Plugin Reference Cleaner

Have you ever deleted a plugin some other way than on the /wp-admin/plugins.php page, you'll probabaly have been stuck with this annoying notifications that can't be cleared:

"The plugin folder-name/file-name.php has been deactivated due to an error: Plugin file does not exist."

This small WordPress utility plugin adds a "Remove Reference" button to these plugin deactivation error notices, allowing you to clean up the invalid plugin entries in the database.

Description

When WordPress detects a plugin file that no longer exists but is still referenced in the database as active, it displays an error notice. This plugin enhances those notices with a button that allows you to safely remove the invalid reference with a single click.

You can find these with SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins'; — but, the cleanup involved removing the rogue entry, and renumbering the others. This plugin can simply do that for you at the click of a button added to that WP standard notification.

It's probabaly something that should be added to WP core. If anyone from the core team wants to adopt this solution, it's GPL, so feel free.

Note: This plugin only needs to be installed and active if you have an error notification showing like this: "The plugin folder-name/file-name.php has been deactivated due to an error: Plugin file does not exist."

If you don't have this notification perpetually showing on your /wp-admin/plugins.php page, then you don't need this, but you might like to save or bookmark it for if ever you do.

Features

Adds a "Remove Reference" button to plugin error notices
Works for both single site and multisite WordPress installations
Confirms before removing any plugin references
Simple, lightweight solution with no settings page required
Secure implementation with proper permissions checking
Compatible with WordPress 5.0+

Installation

Upload the plugin-reference-cleaner.php file to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory
Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
No configuration needed - the plugin works automatically

Usage

Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
If any "Plugin file does not exist" error notices appear, a "Remove Reference" button will be displayed
Click the button and confirm to remove the invalid plugin reference
The page will refresh with the error notice removed

Support

For support, please visit WP ALLSTARS

License

This plugin is licensed under the GPL v2 or later.

2.6 KiB Raw Blame History