ikiwiki/doc/plugins/httpauth.mdwn

[[!template id=plugin name=httpauth author="Alec Berryman"]]
[[!tag type/auth]]

This plugin allows HTTP basic authentication to be used to log into the
wiki. In this mode, the web browser authenticates the user by some means,
and sets the `REMOTE_USER CGI` environment variable. This plugin trusts
that if that variable is set, the user is authenticated.

## fully authenticated wiki

One way to use the plugin is to configure your web server to require
HTTP basic authentication for any access to the directory containing the
wiki (and `ikiwiki.cgi`). The authenticated user will be automatically
signed into the wiki. This method is suitable only for private wikis.

## separate cgiauthurl

To use httpauth for a wiki where the content is public, and where
the `ikiwiki.cgi` needs to be usable without authentication (for searching,
or logging in using other methods, and so on), you can configure a separate
url that is used for authentication, via the `cgiauthurl` option in the setup
file. This url will then be redirected to when a user chooses to log in using
httpauth.

A typical setup is to make an `auth` subdirectory, and symlink `ikiwiki.cgi` 
into it. Then configure the web server to require authentication only for
access to the `auth` subdirectory. Then `cgiauthurl` is pointed at this
symlink.

## using only httpauth for some pages

If you want to only use httpauth for editing some pages, while allowing
other authentication methods to be used for other pages, you can
configure `httpauth_pagespec` in the setup file. This makes Edit
links on pages that match the [[ikiwiki/PageSpec]] automatically use
the `cgiauthurl`, and prevents matching pages from being edited by
users authentication via other methods.

## Using httpauth with nginx

You have to pass the $remote_user variable to the CGI:

    location /ikiwiki.cgi {
        fastcgi_param REMOTE_USER $remote_user;
        ....
    }