Resetting your WordPress password

Overview

This article walks you through simple and advanced methods to reset your WordPress user password.

Simple methods

• Resetting your password in the WordPress dashboard
• Using the 'Lost your password' link

Advanced methods

• Logging into phpMyAdmin
• Using wp-cli

[server]$ wp cache flush

Resetting your password in the WordPress dashboard

This option only works if you currently have access to your panel.

1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard at example.com/wp-login.php.

   

2. In the left pane, click Users > All Users.
3. From the list of all current usernames that appear, click the user you wish to reset the password for.
4. On the user edit page, scroll down to the section titled Account Management.

   

5. Click the Generate Password button.

   A long auto-generated password displays:

   

6. Click the Update Profile button if you wish to keep this password. Otherwise, edit the password field to enter your chosen password and then click Update Profile.

Using the 'Lost your password' link

If you know your WordPress username, or the email address you use to sign in, you can reset the password on the login page.

1. Navigate to your login page at example.com/wp-login.php.

   

2. Click the Lost your password? link under the login box.

   

3. On the next page, enter either your WordPress username or email address you use to sign in.
4. Click Get New Password. An email is sent that includes a link to reset your password.

   In some circumstances, your site may not be able to send emails consistently due to a lack of proper SMTP authentication. If you have not received your password-reset email within 15 minutes, try using one of the other methods listed below. You can also review the following external article for a workaround:

   • WordPress Not Sending Password Reset Email? - WP Mail SMTP Blog

   Clicking the link brings you back to the login page with a new password filled in:

   

5. Click Reset Password.

   Copy this password to a text file like notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac). If you just click Reset Password you will be taken back to the login page, but the user/password fields may be blank. If you've copied it to a text file, you can easily paste it back into the new login prompt.

6. After you're logged in, reset it in the dashboard as shown above.

Resetting in phpMyAdmin

If you have access to your DreamHost dashboard, you are able to view your phpMyAdmin credentials and log into your database to reset the password.

1. Log into your DreamHost panel.
2. Navigate to the MySQL Databases page. On this page, you can find the database credentials you'll need to log in.

   

3. In the left pane, click your database name.

   

4. Click the wp_users table. A list of usernames appears:

   

5. Click the Edit link to the left of the username you want to reset the password for. A page opens with your user's data:

   

6. To the right of user_pass, delete the entire string of numbers and letters that appear in the box.

   

7. Enter a new password.

   

8. From the dropdown next to user_pass, select MD5.

   

9. Click the Go button.

You should now be able to log in with the new password.

Using wp-cli

wp-cli is a command line tool you can use on your DreamHost server to manage your WordPress site. See this article for more details.

1. Log into your server via SSH.
2. Navigate to your WordPress directory.
3. Within the WordPress directory, run the wp-cli command wp user list to view a list of current users. Note the number to the left of the username:

   [server]$ wp user list
   +----+-------------+---------------+------------------+---------------------+---------------+
   | ID | user_login  | display_name  | user_email       | user_registered     | roles         |
   +----+-------------+---------------+------------------+---------------------+---------------+
   | 1  |   username  |   username    | user@example.com | 2024-04-02 11:14:28 | administrator |
   +----+-------------+---------------+------------------+---------------------+---------------+

4. Run the following command to update the username. You just need to update the 'ID' number and enter a password when prompted:

   [server]$ wp user update 1 --prompt=user_pass
   Success: Updated user 1

   You are immediately emailed a notification that your password has been changed.

You should now be able to log in with this new password.

See also

DreamHost links

• WordPress overview
• How to log into your WordPress site
• WordPress help article

Third-party links

• WordPress Not Sending Password Reset Email? - WP Mail SMTP Blog