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Native PHP Sessions
Use native PHP sessions and stay horizontally scalable. Better living through superior technology.
The facts
- Rating
- 4.9★ from 16
- Active installs
- 10k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 4 Dec 2025
- Added
- Sep 2014
- Requires WP
- 5.3
- Tested up to
- WP 6.9.7
- Requires PHP
- 7.4
- Downloads
- 1,405,542
Our analysis
AI-assistedNative PHP Sessions is a WordPress plugin that allows the use of PHP's native session handlers within the WordPress environment. It is particularly useful for scenarios where PHP sessions are required by a plugin or theme, enabling safe use of PHP $_SESSIONs backed by the WordPress database.
This plugin is suitable for developers who need to implement session management in a distributed environment, especially when the default PHP tempfile storage is not viable. It offers configuration options for session expiration and includes CLI commands for managing session tables.
Best for: Developers needing to manage PHP sessions in WordPress, particularly in multisite environments.
What it does well
- ✓Implements PHP's native session handlers
- ✓Backed by the WordPress database
- ✓Allows safe use of PHP $_SESSIONs
- ✓Includes CLI commands for session management
- ✓Free to use from the WordPress.org directory
Where it falls short
- •Requires PHP version 7.4 or higher
- •Limited information on advanced configuration options
Verdict
Native PHP Sessions provides a straightforward solution for integrating PHP sessions into WordPress. It is a practical choice for developers looking to enhance session management capabilities.
From the developer
Pantheon Systems's own description of Native PHP Sessions, lightly tidied.
WordPress core does not use PHP sessions, but sometimes they are required by your use-case, a plugin or theme.
This plugin implements PHP’s native session handlers, backed by the WordPress database. This allows plugins, themes, and custom code to safely use PHP $_SESSIONs in a distributed environment where PHP’s default tempfile storage just won’t work.
Note that primary development is on GitHub if you would like to contribute:
https://github.com/pantheon-systems/wp-native-php-sessions
Configuration
By default the session lifetime is set to 0, which is until the browser is closed.
To override this use the pantheon_session_expiration filter before the Native PHP Sessions plugin is loaded. For example a small Must-use plugin (a.k.a. mu-plugin) could contain:
<?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>
wp pantheon session add-index
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.
wp pantheon session primary-key-finalize
Added in 1.4.0. If you have run the add-index command and have verified that the new table is functioning correctly, running the primary-key-finalize command will perform a database cleanup and remove the backup table.
wp pantheon session primary-key-revert
Added in 1.4.0. If you have run the add-index command and something unexpected has occurred, just run the primary-key-revert command and the backup table will immediately be returned to being the active table.
WordPress Multisite
Tagged as
purpose
Backup & Restore
platform
WordPress Multisite
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