


htpasswd(1)                                           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 user-
       name 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  cre-
       ated  by htpasswd.  This program can only be used when the
       usernames are stored in a flat-file. 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 pass-
       words; some user records may have MD5-encrypted  passwords
       while others in the same file may have passwords 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://www.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 command line.

       -c     Create   the   passwdfile.  If  passwdfile  already
              exists, it is rewritten and truncated.

       -m     Use Apache's modified MD5 algorithm for  passwords.
              Passwords  encrypted with this algorithm are trans-
              portable 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 platforms but Windows and TPF. Though possi-
              bly supported by htpasswd onm all platforms, it  is
              not  supported  by  the httpd server on Windows and



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htpasswd(1)                                           htpasswd(1)


              TPF.

       -s     Use SHA encryption for passwords. Faciliates migra-
              tion from/to Netscape servers using the LDAP Direc-
              tory Interchange Format (ldif).

       -p     Use plaintext passwords. Though htpasswd will  sup-
              port  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 pass-
              word. 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 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
       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 algorithm; 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 cannot be read, or cannot be



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htpasswd(1)                                           htpasswd(1)


              written,  it  is not altered and htpasswd will dis-
              play 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 fetchable 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 charac-
       ters.

       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 distribution.























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