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 pro-
    gram 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 <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 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 and TPF, this is
    the default.

    -d   Use crypt() encryption for passwords. The default on all plat-
    forms 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 opera-
    tion 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  algo-
    rithm; 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 can-
    not 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 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
    ':'.

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