Password-protecting a directory in DirectAdmin

In DirectAdmin, you can easily protect a folder of your website with a username and password. Visitors will then see a login window first.

1. Log in to DirectAdmin: in My WebOké, go to My Products and click DirectAdmin next to your hosting package.
2. Select the correct domain in the top right and, under Advanced Features, click Password Protected Directories.
3. Click Add Protected Directory.
4. Under Path, choose the folder you want to protect, for example public_html/beheer.
5. Under Directory realm, enter the text visitors will see in the login window and click Protect.
6. Then add the users who are allowed access, each with their own username and password.

Only use this on a site with https. Without https, the password travels across the internet in readable form. See Activating an SSL certificate.

DirectAdmin then places a .htaccess file in that folder. You can add more users later or remove the protection again on the same page.

Protecting a single file

Do you only want to protect a single file, for example admin.php? First protect the folder as described above, so the password file exists. Then edit the .htaccess with a block such as:

<FilesMatch "^(admin|beheer)\.php$">
AuthName "Alleen voor beheerders"
AuthType Basic
AuthUserFile /home/gebruiker/domains/jouwdomein.nl/.htpasswd/public_html/map/.htpasswd
Require valid-user
</FilesMatch>

Copy the path for AuthUserFile from the .htaccess that DirectAdmin created.

Do you use clean URLs, as with WordPress? Then also read .htaccess: clean URLs and still protecting a folder.

See also in the DirectAdmin manual: Showing and editing hidden files such as .htaccess.

Detailed explanation with screenshots: Password Protected Directories in the DirectAdmin manual.