How to fix “401 Unauthorized” error when trying to configure connection?

When configuring PrestaShop connection you may see error as on screenshot below.

That error mean that that there is an issue in Prestashop configuration and you need to ask your system administrator or Prestashop developer to properly configure it.

How to confirm that you have problem with PrestaShop?

1. Let’s assume that you have the following PrestaShop data:

   1. URL: https://your-prestashop.com

   2. Webservice Key: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

2. You need to take URL of the PrestaShop and add at the end “/api” and insert it into browser (like this “https://your-prestashop.com/api“ As result you will get a popup with login and password like on screenshot below. You need to in server Webservice Key into the Username field (and leave Password field empty). And click “Sign In“:

3. If after clicking “Sign In” you should see something like on screenshot below:

4. If you see popup requesting you for Username and Password again, then you have a problem with how you configured your Nginx/Apache. You can google for solution “PrestaShop webservice 401 Unauthorized error“. Please check these articles to find the most common errors:

• Boostmyshop Help Center

• https://stackoverflow.com/a/37588717

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/69987125/getting-401-unauthorized-when-accessing-the-prestashop-api-webservice

Why can’t connector use ws_key parameter instead of basic authentication?

Adding ws_key to URL is non-secure method so it should not be implemented. It can be used only on test server and temporary (better never use it). Instead rewrite Authorization header should be properly configured.