1HTPASSWD(1) htpasswd HTPASSWD(1)
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6 htpasswd - Manage user files for basic authentication
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10 htpasswd [ -c ] [ -m ] [ -D ] passwdfile username
11 htpasswd -b [ -c ] [ -m | -d | -p | -s ] [ -D ] passwdfile username
14 password
15 htpasswd -n [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username
18 htpasswd -nb [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username password
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25 htpasswd is used to create and update the flat-files used to store
26 usernames and password for basic authentication of HTTP users. If
27 htpasswd cannot access a file, such as not being able to write to the
28 output file or not being able to read the file in order to update it,
29 it returns an error status and makes no changes.
30 Resources available from the Apache HTTP server can be restricted to
33 just the users listed in the files created by htpasswd. This program
34 can only manage usernames and passwords stored in a flat-file. It can
35 encrypt and display password information for use in other types of data
36 stores, though. To use a DBM database see dbmmanage.
37 htpasswd encrypts passwords using either a version of MD5 modified for
40 Apache, or the system's crypt() routine. Files managed by htpasswd may
41 contain both types of passwords; some user records may have
42 MD5-encrypted passwords while others in the same file may have pass‐
43 words encrypted with crypt().
44 This manual page only lists the command line arguments. For details of
47 the directives necessary to configure user authentication in httpd see
48 the Apache manual, which is part of the Apache distribution or can be
49 found at http://httpd.apache.org/.
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54 -b Use batch mode; i.e., get the password from the command line
55 rather than prompting for it. This option should be used with
56 extreme care, since the password is clearly visible on the com‐
57 mand line.
58 -c Create the passwdfile. If passwdfile already exists, it is
60 rewritten and truncated. This option cannot be combined with the
61 -n option.
62 -n Display the results on standard output rather than updating a
64 file. This is useful for generating password records acceptable
65 to Apache for inclusion in non-text data stores. This option
66 changes the syntax of the command line, since the passwdfile
67 argument (usually the first one) is omitted. It cannot be com‐
68 bined with the -c option.
69 -m Use MD5 encryption for passwords. On Windows, Netware and TPF,
71 this is the default.
72 -d Use crypt() encryption for passwords. The default on all plat‐
74 forms but Windows, Netware and TPF. Though possibly supported by
75 htpasswd on all platforms, it is not supported by the httpd
76 server on Windows, Netware and TPF.
77 -s Use SHA encryption for passwords. Facilitates migration from/to
79 Netscape servers using the LDAP Directory Interchange Format
80 (ldif).
81 -p Use plaintext passwords. Though htpasswd will support creation
83 on all platforms, the httpd daemon will only accept plain text
84 passwords on Windows, Netware and TPF.
85 -D Delete user. If the username exists in the specified htpasswd
87 file, it will be deleted.
88 passwdfile
90 Name of the file to contain the user name and password. If -c is
91 given, this file is created if it does not already exist, or
92 rewritten and truncated if it does exist.
93 username
95 The username to create or update in passwdfile. If username does
96 not exist in this file, an entry is added. If it does exist, the
97 password is changed.
98 password
100 The plaintext password to be encrypted and stored in the file.
101 Only used with the -b flag.
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105 htpasswd returns a zero status ("true") if the username and password
106 have been successfully added or updated in the passwdfile. htpasswd
107 returns 1 if it encounters some problem accessing files, 2 if there was
108 a syntax problem with the command line, 3 if the password was entered
109 interactively and the verification entry didn't match, 4 if its opera‐
110 tion was interrupted, 5 if a value is too long (username, filename,
111 password, or final computed record), 6 if the username contains illegal
112 characters (see the Restrictions section), and 7 if the file is not a
113 valid password file.
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117 htpasswd /usr/local/etc/apache/.htpasswd-users jsmith
118 Adds or modifies the password for user jsmith. The user is prompted for
122 the password. If executed on a Windows system, the password will be
123 encrypted using the modified Apache MD5 algorithm; otherwise, the sys‐
124 tem's crypt() routine will be used. If the file does not exist,
125 htpasswd will do nothing except return an error.
126 htpasswd -c /home/doe/public_html/.htpasswd jane
129 Creates a new file and stores a record in it for user jane. The user is
133 prompted for the password. If the file exists and cannot be read, or
134 cannot be written, it is not altered and htpasswd will display a mes‐
135 sage and return an error status.
136 htpasswd -mb /usr/web/.htpasswd-all jones Pwd4Steve
139 Encrypts the password from the command line (Pwd4Steve) using the MD5
143 algorithm, and stores it in the specified file.
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147 Web password files such as those managed by htpasswd should not be
148 within the Web server's URI space -- that is, they should not be fetch‐
149 able with a browser.
150 This program is not safe as a setuid executable. Do not make it setuid.
153 The use of the -b option is discouraged, since when it is used the
156 unencrypted password appears on the command line.
157 When using the crypt() algorithm, note that only the first 8 characters
160 of the password are used to form the password. If the supplied password
161 is longer, the extra characters will be silently discarded.
162 The SHA encryption format does not use salting: for a given password,
165 there is only one encrypted representation. The crypt() and MD5 formats
166 permute the representation by prepending a random salt string, to make
167 dictionary attacks against the passwords more difficult.
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171 On the Windows and MPE platforms, passwords encrypted with htpasswd are
172 limited to no more than 255 characters in length. Longer passwords will
173 be truncated to 255 characters.
174 The MD5 algorithm used by htpasswd is specific to the Apache software;
177 passwords encrypted using it will not be usable with other Web servers.
178 Usernames are limited to 255 bytes and may not include the character :.
181Apache HTTP Server 2007-04-24 HTPASSWD(1)