HTTP Apache2 Basic Authentication example 1

See also

Virtual host

To add basic authentication to an apache2 virtual host you need to add the following lines to the virtual host configuration: 

AuthType Basic                                               (1)
AuthName "Private Documentation Repository"                  (2)
AuthUserFile /var/www/crock.norang.ca/.htpasswd-private      (3)
Require valid-user                                           (4)

    1. Set the Basic authentication method

    1. Provide a name for the location (optional)

    1. Specify the pathname to the file that contains usernames and passwords. The usual filename to use is .htpasswd

    1. Specify that only users that exist in the file are allowed access

The AuthUserFile should not be located in a directory served by apache2 since you do not want people to be able to download the contents of this file. This file contains the valid usernames and passwords.

Example: Virtual Host Entry 

 1 <Location "/var/www/crock.norang.ca/htdocs/private/">
 2
 3     AuthType Basic
 4     AuthBasicProvider file
 5     AuthName "Restrited Files"
 6     AuthUserFile /var/www/crock.norang.ca/.htpasswd-private
 7     Require user eni
 8
 9
10 </Location>

  • AuthType : type d’authentification (mod_auth_basic)

  • AuthBasicProvider : fournisseur d’authentification (mod_authn_file)

  • AuthUserFile : fichier contenant les comptes utilisateur

htpasswd command

The htpasswd file (var/www/crock.norang.ca.htpasswd-private in the example above) is created and maintained by the htpasswd program.

Use use this program to add or change password entries in the file.

Creating New Users

Example: Creating a new entry 

$ sudo htpasswd /var/www/crock.norang.ca/.htpasswd-private eni

New password:
Re-type new password:

This prompts for the password for newuser and stores the encrypted password in the password file.

Example: Created password entry (part of the .htpasswd file) 

newuser:Po9FhxMKQJcRY

Deleting Users

You delete users from the .htpasswd access file as follows

Example: Deleting user account eni 

$ sudo htpasswd -D .htpasswd eni