Using WordPress ‘activated_plugin’ PHP action

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The ‘activated_plugin’ WordPress PHP action hook fires after a plugin has been activated. Note that this hook does not fire if the plugin is silently activated, such as during an update.

Usage

To use this action hook, you would create a custom function and hook it to activated_plugin. 

function my_custom_function( $plugin, $network_wide ) {
    // Your custom code here
}
add_action( 'activated_plugin', 'my_custom_function', 10, 2 );

Parameters

  • $plugin (string): Path to the plugin file relative to the plugins directory.
  • $network_wide (bool): Whether to enable the plugin for all sites in the network or just the current site. Multisite only. Default false.

Examples

Send an email after plugin activation

function send_email_on_activation( $plugin, $network_wide ) {
    wp_mail( '[email protected]', 'Plugin Activated', 'A plugin has been activated.' );
}
add_action( 'activated_plugin', 'send_email_on_activation', 10, 2 );

This example sends an email to the specified email address when a plugin is activated.

Log plugin activation

function log_plugin_activation( $plugin, $network_wide ) {
    error_log( 'Plugin ' . $plugin . ' has been activated.' );
}
add_action( 'activated_plugin', 'log_plugin_activation', 10, 2 );

This example logs a message in the error log when a plugin is activated.

Perform a custom action on a specific plugin activation

function custom_action_on_specific_plugin( $plugin, $network_wide ) {
    if ( 'my-plugin/my-plugin.php' === $plugin ) {
        // Custom action for specific plugin
    }
}
add_action( 'activated_plugin', 'custom_action_on_specific_plugin', 10, 2 );

This example performs a custom action when a specific plugin is activated.

Reset plugin settings upon activation

function reset_plugin_settings_on_activation( $plugin, $network_wide ) {
    if ( 'my-plugin/my-plugin.php' === $plugin ) {
        delete_option( 'my_plugin_settings' );
    }
}
add_action( 'activated_plugin', 'reset_plugin_settings_on_activation', 10, 2 );

This example resets the settings of a specific plugin when it is activated.

Perform an action if the plugin is activated network-wide

function action_on_network_wide_activation( $plugin, $network_wide ) {
    if ( $network_wide ) {
        // Custom action for network-wide activation
    }
}
add_action( 'activated_plugin', 'action_on_network_wide_activation', 10, 2 );

This example performs a custom action when a plugin is activated network-wide in a multisite installation.