HTPASSWD2(1)                       htpasswd                       HTPASSWD2(1)



NAME
       htpasswd2 - Manage user files for basic authentication


SYNOPSIS
       htpasswd2 [ -c ] [ -m ] [ -D ] passwdfile username


       htpasswd2 -b [ -c ] [ -m | -d | -p | -s ] [ -D ] passwdfile username
       password


       htpasswd2 -n [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username


       htpasswd2 -nb [ -m | -d | -s | -p ] username password



SUMMARY
       htpasswd2 is used to create and update the flat-files used to store
       usernames and password for basic authentication of HTTP users. If
       htpasswd2 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 htpasswd2. 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.


       htpasswd2 encrypts passwords using either a version of MD5 modified for
       Apache, or the system's crypt() routine. Files managed by htpasswd2 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 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
              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. This is the default.

       -d     Use crypt() encryption for passwords. This is not supported by
              the httpd server on Windows and 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 htpasswd2 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
       htpasswd2 returns a zero status ("true") if the username and password
       have been successfully added or updated in the passwdfile. htpasswd2
       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), 6 if the username
       contains illegal characters (see the Restrictions section), and 7 if
       the file is not a valid password file.


EXAMPLES
             htpasswd2 /usr/local/etc/apache/.htpasswd-users jsmith



       Adds or modifies the password for user jsmith. The user is prompted for
       the password. The password will be encrypted using the modified Apache
       MD5 algorithm. If the file does not exist, htpasswd2 will do nothing
       except return an error.


             htpasswd2 -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 htpasswd2 will display a
       message and return an error status.


             htpasswd2 -db /usr/web/.htpasswd-all jones Pwd4Steve



       Encrypts the password from the command line (Pwd4Steve) using the
       crypt() algorithm, and stores it in the specified file.


SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
       Web password files such as those managed by htpasswd2 should not be
       within the Web server's URI space -- that is, they should not be
       fetchable with a browser.


       This program is not safe as a setuid executable. Do not make it setuid.


       The use of the -b option is discouraged, since when it is used the
       unencrypted password appears on the command line.


       When using the crypt() algorithm, note that only the first 8 characters
       of the password are used to form the password. If the supplied password
       is longer, the extra characters will be silently discarded.


       The SHA encryption format does not use salting: for a given password,
       there is only one encrypted representation. The crypt() and MD5 formats
       permute the representation by prepending a random salt string, to make
       dictionary attacks against the passwords more difficult.


RESTRICTIONS
       On the Windows and MPE platforms, passwords encrypted with htpasswd2
       are limited to no more than 255 characters in length. Longer passwords
       will be truncated to 255 characters.


       The MD5 algorithm used by htpasswd2 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                2011-06-19                      HTPASSWD2(1)
