localhost/wp-admin — WordPress Admin Login

Access your local WordPress dashboard at localhost/wp-admin to manage posts, pages, themes, plugins, and settings. This is the admin control panel for WordPress sites running on XAMPP, WAMP, MAMP, or Laragon. If WordPress is in a subfolder, use localhost/foldername/wp-admin instead.

WordPress Admin URLs

The URL depends on where you installed WordPress:

What You Can Do in wp-admin

• Posts & Pages — Create, edit, and delete content
• Media Library — Upload and manage images, videos, files
• Appearance — Change themes, customize design, manage menus
• Plugins — Install, activate, and configure plugins
• Users — Manage admin accounts and permissions
• Settings — Configure site URL, permalinks, reading options
• Tools — Import/export data, site health check

wp-admin Not Working? Troubleshooting

404 Not Found

Cause: WordPress is in a subfolder, not htdocs root.

Fix: Find which folder contains wp-admin:

# Check htdocs for WordPress folders
C:\xampp\htdocs\           → localhost/wp-admin
C:\xampp\htdocs\wordpress\ → localhost/wordpress/wp-admin
C:\xampp\htdocs\blog\      → localhost/blog/wp-admin

Login Redirect Loop

Cause: Site URL in database doesn't match localhost.

Fix: Add to wp-config.php before "That's all, stop editing!":

define('WP_HOME', 'http://localhost/wordpress');
define('WP_SITEURL', 'http://localhost/wordpress');

Error Establishing Database Connection

Cause: MySQL not running or wp-config.php has wrong credentials.

Fix: Check wp-config.php:

define('DB_NAME', 'wordpress');     // Your database name
define('DB_USER', 'root');          // Usually 'root' for local
define('DB_PASSWORD', '');          // Blank for XAMPP/WAMP
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');     // Or 'localhost:8889' for MAMP

White Screen of Death

Cause: PHP error hidden.

Fix: Enable debugging in wp-config.php:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', true);

Forgot Password? Reset via phpMyAdmin

1. Open localhost/phpmyadmin
2. Select your WordPress database (usually "wordpress")
3. Click on wp_users table
4. Click Edit next to your user
5. Find user_pass field
6. In the "Function" dropdown, select MD5
7. Replace the value with your new password
8. Click Go to save

Or run this SQL query:

UPDATE wp_users 
SET user_pass = MD5('yournewpassword') 
WHERE user_login = 'admin';

Create Admin User via phpMyAdmin

If you need to create a new admin user:

INSERT INTO wp_users (user_login, user_pass, user_email, user_registered)
VALUES ('newadmin', MD5('password123'), 'admin@localhost.com', NOW());

INSERT INTO wp_usermeta (user_id, meta_key, meta_value)
VALUES (LAST_INSERT_ID(), 'wp_capabilities', 'a:1:{s:13:"administrator";b:1;}');

INSERT INTO wp_usermeta (user_id, meta_key, meta_value)
VALUES (LAST_INSERT_ID()-1, 'wp_user_level', '10');

Useful wp-admin URLs