Lost Password Action Missing From Pro Forms Action List

How To
1

I am trying to create a custom Lost Password form but when I try to apply the Lost Password action, it is missing from the list of actions. Is this a bug?

2

Hi @lfirth,

no bug — the action just has a different name in Pro Forms. :slightly_smiling_face:

What you’re looking for is the “Reset User Password” action.

After selecting it, a new “Reset User Password” settings group appears. There, set the Method to “Reset Password Email (Recommended)” — this is the classic “lost password” flow: it sends the standard WordPress password reset email to the user. In the “User Email” setting, enter the ID of your form’s email field so the action knows which user to look up.

For completeness: the second method, “Update Password”, lets a user set a new password directly through the form (with optional current-password verification and password confirmation) — useful for account/profile pages rather than a lost-password page.

Best,
Daniele

3

I tried the using the “Reset User Password” action, but you can’t use your username, you must use your email address is this correct?

4

Hi @lfirth,

Yes, that’s correct. As it currently works, the “Reset User Password” action with the “Reset Password Email” method looks the user up by their email address only. The value coming from the form field you reference in the “User Email” setting is matched against the user’s email, and if a matching user is found, the standard WordPress password reset email is sent to them.

So at the moment there’s no built-in option to let people enter their username instead of their email in that field.

A couple of practical options depending on what you need:

  • If you want to keep it simple, label the field clearly as “Email” so users know to enter their email address.
  • If you specifically need to accept a username as well, one approach is a small snippet that resolves the username to the matching email before the form processes — but out of the box the field expects an email value.

If entering the email works for your use case, you’re all set: the reset email goes out exactly like WordPress’s native lost-password flow.

Best,
Daniele