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htpasswd(1)
NAME
  htpasswd - Create and update user authentication files

SYNOPSIS
  htpasswd [ -c ] [ -m ] passwdfile username
  htpasswd -b [ -c ] [ -m | -d | -p | -s ] passwdfile username password
  htpasswd -n [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username
  htpasswd -nb [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username 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 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 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.  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 combined with the -c option.

  -m   Use MD5 encryption for passwords. On Windows and TPF, this is the
       default.

  -d   Use crypt() encryption for passwords. The default on all platforms but
       Windows and TPF. Though possibly supported by htpasswd on all
       platforms, it is not supported by the httpd server on Windows 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 and TPF.

  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 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 written, it is not altered and htpasswd will display 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 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 ':'.

SEE ALSO
  httpd(8) and the scripts in support/SHA1 which come with the distribution.

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