1HTPASSWD(1) htpasswd HTPASSWD(1)
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6 htpasswd - Manage user files for basic authentication
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10 htpasswd [ -c ] [ -i ] [ -m | -B | -d | -s | -p ] [ -C cost ] [ -D ] [
11 -v ] passwdfile username
12 htpasswd -b [ -c ] [ -m | -B | -d | -s | -p ] [ -C cost ] [ -D ] [ -v ]
15 passwdfile username password
16 htpasswd -n [ -i ] [ -m | -B | -d | -s | -p ] [ -C cost ] username
19 htpasswd -nb [ -m | -B | -d | -s | -p ] [ -C cost ] username password
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26 htpasswd is used to create and update the flat-files used to store
27 usernames and password for basic authentication of HTTP users. If
28 htpasswd cannot access a file, such as not being able to write to the
29 output file or not being able to read the file in order to update it,
30 it returns an error status and makes no changes.
31 Resources available from the Apache HTTP server can be restricted to
34 just the users listed in the files created by htpasswd. This program
35 can only manage usernames and passwords stored in a flat-file. It can
36 encrypt and display password information for use in other types of data
37 stores, though. To use a DBM database see dbmmanage or htdbm.
38 htpasswd encrypts passwords using either bcrypt, a version of MD5 modi‐
41 fied for Apache, SHA1, or the system's crypt() routine. Files managed
42 by htpasswd may contain a mixture of different encoding types of pass‐
43 words; some user records may have bcrypt or MD5-encrypted passwords
44 while others in the same file may have passwords encrypted with
45 crypt().
46 This manual page only lists the command line arguments. For details of
49 the directives necessary to configure user authentication in httpd see
50 the Apache manual, which is part of the Apache distribution or can be
51 found at http://httpd.apache.org/.
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56 -b Use batch mode; i.e., get the password from the command line
57 rather than prompting for it. This option should be used with
58 extreme care, since the password is clearly visible on the com‐
59 mand line. For script use see the -i option. Available in 2.4.4
60 and later.
61 -i Read the password from stdin without verification (for script
63 usage).
64 -c Create the passwdfile. If passwdfile already exists, it is
66 rewritten and truncated. This option cannot be combined with the
67 -n option.
68 -n Display the results on standard output rather than updating a
70 file. This is useful for generating password records acceptable
71 to Apache for inclusion in non-text data stores. This option
72 changes the syntax of the command line, since the passwdfile
73 argument (usually the first one) is omitted. It cannot be com‐
74 bined with the -c option.
75 -m Use MD5 encryption for passwords. This is the default (since
77 version 2.2.18).
78 -B Use bcrypt encryption for passwords. This is currently consid‐
80 ered to be very secure.
81 -C This flag is only allowed in combination with -B (bcrypt encryp‐
83 tion). It sets the computing time used for the bcrypt algorithm
84 (higher is more secure but slower, default: 5, valid: 4 to 31).
85 -d Use crypt() encryption for passwords. This is not supported by
87 the httpd server on Windows and Netware. This algorithm limits
88 the password length to 8 characters. This algorithm is insecure
89 by today's standards. It used to be the default algorithm until
90 version 2.2.17.
91 -s Use SHA encryption for passwords. Facilitates migration from/to
93 Netscape servers using the LDAP Directory Interchange Format
94 (ldif). This algorithm is insecure by today's standards.
95 -p Use plaintext passwords. Though htpasswd will support creation
97 on all platforms, the httpd daemon will only accept plain text
98 passwords on Windows and Netware.
99 -D Delete user. If the username exists in the specified htpasswd
101 file, it will be deleted.
102 -v Verify password. Verify that the given password matches the
104 password of the user stored in the specified htpasswd file.
105 Available in 2.4.5 and later.
106 passwdfile
108 Name of the file to contain the user name and password. If -c is
109 given, this file is created if it does not already exist, or
110 rewritten and truncated if it does exist.
111 username
113 The username to create or update in passwdfile. If username does
114 not exist in this file, an entry is added. If it does exist, the
115 password is changed.
116 password
118 The plaintext password to be encrypted and stored in the file.
119 Only used with the -b flag.
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123 htpasswd returns a zero status ("true") if the username and password
124 have been successfully added or updated in the passwdfile. htpasswd
125 returns 1 if it encounters some problem accessing files, 2 if there was
126 a syntax problem with the command line, 3 if the password was entered
127 interactively and the verification entry didn't match, 4 if its opera‐
128 tion was interrupted, 5 if a value is too long (username, filename,
129 password, or final computed record), 6 if the username contains illegal
130 characters (see the Restrictions section), and 7 if the file is not a
131 valid password file.
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135 htpasswd /usr/local/etc/apache/.htpasswd-users jsmith
136 Adds or modifies the password for user jsmith. The user is prompted for
140 the password. The password will be encrypted using the modified Apache
141 MD5 algorithm. If the file does not exist, htpasswd will do nothing
142 except return an error.
143 htpasswd -c /home/doe/public_html/.htpasswd jane
146 Creates a new file and stores a record in it for user jane. The user is
150 prompted for the password. If the file exists and cannot be read, or
151 cannot be written, it is not altered and htpasswd will display a mes‐
152 sage and return an error status.
153 htpasswd -db /usr/web/.htpasswd-all jones Pwd4Steve
156 Encrypts the password from the command line (Pwd4Steve) using the
160 crypt() algorithm, and stores it in the specified file.
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164 Web password files such as those managed by htpasswd should not be
165 within the Web server's URI space -- that is, they should not be fetch‐
166 able with a browser.
167 This program is not safe as a setuid executable. Do not make it setuid.
170 The use of the -b option is discouraged, since when it is used the
173 unencrypted password appears on the command line.
174 When using the crypt() algorithm, note that only the first 8 characters
177 of the password are used to form the password. If the supplied password
178 is longer, the extra characters will be silently discarded.
179 The SHA encryption format does not use salting: for a given password,
182 there is only one encrypted representation. The crypt() and MD5 formats
183 permute the representation by prepending a random salt string, to make
184 dictionary attacks against the passwords more difficult.
185 The SHA and crypt() formats are insecure by today's standards.
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191 On the Windows platform, passwords encrypted with htpasswd are limited
192 to no more than 255 characters in length. Longer passwords will be
193 truncated to 255 characters.
194 The MD5 algorithm used by htpasswd is specific to the Apache software;
197 passwords encrypted using it will not be usable with other Web servers.
198 Usernames are limited to 255 bytes and may not include the character :.
201Apache HTTP Server 2018-07-06 HTPASSWD(1)