Locker module is a Drupal authentication tool originally developed by our team. It uses sessions to forbid access to visitors and to hide a Drupal website. A user is required to login to gain access to the website. While Locker module isn’t a replacement for Drupal authentication, it serves as an additional layer to hide your Drupal website from public. It’s an alternative to HTTP Auth standard and recommended to be used in case your server doesn’t support HTTP Auth or if you don’t have permission to set it up or in case you want additional features that Locker module provides.
Drupal authentication use cases
There are multiple cases when you could use Locker:
- An alternative to HTTP Auth
Use Locker in case your server doesn’t support HTTP Auth or you don’t have permission to set it up. - Drupal maintenance mode replacement
Use Locker instead of using Drupal maintenance mode. - Hiding a Drupal site from public on development and staging server
Take proactive measures to keep your dev and staging sites from showing up to public and in Google search results. - White label development
Customise Locker with your own brand, logo and identity. - Hiding a site from Google Analytics
Use Locker to hide your Drupal site from Google Analytics. - Post-update site verification as an anonymous user
Verify whether cache works correctly after an update.
How to use Locker module
After installing, access Locker module in admin/config/development/locker.
To lock your Drupal site:
- Choose radio button "Yes"
- Choose login option
- Click "Submit"
WARNING: This will lock your Drupal site immediately! Use your credentials to gain access. If you forget your credentials you need to use drush unlock. Files will still be accessible via direct links!
To unlock your Drupal site:
- Choose radio button "No"
- Click "Submit"
Visit the official Locker module project page - https://www.drupal.org/project/locker
