htpasswd - Manage user files for basic authentication

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 passwords encrypted with crypt().

-m Use MD5 encryption for passwords.
-c Create the passwdfile. If passwdfile already exists, it is rewritten and truncated.

EXAMPLES

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

Adds or modifies the password for user jsmith. The user is prompted for the password.

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