OpenCart

Use this page for OpenCart stores. Install the module, open EasyChat from the store admin area and make sure a visitor can write from the storefront.

EasyChat uses one shared package for OpenCart 2.3 and 3. OpenCart 4 remains a separate release line because it has a different stock installer and namespace.

The shared archive stores the OpenCart 2.3 and 3 files only once. On OpenCart 2.3, EasyChat verifies their version, size and SHA-256 after the stock installer has copied them. An incomplete package is not enabled, and the administrator sees a safe diagnostic code instead of an unnamed error.

Choose the package that matches your store version:

• Download EasyChat for OpenCart 2.3 and 3.x
• Download EasyChat for OpenCart 4

Where To Verify The Module

EasyChat is also listed on the Russian LiveOpenCart marketplace. Its listing lets you independently review the description, declared compatibility and user feedback. The buttons above remain the safest source for current public packages because the EasyChat gateway serves a fully published stable version for the selected OpenCart branch.

The EasyChat OpenCart landing page groups these details in the Open information, confident choice panel. It lists the developer, supported OpenCart branches and a separate Verify the source link. Opening LiveOpenCart remains an explicit action and never interrupts the free download flow on the EasyChat website.

Before Installation

• Download the EasyChat package for OpenCart from the easychat24.ru landing page.
• Create a website backup.
• Make sure the site uses PHP 7.4 or newer. On an older version, EasyChat stops before changing the database and shows both the current and required PHP versions. Change PHP in the hosting control panel, then return to the module page; you do not need to remove files or tables.
• Make sure you have OpenCart administrator access.
• The administrator group must have both view and modify permissions for the EasyChat module. A read-only CMS user intentionally does not receive full EasyChat administrator access.
• For OpenCart 2.3 and 3, select the shared EasyChat-OpenCart-OC23-OC3-vX.Y.Z.ocmod.zip. For OpenCart 4, use easychat.ocmod.zip. Do not rename it or install another release line.

Installation

1. Open the OpenCart extensions section.
2. Upload the EasyChat package for OpenCart.
3. Enable the module.
4. Open EasyChat from the left admin menu.

On a fresh installation, EasyChat enables the module, grants the required routes to the current administrator group and connects the widget. If you disable the module later, a regular update preserves that explicit choice.

During the first enable action, EasyChat may briefly complete a protected update check. Keep the page open while it runs. If the installation stops, the page shows a clear reason or a safe file code for support; store settings and conversation data are not deleted.

If OpenCart cannot confirm the group permissions, installation reports an error instead of showing false success. Correct the administrator or write permissions and retry. A successful installation adds the menu entry without manual user-group editing.

First Login

Always open EasyChat from the OpenCart left menu or with Open EasyChat in the module settings. Each click creates a secure one-time sign-in. You do not need to find or enter an unknown initial password. The sign-in action is available only to an administrator who may modify the module settings.

The left-menu entry first opens a protected launch page. Loading or prefetching that page does not change state and does not create a one-time key. A confirmed same-admin navigation continues automatically. If the browser opened the tab in the background or omitted the required navigation signals, use the single Open EasyChat button manually. The module-settings button performs the same protected action directly in a new tab. The launch page blocks framing through two compatible browser mechanisms, so clickjacking protection remains strict even when the hosting layer rewrites the older security header globally.

If a regular username and password form appears instead of the admin panel, do not guess the credentials. Return to OpenCart and click EasyChat again. If the page says secure sign-in is temporarily unavailable, retry the action. If the message returns, ask your hosting provider to check EasyChat write access or contact EasyChat support. Do not delete the module settings or tables.

Starting with 1.4.0, EasyChat keeps sign-in isolated even when the hosting administrator locks the shared PHP session path and enforces stricter cookie settings. There is no need to ask the host to disable that protection or make the shared session directory more permissive. For diagnostics, only verify that the website owns and can write to easychat/log/sessions/.

On the first entry from OpenCart, EasyChat shows a short optional-services screen with the mobile app, notifications, AI assistant and update news. You can enable what you need now or return to it later.

If EasyChat asks you to set a permanent password, choose a strong password of your own. You do not need the generated installation password for this sign-in.

This protected entry is intended for the store administrator. Create separate accounts for regular operators and share the EasyChat address as described in the Operator access guide.

Storefront Widget

After installation, open a public store page in a new window.

Check that:

• the chat button is visible;
• the chat window opens;
• a test message appears in the EasyChat admin panel;
• the operator reply appears for the visitor.

If the store uses cache, clear the OpenCart cache, theme cache and browser cache.

Background Tasks

EasyChat uses background tasks for notifications, AI replies, integrations and other actions that must work even when the admin panel is closed.

Open the scheduler section in EasyChat and copy the command or link shown by your website. Add it to the hosting panel about once a minute. Use the exact command from your installation: it already contains the correct website path and hosting PHP version.

After Updating

When an older OpenCart 4 build still stores customer data inside the extension directory, update in this order: upload easychat-migration.ocmod.zip, install the EasyChat safe update module, and wait for the completed-migration message. Only then remove the old easychat package and install the new easychat.ocmod.zip. The helper verifies every config.php, upload, MAX session and avatar with SHA-256, leaves the source intact and stops on any conflict. A fresh OpenCart 4 installation does not need the helper.

Install the new version over the current one. Create a backup first, upload the new package and open EasyChat from the OpenCart admin area. The module will check the updated files while keeping your existing settings and data. OpenCart 2.3 can accept the same package over an earlier release: the installer safely replaces only the verified EasyChat OCMOD record. If file preparation is incomplete, OpenCart shows an error and does not mark the update as ready. Two updates cannot publish files concurrently, and a failed write restores the previous complete file set. Do not delete the EasyChat configuration or tables.

