OpenCart Admin Login Redirect Loop or Not Working

1. Clear Your Browser Cache & Cookies

• Open your browser settings and clear cookies/cache for your OpenCart site.
• Restart the browser and try logging in again.

2. Check Your OpenCart config.php Files

• Open config.php in both:
  • /admin/config.php
  • /config.php
• Ensure the correct URLs are set:
  php

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  define('HTTP_SERVER', 'https://yourdomain.com/admin/');
define('HTTPS_SERVER', 'https://yourdomain.com/admin/');

• If you recently changed the domain, make sure the URLs reflect the new domain.

3. Fix the session path in php.ini

• If your OpenCart store uses PHP sessions incorrectly, set the correct session path:
  • Open your php.ini file and find this line:
    ini

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    session.save_path = "/var/lib/php/sessions"

  • Ensure the path exists and has write permissions.

4. Delete OpenCart Sessions & Cache Manually

• Go to your OpenCart directory and delete session files manually:
  sh

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  rm -rf system/storage/cache/*
rm -rf system/storage/session/*

• Try logging in again.

5. Ensure Your session.auto_start is Off

• In your php.ini file, check:
  ini

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  session.auto_start = 0

• If session.auto_start = 1, change it to 0 and restart your web server.

6. Reset Admin User Password (via Database)

• If you suspect an incorrect password, reset it in the database:
  • Open phpMyAdmin → Select your OpenCart database.
  • Run this SQL query to reset the admin password:
    SQL

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    UPDATE oc_user SET password = SHA1('newpassword') WHERE username = 'admin';

  • Replace 'newpassword' with your new password.

7. Disable Extensions via Database (If an Extension is Causing Issues)

• If the issue started after installing an extension, disable it using SQL:
  SQL

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  UPDATE oc_extension SET status = '0' WHERE type = 'module';

• Try logging in again.

8. Check for Security Modifications or .htaccess Issues

• If you’re using Cloudflare, ModSecurity, or custom .htaccess rules, they might block admin access.
• Temporarily disable them and try logging in.

9. Upgrade OpenCart or Restore a Working Backup

• If the issue started after an update or modification, try restoring an older backup.
• Consider updating OpenCart to the latest stable version.

10. Use the opencart_error.log to Debug Further

• Check your OpenCart error logs in /system/storage/logs/error.log to identify any underlying issues.

Comments:
This problem is often caused by incorrect session settings or cookie conflicts. If all else fails, try logging in from a different browser or device. 🚀