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htpasswd(1)





NAME

       htpasswd - Create and update user authentication files


SYNOPSIS

       htpasswd [ -c ] [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] passwdfile username
       htpasswd -b [ -c ] [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] passwdfile username password
       htpasswd -n [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username
       htpasswd -nb [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username password


DESCRIPTION

       htpasswd  is  used  to  create  and update the flat-files used to store
       usernames and password for basic  authentication  of  HTTP  users.   If
       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.

       Resources  available from the httpd Apache web server can be restricted
       to just the users listed in the files created by htpasswd.   This  pro-
       gram  can only manage usernames and passwords stored in a flat-file. It
       can encrypt and display password information for use in other types  of
       data stores, though.  To use a DBM database see dbmmanage.

       htpasswd  encrypts passwords using either a version of MD5 modified for
       Apache, or the system's crypt() routine.  Files managed by htpasswd may
       contain   both   types   of  passwords;  some  user  records  may  have
       MD5-encrypted passwords while others in the same file  may  have  pass-
       words encrypted with crypt().

       This  manual page only lists the command line arguments. For details of
       the directives necessary to configure user authentication in httpd  see
       the  Apache  manual, which is part of the Apache distribution or can be
       found at <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/>.


OPTIONS

       -b     Use batch mode; i.e., get the password  from  the  command  line
              rather  than  prompting  for it. This option should be used with
              extreme care, since the password is clearly visible on the  com-
              mand line.

       -c     Create  the  passwdfile.  If  passwdfile  already  exists, it is
              rewritten and truncated.  This option cannot  be  combined  with
              the -n option.

       -n     Display  the  results  on standard output rather than updating a
              file.  This is useful for generating password records acceptable
              to  Apache  for  inclusion in non-text data stores.  This option
              changes the syntax of the command  line,  since  the  passwdfile
              argument  (usually the first one) is omitted.  It cannot be com-
              bined with the -c option.

       -m     Use Apache's modified MD5 algorithm  for  passwords.   Passwords
              encrypted  with this algorithm are transportable to any platform
              (Windows, Unix, BeOS, et cetera) running Apache 1.3.9 or  later.
              On Windows and TPF, this flag is the default.

       -d     Use  crypt()  encryption for passwords. The default on all plat-
              forms but Windows and TPF. Though possibly supported by htpasswd
              on  all  platforms,  it  is not supported by the httpd server on
              Windows and TPF.

       -s     Use SHA encryption for passwords. Faciliates  migration  from/to
              Netscape  servers  using  the  LDAP Directory Interchange Format
              (ldif).

       -p     Use plaintext passwords. Though htpasswd will  support  creation
              on  all  platforms, the httpd deamon will only accept plain text
              passwords on Windows and TPF.

       passwdfile
              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.

       username
              The username to create or update in passwdfile. If username does
              not exist in this file, an entry is added. If it does exist, the
              password is changed.

       password
              The plaintext password to be encrypted and stored in  the  file.
              Only used with the -b flag.


EXIT STATUS

       htpasswd  returns  a  zero status ("true") if the username and password
       have been successfully added or updated in  the  passwdfile.   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 opera-
       tion 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 RESTRICTIONS section).


EXAMPLES

       htpasswd /usr/local/etc/apache/.htpasswd-users jsmith

              Adds or modifies the password for  user  jsmith.   The  user  is
              prompted for the password.  If executed on a Windows system, the
              password will be encrypted using the modified Apache  MD5  algo-
              rithm; otherwise, the system's crypt() routine will be used.  If
              the file does not exist, htpasswd will do nothing except  return
              an error.

       htpasswd -c /home/doe/public_html/.htpasswd jane

              Creates a new file and stores a record in it for user jane.  The
              user is prompted for the password.  If the file exists and  can-
              not  be  read,  or  cannot  be  written,  it  is not altered and
              htpasswd will display a message and return an error status.

       htpasswd -mb /usr/web/.htpasswd-all jones Pwd4Steve

              Encrypts the password from the command  line  (Pwd4Steve)  using
              the MD5 algorithm, and stores it in the specified file.


SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

       Web  password  files  such  as  those managed by htpasswd should not be
       within the Web server's URI space -- that is, they should not be fetch-
       able with a browser.

       The  use  of  the  -b  option is discouraged, since when it is used the
       unencrypted password appears on the command line.


RESTRICTIONS

       On the Windows and MPE platforms, passwords encrypted with htpasswd are
       limited  to  no  more  than 255 characters in length.  Longer passwords
       will be truncated to 255 characters.

       The MD5 algorithm used by htpasswd is specific to the Apache  software;
       passwords encrypted using it will not be usable with other Web servers.

       Usernames are limited to 255 bytes and may not  include  the  character
       ':'.


SEE ALSO

       httpd(8)  and the scripts in support/SHA1 which come with the distribu-
       tion.

                                 February 2004                     htpasswd(1)

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