If support delivered a fix over FTP, completing the secure update also brings OpenCart’s module file list up to date. Repeating the check does not require reinstallation or delete conversations. Once it finishes, test sign-in from the store’s left menu. For WhatsApp, open the integration and select Show QR; the account owner must confirm pairing on their phone.

The update also removes obsolete internal EasyChat files that older OpenCart versions could expose as many confusing permission entries. EasyChat removes only its own content-addressed files after both the filename and SHA-256 are verified. An unknown, manually modified or linked file is preserved for diagnostics. After a successful update, only the normal EasyChat route is granted to the group. The controller list may still contain one stable recovery route; it is not granted to the group and does not create per-version entries. If an older version stored the normal route with invalid escaping or duplicated it, the installer repairs only the EasyChat entries in the current administrator group. Permissions for other extensions and groups are left unchanged.

When upgrading from a version earlier than 1.4.0, open the EasyChat extension settings immediately after uploading the package. Click Update EasyChat safely and wait for the result. On some hosting plans the old left-menu entry may remain visible for up to a minute while PHP revalidates cached code; this does not mean that the package was installed incorrectly.

Do not use Refresh in the global Modifications section for EasyChat. The module completes this transition through its own protected page and does not depend on a global OCMOD rebuild. That rebuild affects every store extension and does not clear EasyChat PHP bytecode.

On the first upgrade from an older version, the module may enable safe mode for about four minutes. During that time only EasyChat shows a maintenance page; the storefront and the OpenCart admin continue to work. Stop old EasyChat background jobs, wait for the displayed time, then click Update EasyChat safely or Open EasyChat again. This lets old PHP workers finish before the complete file set is replaced. If publication cannot complete, the module restores the previous entry points and leaves the old version intact.

While an update is incomplete, EasyChat does not disappear from the left menu. It shows a warning and opens the secure recovery page. Complete the update there before opening the operator panel. During recovery, the module removes only files that it can identify unambiguously as old EasyChat files. A file that does not match a known legacy signature is preserved, the update stops with a warning, and the installation is not marked as ready. The check covers both historical widget templates and leftover language files for every shipped locale, so the menu no longer remains stuck in the “update required” state after successful recovery.

A damaged or partial database needs a separate diagnosis, not a new empty installation on top of it.

If the hosting environment repeats an installation step, EasyChat first checks the requested database connection against the existing config.php. Any mismatch stops the operation before the database is changed. This keeps conversations and settings from being connected to another database or table prefix by accident. Do not edit or delete config.php to bypass that message: create a backup and send the error to support without any passwords. If two installation requests arrive at the same time, the second one safely asks you to retry in a few seconds and does not start changing the database.

If both the panel and widget disappear after an update, do not create a new empty chat or set permissions to 777. Ask support to check that the EasyChat configuration is intact and the store still uses the expected database. When moving OpenCart, transfer the chat data, settings and attachments too; uploading the module archive again does not restore them.

After the update, check that:

• the EasyChat admin panel opens;
• previous conversations are still there;
• the widget is visible on the storefront;
• a new test message appears in the conversation list.

Common Situations

• EasyChat does not open from OpenCart. Do not use a direct address or try to guess the initial password. Check administrator permissions, clear cache, make sure version 1.4.0 or newer is installed, open the extension settings and click Open EasyChat again.
• The chat button is missing. Make sure the widget is enabled in EasyChat and the page is not showing an old cached version.
• Messages arrive with a delay. Check that background tasks are enabled on the hosting panel.
• An error appears after installation. Do not delete tables or files manually. After creating a backup, upload the latest package over the current files. If the error returns, send support a screenshot without passwords or private messages; a partial database needs a separate diagnosis.

The download page provides two distinct current packages: one shared archive for OpenCart 2.3/3 and a separate archive for OpenCart 4. Do not rename or mix them: each download button always serves the latest fully published stable version for that OpenCart branch.

Quick Checklist

• The EasyChat package for OpenCart is installed.
• The EasyChat admin panel opens from the OpenCart menu.
• The first sign-in did not require an unknown initial password.
• A permanent password is set if EasyChat requested one.
• The widget is visible on the storefront.
• A test conversation was created and answered.
• Background tasks are added to the hosting panel.

Updates

Open Update in EasyChat. On OpenCart 2.3 and 3, click Update through OpenCart and confirm. EasyChat verifies the official package, hands it to the native installer and returns to the module when installation completes; no manual download is required. OpenCart 4 receives the exact package and a path to the correct CMS section; a legacy OpenCart 4 layout uses the migration helper first. Read about update checks.

Store images after an older installation

Version 1.4.0 corrected folder selection during normal installation. Version 1.15.7 also removes reliance on other modules’ directory settings and checks for conflicting access rules.

If some store images stopped loading after installing 1.3.1, update EasyChat and ask your hosting administrator to inspect .htaccess in the shared image folder, its permissions, and the shared OpenCart logs. Updating does not remove existing store rules.

Do not delete the entire .htaccess file or guess the original permissions. Save the current file first and restore the previous settings from a backup. If no backup exists, work with your hosting provider to establish the correct rules. Adding WebP to Nginx’s static file list may hide the symptom while leaving the cause in place.

After recovery, check JPG, PNG, WebP and other formats used by the store, then test sending and opening an EasyChat attachment.