CGI-Bin

What Does CGI-Bin Mean?

A CGI-bin is a folder used to house scripts that will interact with a Web browser to provide functionality for a Web page or website. Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is a resource for accommodating the use of scripts in Web design. As scripts are sent from a server to a Web browser, the CGI-bin is often referenced in a url.

Techopedia Explains CGI-Bin

There is some debate as to whether CGI is obsolete because this functionality can also be provided by using JavaScript and new Web programming tools like PHP. While some aspects of Web design are moving away from the use of CGI and the CGI-bin, some designers still like to use this kind of system to add dynamic features to a Web page. Still, there are some drawbacks to using a CGI approach related to the individual commands needed to load scripts. There can also be issues with browsers timing out as a result of faulty script.

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Margaret Rouse

Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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