Daniel Bachhuber

Chris Reynolds

Pantheon Systems

John Spellman

Andrew Taylor

mpvanwinkle77

Josh Koenig

rwagner00

stovak

<p><a href="https://travis-ci.org/pantheon-systems/wp-native-php-sessions" rel="nofollow ugc"></a> <a href="https://circleci.com/gh/pantheon-systems/wp-native-php-sessions/tree/master" rel="nofollow ugc"></a></p>
<p>WordPress core does not use PHP sessions, but sometimes they are required by your use-case, a plugin or theme.</p>
<p>This plugin implements PHP’s native session handlers, backed by the WordPress database. This allows plugins, themes, and custom code to safely use PHP <code>$_SESSION</code>s in a distributed environment where PHP’s default tempfile storage just won’t work.</p>
<p>Note that primary development is on GitHub if you would like to contribute:</p>
<p>https://github.com/pantheon-systems/wp-native-php-sessions</p>
<h3>Configuration</h3>
<p>By default the session lifetime is set to 0, which is until the browser is closed.</p>
<p>To override this use the <code>pantheon_session_expiration</code> filter before the Native PHP Sessions plugin is loaded. For example a small Must-use plugin (a.k.a. mu-plugin) could contain:</p>
<pre><code><?php
function my_session_expiration_override() {
    return 60*60*4; // 4 hours
}
add_filter( 'pantheon_session_expiration', 'my_session_expiration_override' );<h3>CLI Commands</h3>
</code></pre>
<p><strong>wp pantheon session add-index</strong></p>
<p>Added in 1.4.0. This command should be run if your installation of the plugin occurred before the addition of the primary ID key to the session table in version 1.2.2. You will be automatically notified when you visit any admin page if this is the case. If there’s no message, your version is good to go. Note that this command is non-destructive, a new table will be created and the existing one preserved in a backup state until you have verified that the upgrade is functioning as expected.</p>
<p><strong>wp pantheon session primary-key-finalize</strong></p>
<p>Added in 1.4.0. If you have run the <code>add-index</code> command and have verified that the new table is functioning correctly, running the <code>primary-key-finalize</code> command will perform a database cleanup and remove the backup table.</p>
<p><strong>wp pantheon session primary-key-revert</strong></p>
<p>Added in 1.4.0. If you have run the <code>add-index</code> command and something unexpected has occurred, just run the <code>primary-key-revert</code> command and the backup table will immediately be returned to being the active table.</p>
<h4>WordPress Multisite</h4>
<p>As of 1.4.2 the <code>add-index</code>, <code>primary-key-add</code> and <code>primary-key-revert</code> commands are fully multisite compatible.</p>
<h3>Contributing</h3>
<p>See <a href="https://github.com/pantheon-systems/wp-native-php-sessions/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md" rel="nofollow ugc">CONTRIBUTING.md</a> for information on contributing.</p>
<h3>Troubleshooting</h3>
<p>If you see an error like “Fatal error: session_start(): Failed to initialize storage module:” or “Warning: ini_set(): A session is active.”, then you likely have a plugin that is starting a session before WP Native PHP Sessions is loading.</p>
<p>To fix, create a new file at <code>wp-content/mu-plugins/000-loader.php</code> and include the following:</p>
<pre><code><?php
if (file_exists(WP_PLUGIN_DIR . '/wp-native-php-sessions/pantheon-sessions.php')) {
    require_once WP_PLUGIN_DIR . '/wp-native-php-sessions/pantheon-sessions.php';
}
</code></pre>
<p>This mu-plugin will load WP Native PHP Sessions before all other plugins, while letting you still use the WordPress plugin updater to keep the plugin up-to-date.</p>


Native PHP Sessions

I did not have high hopes for this, looking for plugins to resolve the issue my site was having in Site Health and figured I might as well try  this after running across it on Google. I installed it, and it fixed loopback requests and API issues in Site Health. I am very impressed! 

Wow! This plugin works great!

Use native PHP sessions and stay horizontally scalable. Better living through superior technology.

Michael Finkenberger

<p><strong>WP Access Control Center</strong> is a powerful security control center for WordPress administrators who want full control over authentication, sessions, and password policies.</p>
<p>Take control of your site’s access layer with real-time session monitoring, flexible two-factor authentication, and powerful emergency tools — all in one place.</p>
<h3>🛡️ Security Overview Dashboard 📊</h3>
<ul>
<li>General indicator about the current site security status</li>
<li>Status overview about the most important security settings</li>
<li>Live view of main session KPIs (refresh: 5s)</li>
<li>Next step recommendations to get your site more secure</li>
<li>Can be made <em>sticky</em> to stay visible when scrolling down</li>
</ul>
<h3>🔐 Two-Factor Protection</h3>
<ul>
<li>Email-based verification codes</li>
<li>TOTP support (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy, etc.)</li>
<li>Role-based enforcement</li>
<li>Grace periods for smooth rollout</li>
<li>Backup codes for account recovery</li>
<li>Trusted devices to reduce login friction</li>
</ul>
<h3>👁️ Live Session Control</h3>
<ul>
<li>Real-time overview of all active sessions (AJAX-powered)</li>
<li>Inspect session details and parameters</li>
<li>Instantly terminate individual or all sessions</li>
<li>Monitor user activity as it happens</li>
</ul>
<h3>🔑 Password Policies</h3>
<ul>
<li>Enforce password strength requirements</li>
<li>Prevent password reuse</li>
<li>Define role-based password expiration</li>
<li>Real-time feedback during password creation</li>
</ul>
<h3>⚡ Bulk Password Reset</h3>
<ul>
<li>Reset passwords for roles or selected users</li>
<li>Optionally terminate related sessions</li>
<li>Automatic email notifications (fully customizable)</li>
</ul>
<h3>🔄 Security Key Rotation</h3>
<ul>
<li>One-click regeneration of WordPress KEYs & SALTs</li>
<li>Immediately invalidates all active sessions</li>
<li>Essential for incident response</li>
</ul>
<h3>⏱️ Advanced Session Control</h3>
<ul>
<li>Configure session lifetime per role</li>
<li>Separate rules for “Remember Me”</li>
<li>Automatic cleanup of expired sessions</li>
</ul>
<h3>🎨 Login Experience Designer</h3>
<ul>
<li>Customize the 2FA login page</li>
<li>Background images (outer & inner)</li>
<li>Flexible CSS customization</li>
<li>Safe defaults – no changes unless configured</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>No external services required.</strong> Everything runs locally within your WordPress installation.</p>


WP Access Control Center

Take full control over authentication, sessions, and password security in WordPress – including real-time session monitoring, 2FA, and emergency tools

Native PHP Sessions vs WP Access Control Center