Why Is My PHP Session Lost After a Redirect?

PHP Session Lost After Redirect: Troubleshooting Guide

Problem:
Users may encounter a session loss after redirecting in a PHP application. This issue arises when the session information is not retained after the redirection.

Solution:

To resolve this, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

General Checks:

• Ensure session_start() is called before accessing any session variables.
• Use exit(); after the header redirect to terminate the script.
• Confirm that cookies are enabled in the browser.
• Verify that the session has not been deleted or emptied.
• Check that the session array key is not overwritten.
• Redirect to the same domain (e.g., from www.example.com to example.com).
• Ensure the file extension is .php.
• Inspect PHP errors to identify any issues preventing session initiation.

Browser Cookie Checks:

• Open the browser's developer tools, enable "Preserve log," and check the cookie values sent by the server and browser.
• Confirm that the SameSite cookie attribute is not set to Strict, which may prevent session cookies from being sent when returning from third-party sites.

Hosting-Related Issues:

If the aforementioned checks do not resolve the issue, it may be related to the hosting provider.

• Consult the knowledge base and forums of your hosting company.

• Verify that the session save path is properly configured, such as:

  session_save_path('/home/<your user directory>/cgi-bin/tmp');
  session_start();

• Ensure that the directory exists in your root directory.

By implementing these checks and addressing any potential hosting-related issues, you can prevent session loss after redirects in your PHP application.

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