Password protecting a directory is easy to do, all you have to do is :
- Add some code to your .htaccess file
- Create a file called .htpasswd
- Select a username and generate an encrypted password and then add them to your .htpasswd file
Code to add to your Htaccess
You need to add the following code to your .htaccessfile.
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Name of your secure area"
AuthUserFile /fullpath/to/your/directory/.htpasswd
require valid-user
You need to edit the file accordingly.
- Name of your secure area = You can call this anything you want ie. Secure Area or Members Area or whatever.
- Full Path To Your Directory = This is the absolute path to the directory where your .htpasswd file is saved.
Here’s an example :
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Private Area"
AuthUserFile /home/mysite/.htpasswd
require valid-user
Create a file called .htpasswd
You create a .htpasswd file the same way you created the .htaccess file. All you need to do is create a blank document and save it as .htpasswd.
For security reasons, it is best to place this file above the root of your domain ie. place it in something like /home/mysite/ instead of /home/mysite/public_html.
Create a username and password
The username and password added to your .htpasswd file is in the format :
username:encryptedpassword
So my generated password might be something like
Kevin:nDh54k4Nc.C5c
So how do I encrypt my password in this way?
Well there are a number of ways but the quickest and easiest is to use one of the many encryption sites on the web.
Just use any of the scripts below to generate your encrypted password.
- htpasswd encryption
- .htpasswd Content Generator
Once you have your username and password, simply add the line to your .htaccess file.
Now go and test it out and see if your directory is now password protected 🙂
Password Protect a Directory Comments
- To give additional users access to a directory simply add another line with a username and encrypted password
- Only the password is encrypted, the username is not encryped