpage metafile="htpasswd.xml.meta">
5 <parentdocument href="./">Programs</parentdocument>
7 <title>htpasswd - Manage user files for basic authentication</title>
10 <p><code>htpasswd</code> is used to create and update the flat-files used to
11 store usernames and password for basic authentication of HTTP users. If
12 <code>htpasswd</code> cannot access a file, such as not being able to write
13 to the output file or not being able to read the file in order to update it,
14 it returns an error status and makes no changes.</p>
16 <p>Resources available from the Apache HTTP server can be restricted to
17 just the users listed in the files created by <code>htpasswd</code>. This
18 program can only manage usernames and passwords stored in a flat-file. It
19 can encrypt and display password information for use in other types of data
20 stores, though. To use a DBM database see <a
21 href="dbmmanage.html">dbmmanage</a>.</p>
23 <p><code>htpasswd</code> encrypts passwords using either a version of MD5
24 modified for Apache, or the system's <code>crypt()</code> routine. Files
25 managed by <code>htpasswd</code> may contain both types of passwords; some
26 user records may have MD5-encrypted passwords while others in the same file
27 may have passwords encrypted with <code>crypt()</code>.</p>
29 <p>This manual page only lists the command line arguments. For details of
30 the directives necessary to configure user authentication in
31 <a href="httpd.html">httpd</a> see the Apache manual, which is part of the
32 Apache distribution or can be found at <a href="http://httpd.apache.org"
33 >http://httpd.apache.org/</a>.</p>
35 <seealso><a href="httpd.html">httpd</a></seealso>
36 <seealso><p>The scripts in support/SHA1 which come with the
37 distribution.</p></seealso>
39 <section id="synopsis"><title>Synopsis</title>
40 <p><code><strong>htpasswd</strong>
41 [ -<strong>c</strong> ]
42 [ -<strong>m</strong> ] <var>passwdfile</var> <var>username</var></code></p>
44 <p><code><strong>htpasswd</strong> -<strong>b</strong>
45 [ -<strong>c</strong> ]
46 [ -<strong>m</strong> |
49 -<strong>s</strong> ] <var>passwdfile</var> <var>username</var>
50 <var>password</var></code></p>
52 <p><code><strong>htpasswd</strong> -<strong>n</strong>
53 [ -<strong>m</strong> |
56 -<strong>p</strong> ] <var>username</var></code></p>
58 <p><code><strong>htpasswd</strong> -<strong>nb</strong>
59 [ -<strong>m</strong> |
62 -<strong>p</strong> ] <var>username</var> <var>password</var></code></p>
65 <section id="options"><title>Options</title>
67 <dt><code>-b</code></dt>
68 <dd>Use batch mode; <em>i.e.</em>, get the password from the command line
69 rather than prompting for it. This option should be used with extreme care,
70 since <strong>the password is clearly visible</strong> on the command
73 <dt><code>-c</code></dt>
74 <dd>Create the <var>passwdfile</var>. If <var>passwdfile</var> already
75 exists, it is rewritten and truncated. This option cannot be combined with
76 the <code>-n</code> option.</dd>
78 <dt><code>-n</code></dt>
79 <dd>Display the results on standard output rather than updating a file.
80 This is useful for generating password records acceptable to Apache for
81 inclusion in non-text data stores. This option changes the syntax of the
82 command line, since the <var>passwdfile</var> argument (usually the first
83 one) is omitted. It cannot be combined with the <code>-c</code> option.</dd>
85 <dt><code>-m</code></dt>
86 <dd>Use MD5 encryption for passwords. On Windows, Netware and TPF, this is
89 <dt><code>-d</code></dt>
90 <dd>Use <code>crypt()</code> encryption for passwords. The default on all
91 platforms but Windows, Netware and TPF. Though possibly supported by
92 <code>htpasswd</code> on all platforms, it is not supported by the
93 <a href="httpd.html">httpd</a> server on Windows, Netware and TPF.</dd>
95 <dt><code>-s</code></dt>
96 <dd>Use SHA encryption for passwords. Facilitates migration from/to Netscape
97 servers using the LDAP Directory Interchange Format (ldif).</dd>
99 <dt><code>-p</code></dt>
100 <dd>Use plaintext passwords. Though <code>htpasswd</code> will support
101 creation on all platforms, the <a href="httpd.html">httpd</a> daemon will
102 only accept plain text passwords on Windows, Netware and TPF.</dd>
104 <dt><code><var>passwdfile</var></code></dt>
105 <dd>Name of the file to contain the user name and password. If
106 <code>-c</code> is given, this file is created if it does not already exist,
107 or rewritten and truncated if it does exist.</dd>
109 <dt><code><var>username</var></code></dt>
110 <dd>The username to create or update in <var>passwdfile</var>. If
111 <var>username</var> does not exist in this file, an entry is added. If it
112 does exist, the password is changed.</dd>
114 <dt><code><var>password</var></code></dt>
115 <dd>The plaintext password to be encrypted and stored in the file. Only
116 used with the <code>-b</code> flag.</dd>
120 <section id="exit"><title>Exit Status</title>
121 <p><code>htpasswd</code> returns a zero status ("true") if the username and
122 password have been successfully added or updated in the
123 <var>passwdfile</var>. <code>htpasswd</code> returns <code>1</code> if it
124 encounters some problem accessing files, <code>2</code> if there was a
125 syntax problem with the command line, <code>3</code> if the password was
126 entered interactively and the verification entry didn't match,
127 <code>4</code> if its operation was interrupted, <code>5</code> if a value
128 is too long (username, filename, password, or final computed record),
129 <code>6</code> if the username contains illegal characters (see the
130 <a href="#restrictions">Restrictions section</a>), and <code>7</code>
131 if the file is not a valid password file.</p>
134 <section id="examples"><title>Examples</title>
136 htpasswd /usr/local/etc/apache/.htpasswd-users jsmith
139 <p>Adds or modifies the password for user <code>jsmith</code>. The user
140 is prompted for the password. If executed on a Windows system, the password
141 will be encrypted using the modified Apache MD5 algorithm; otherwise, the
142 system's <code>crypt()</code> routine will be used. If the file does not
143 exist, <code>htpasswd</code> will do nothing except return an error.</p>
146 htpasswd -c /home/doe/public_html/.htpasswd jane
149 <p>Creates a new file and stores a record in it for user <code>jane</code>.
150 The user is prompted for the password. If the file exists and cannot be
151 read, or cannot be written, it is not altered and <code>htpasswd</code>
152 will display a message and return an error status.</p>
155 htpasswd -mb /usr/web/.htpasswd-all jones Pwd4Steve
158 <p>Encrypts the password from the command line (<code>Pwd4Steve</code>)
159 using the MD5 algorithm, and stores it in the specified file.</p>
162 <section id="security"><title>Security Considerations</title>
163 <p>Web password files such as those managed by <code>htpasswd</code> should
164 <em>not</em> be within the Web server's URI space -- that is, they should
165 not be fetchable with a browser.</p>
167 <p>The use of the <code>-b</code> option is discouraged, since when it is
168 used the unencrypted password appears on the command line.</p>
171 <section id="restrictions"><title>Restrictions</title>
172 <p>On the Windows and MPE platforms, passwords encrypted with
173 <code>htpasswd</code> are limited to no more than <code>255</code>
174 characters in length. Longer passwords will be truncated to 255
177 <p>The MD5 algorithm used by <code>htpasswd</code> is specific to the Apache
178 software; passwords encrypted using it will not be usable with other Web
181 <p>Usernames are limited to <code>255</code> bytes and may not include the
182 character <code>:</code>.</p>