Htpasswd

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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)