


HTPASSWD2(1)                htpasswd2                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 dbmmanage2.


       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 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 httpd2 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.




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HTPASSWD2(1)                htpasswd2                HTPASSWD2(1)


       -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
              htpasswd2 on all platforms, it is not supported  by  the  httpd2
              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 htpasswd2 will support creation
              on all platforms, the httpd2 daemon will only accept plain  text
              passwords on Windows, Netware and TPF.

       -D     Delete  user.  If the username exists in the specified htpasswd2
              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 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



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HTPASSWD2(1)                htpasswd2                HTPASSWD2(1)


       valid password file.


EXAMPLES
             htpasswd2 /usr/local/etc/apache/.htpasswd2-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,
       htpasswd2 will do nothing except return an error.


             htpasswd2 -c /home/doe/public_html/.htpasswd2 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 mes-
       sage and return an error status.


             htpasswd2 -mb /usr/web/.htpasswd2-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 htpasswd2 should not be
       within the Web server's URI space -- that is, they should not be fetch-
       able 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



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HTPASSWD2(1)                htpasswd2                HTPASSWD2(1)


       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 :.











































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