Upgrade StorageDesktop sync login returns "Invalid username or password" (403 from /keys) but website login works
I can't log in to sync from Zotero desktop. It always says "Invalid username or password," but the same credentials work on zotero.org (also tested in a private window).
Setup:
- Zotero 7.0.21 (x64), Windows 11
- Username: james1475561 (confirmed matches Settings → Account on zotero.org)
- Already reset my password and retried, same result
What I've tested:
- Debug output shows the login request going straight to https://api.zotero.org/keys and returning 403. No proxy or certificate errors.
- To rule out the desktop client, I sent the same POST to https://api.zotero.org/keys with curl using my real username/password. It also returned 403 Forbidden, with Zotero-API-Version: 3 headers, so the response is coming from Zotero's server, not a corporate proxy.
- Example failed attempt: Mon, 26 Oct 2026 15:41:07 GMT
Debug ID: D594180723
Is there something on my account that would make the website accept the login but the API reject it?
Setup:
- Zotero 7.0.21 (x64), Windows 11
- Username: james1475561 (confirmed matches Settings → Account on zotero.org)
- Already reset my password and retried, same result
What I've tested:
- Debug output shows the login request going straight to https://api.zotero.org/keys and returning 403. No proxy or certificate errors.
- To rule out the desktop client, I sent the same POST to https://api.zotero.org/keys with curl using my real username/password. It also returned 403 Forbidden, with Zotero-API-Version: 3 headers, so the response is coming from Zotero's server, not a corporate proxy.
- Example failed attempt: Mon, 26 Oct 2026 15:41:07 GMT
Debug ID: D594180723
Is there something on my account that would make the website accept the login but the API reject it?
For security reasons, older versions are no longer able to log in for syncing.