Htpasswd

HTPASSWD HELP FILE
# htpasswd --help Usage: htpasswd [-cmdpsD] passwordfile username htpasswd -b[cmdpsD] passwordfile username password htpasswd -n[mdps] username htpasswd -nb[mdps] username password -c Create a new file. -n Don't update file; display results on stdout. -m Force MD5 encryption of the password. -d Force CRYPT encryption of the password (default). -p Do not encrypt the password (plaintext). -s Force SHA encryption of the password. -b Use the password from the command line rather than prompting for it. -D Delete the specified user. On Windows, NetWare and TPF systems the '-m' flag is used by default. On all other systems, the '-p' flag will probably not work.

HTPASSWD MAN FILE
HTPASSWD(1)                       htpasswd                        HTPASSWD(1) NAME htpasswd - Manage user files for basic authentication SYNOPSIS htpasswd [ -c ] [ -m ] [ -D ] passwdfile username htpasswd -b  [  -c  ] [ -m | -d | -p | -s ] [ -D ] passwdfile username password htpasswd -n [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username htpasswd -nb [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username password SUMMARY 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 Apache HTTP server can be  restricted  to       just  the  users  listed in the files created by htpasswd. This program 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 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  MD5  encryption for passwords. On Windows, Netware and TPF, this is the default. -d    Use crypt encryption for passwords. The default on all  plat- forms but Windows, Netware and TPF. Though possibly supported by             htpasswd on all platforms, it is  not  supported  by  the  httpd server on Windows, Netware and TPF. -s    Use  SHA encryption for passwords. Facilitates 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 daemon will only accept plain  text passwords on Windows, Netware and TPF. -D    Delete  user. If the username exists in the specified htpasswd file, it will be deleted. 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), 6 if the username contains illegal characters (see the Restrictions section), and 7 if the file is not  a       valid password file. 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 sys- tem’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  written, it is not altered and htpasswd will display a mes- sage 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 :. Apache HTTP Server               2003-11-25                       HTPASSWD(1)