[[!meta title="MIT SIPB Web Script Service"]]
The web script service allows individuals and groups to put CGI
scripts (Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Scheme, etc) on the web using
nothing more than an
[Athena](http://web.mit.edu/ist/topics/athena/) account. Although
this service has been designed with reliability in mind, it should
not be used to run critical applications that cannot tolerate
downtime.

Your scripts will automatically be accessible at URLs starting with
http://lockername.**scripts**.mit.edu/.

If, at some point, your group would like to make some-name.mit.edu
point to your scripts.mit.edu website, you can request such a
hostname using our
[hostname management interface](http://scripts.mit.edu/faq/14).

#### **To sign up for the service:**

If you just want to get started with a pre-made application,
consider trying our [Quick Start installers](../start/) instead.
Otherwise, you can sign up for the service by logging into an
Athena workstation and running:

athena% add scripts  
athena% signup-web

The command will ask you whether you would like to sign up your own
account, or a locker that you control.

(If you are confused about how to run the above commands on Athena,
e-mail scripts@mit.edu for assistance. You must have an
[Athena account](http://web.mit.edu/olh/Register/) and understand
the
[MITnet rules of use](http://web.mit.edu/olh/Welcome/rules.html) in
order to use the service. You should also understand that if you
install software from the web in your account, you are responsible
for keeping that software up-to-date so that it is secure.)

This signup process will create a **web\_scripts** directory. You
may now put scripts in this directory and have them served to the
web. Your scripts’ filenames must end in one of the following file
extensions: .pl, .php, .py, or .cgi

Files whose name end with “.php” will be executed with the PHP
interpreter. Otherwise, each file must be marked executable (chmod
+x filename.py) and have a
[shebang line](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_(Unix))
corresponding to its interpreter. This should be the first line of
the file. You can determine the path of an interpreter by
[ssh-ing to the scripts server](/faq/41). You are most likely to
want one of:

-   \#!/usr/bin/perl
-   \#!/usr/bin/python
-   \#!/usr/bin/php-cgi

Finally, add yourself to the
[scripts-announce mailing list](https://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/scripts-announce)
if you would like to receive announcements of major service changes
and outages. This list receives less than one e-mail per month on
average.

For more information, see our list of
[Frequently Asked Questions](../faq/).

#### Example Scripts

Looking at some basic examples may help you if you are having
trouble:  
Perl example:
[see code](http://web.mit.edu/~jbarnold/web_scripts/demo/demo.pl.html)
| [see output](http://jbarnold.scripts.mit.edu/demo/demo.pl)  
PHP example:
[see code](http://web.mit.edu/~jbarnold/web_scripts/demo/demo.php.html)
| [see output](http://jbarnold.scripts.mit.edu/demo/demo.php)
Python example:
[see code](http://web.mit.edu/~jbarnold/web_scripts/demo/demo.py.html)
| [see output](http://jbarnold.scripts.mit.edu/demo/demo.py)