How To Set Up Password Authentication with Apache on Ubuntu 22.04

To set up password authentication with Apache on Ubuntu 22.04, you can use the htpasswd utility to create a password file and then configure Apache to require authentication for specific directories or web pages. Here's a step-by-step guide:

Step 1 : Install Apache

If Apache is not already installed on your Ubuntu 22.04 server, you can install it by running the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

Step 2 : Create a Virtual Host Configuration File

Create a new virtual host configuration file for the website or application you want to protect. Replace example.com.conf with the desired configuration file name:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf

Inside the configuration file, define the virtual host, specify the directory or location to protect, and set up the authentication settings. Here's an example:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@example.com
    ServerName example.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/example.com/public_html

    <Directory /var/www/example.com/public_html>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride None
        Require valid-user
        AuthType Basic
        AuthName "Authentication Required"
        AuthUserFile /etc/apache2/.htpasswd
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Replace example.com with your actual domain name, and adjust the DocumentRoot and <Directory> paths to match your website's directory structure.

Step 3 : Create a Password File

You'll use the htpasswd utility to create a password file and add users to it. Each user and their corresponding password will be stored in this file. Replace username with the desired username:

sudo htpasswd -c /etc/apache2/.htpasswd username

You will be prompted to enter a password for the user. Make sure to choose a strong password.

Step 4 : Enable the Virtual Host

Enable the virtual host configuration you created using the a2ensite command:

sudo a2ensite example.com.conf

Replace example.com.conf with the actual name of your configuration file.

Step 5 : Test Apache Configuration

Before proceeding, it's a good practice to test the Apache configuration for syntax errors and potential issues. Open a terminal and run the following command:

sudo apache2ctl configtest

Step 6 : Restart Apache

Reload or restart Apache to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 7 : Test Authentication

Visit your protected website in a web browser. You should be prompted to enter the username and password you created in Step 3. After successfully authenticating, you'll have access to the protected virtual host.

Congratulations! You've successfully set up password authentication with Apache for a specific virtual host on Ubuntu 22.04.