How to Fix Error 403 "Forbidden Access: New XAMPP security concept" on MacBook

Josephine Hardy 🌿 — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 19:12:14 +0000

If you're reading this article you've probably attempted to access the phpMyAdmin link in XAMPP only to receive the following "Forbidden Access" error:

This article will show you how to fix this issue on Mac. If you're using a PC the solution is the same but navigating the steps will look a little different on your computer.

I am using a MacBook Pro running macOS Mojave v.10.14.6

Before we get started make sure you have completed the following:

Installed and opened XAMPP
Started running your stack services: ProFTPD, Apache, and MySQL

How to Fix XAMPP Error 403

Step 1: Open Volumes tab in XAMPP app

First, open the XAMPP app on your Mac and navigate into the Volumes tab

Step 2: Click on 'Mount'

Next, you're going to mount the opt/lampp directory onto your computer.

Step 3: Click on 'Explore'

Step 4: Open the 'etc' folder

By clicking on explore your app should have opened the lampp directory. In it you'll see many folders and files. Click on the one named 'etc'.

Step 5: Open the 'extra' folder

Step 6: Open the 'httpd-xampp.conf' file

Step 7: Find the AuthConfig requirements code

Search for 'phpmyadmin' in the httpd-xampp.conf code and find the following section:

Step 8: Change 'Require local' to 'Require all granted'

This is the step that will fix the 403 error. Change the line of code to replace 'Require local' with 'Require all granted'. Then save your file.

Step 9: Restart all services

Navigate back to the XAMPP app and click on 'Services', then 'Restart all'. This will restart all of the services. You'll notice the status lights turn yellow and eventually return back to green.

Step 10: Refresh the phpMyAdmin page

The last step is to refresh the phpMyAdmin page you had open earlier.

If you closed it, no problem, just return to the General tab on your XAMPP app and click 'Go to Application'. That will open the dashboard in your browser where you can again navigate to the phpMyAdmin page.

Your phpMyAdmin page should load and look like this:

DEV Community: Josephine Hardy 🌿