Restoring Keymaster Access on BB-Press --- Fixing one thing breaks another!

(Reading time: 3 – 4 minutes)

[Update] March 20, 2009: bbPress Keymaster is chosen on install. When integrating with WordPress as here, this is the ID that’s critical to preserve. Will update article as necessary.

What a great day!

Just kicking back on the couch, listening to some Morphine, laptop in the lap, upgrading security on a client’s website, just having a good old time.

Fixed a couple of my pre-launch web sites I’m developing as well.

All well and good…

Now why can’t I log in as admin to my brand new, integrated BBPress forum?

Ruh roh… “climbing up a rope on fire” indeed…

The Upshot…

BBPress Keymaster defaults to WordPress user ID #1

Installing an integrated WordPress and BBPress system requires making sure either WordPress user #1 exists in the WordPress database, as required BBPress “keymaster” administration code, or you have mapped WordPress administrator user privileges into BPress user keymaster Role. If you lose BBPress keymaster privileges after deleting the WordPress admin user, modify an appropriate user in wp_users table in the WordPress database to have ID equal 1.

Make sure to set BBPress roles before deleting WordPress admin user.

Integrating BBPress with Wordpress

A good forum makes for a great website. Fortunately, there are several freely available forum platforms available including phpBB, and BBPress. BBPress is an Automattic project, the company that makes WordPress, so integrating is a natural fit. That being said, BBPress is a bit of red-headed stepchild… development lags WordPress, considerably. But BBPress is easy to use, stable, and since it’s an Automattic product, seems low risk.

The setup is pretty straightforward, very much like WordPress. For integrating WordPress and BBPress, have a text editor handy for copying various keys from the configuration file to the installation interface web page.

And of course, right after you install WordPress, you want to delete the default, “admin” user to slow down the hacker brigade. It’s the easiest, obvious, first line of defense for protecting your new blog… just make sure you still have BBPress access afterwards!

Losing administrator access

Losing admin access in an integrated installation requires going into the WordPress database directly. It’s not enough to add a new “admin” user, because that user won’t have the required user ID #1 required by BBPress…

…which in this case occurred because I had not set the WordPress Administor user to BBPress Keymaster Role. This is something that you should check whenever you have an integrated BBPress and want to delete WordPress users.

Anyway, fixing it’s easy. Fire up your favorite database client, phpMyAdmin will do just fine, and change your desired admin user (e.g., you) to have ID 1 in the wp_users table. (If you were clever enough to change the wp_ prefix, it will be yourprefix_users.)

By the way, these kinds of heartburn-inducing episodes are best accompanied by some, nice relaxing music (Dire Straits—Brothers In Arms Live). Keeps the rage under control…