# Cookies

Cookies used by Etherpad.

| Name            | Sample value                       | Domain      | Path | Expires/max-age | Http-only| Secure |  Usage description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|-----------------|------------------------------------|-------------|------|-----------------|----------|--------| |
|express_sid      | s%3A7yCNjRmTW8ylGQ53I2IhOwYF9...   | example.org | /    | Session         | true     | true   | Session ID of the [Express web framework](https://expressjs.com). When Etherpad is behind a reverse proxy, and an administrator wants to use session stickiness, he may use this cookie. If you are behind a reverse proxy, please remember to set `trustProxy: true` in `settings.json`. Set in [webaccess.js#L131](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/blob/01497aa399690e44393e91c19917d11d025df71b/src/node/hooks/express/webaccess.js#L131).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|language         | en                                 | example.org | /    | Session         | false    | true   | The language of the UI (e.g.: `en-GB`, `it`). Set in [pad_editor.js#L111](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/blob/01497aa399690e44393e91c19917d11d025df71b/src/static/js/pad_editor.js#L111).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
|prefs / prefsHttp| %7B%22epThemesExtTheme%22...       | example.org | /p   | year 3000       | false    | true   | Client-side preferences (e.g.: font family, chat always visible, show authorship colors, ...). Set in [pad_cookie.js#L49](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/blob/01497aa399690e44393e91c19917d11d025df71b/src/static/js/pad_cookie.js#L49). `prefs` is used if Etherpad is accessed over HTTPS, `prefsHttp` if accessed over HTTP. For more info see https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/issues/3179.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
|token            | t.tFzkihhhBf4xKEpCK3PU             | example.org | /    | 60 days         | false    | true   | A random token representing the author, of the form `t.randomstring_of_lenght_20`. The random string is generated by the client, at ([pad.js#L55-L66](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/blob/01497aa399690e44393e91c19917d11d025df71b/src/static/js/pad.js#L55-L66)). This cookie is always set by the client (at [pad.js#L153-L158](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/blob/01497aa399690e44393e91c19917d11d025df71b/src/static/js/pad.js#L153-L158)) without any solicitation from the server. It is used for all the pads accessed via the web UI (not used for the HTTP API). On the server side, its value is accessed at [SecurityManager.js#L33](https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/blob/01497aa399690e44393e91c19917d11d025df71b/src/node/db/SecurityManager.js#L33).|

For more info, visit the related discussion at https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/issues/3563.

Etherpad HTTP API clients may make use (if they choose so) to send another cookie:

| Name            | Sample value                       | Domain      | Usage description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
|-----------------|------------------------------------|-------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|sessionID        | s.1c70968b333b25476a2c7bdd0e0bed17 | example.org | Sessions can be created between a group and an author. This allows an author to access more than one group. The sessionID will be set as a cookie to the client and is valid until a certain date. The session cookie can also contain multiple comma-separated sessionIDs, allowing a user to edit pads in different groups at the same time. More info - https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite/blob/develop/doc/api/http_api.md#session |
