delete_plugins( string[] $plugins, string $deprecated = '' ): bool|null|WP_Error

Compatibility

Present in every tracked release (6.7.7 to 7.1.0), and compiles on PHP 7.4 through 8.6-dev.

Parameters

$pluginsstring[]

List of plugin paths to delete, relative to the plugins directory.

$deprecatedstringoptional

Not used.Default: ''

Return value

bool|null|WP_Error

True on success, false if $plugins is empty, WP_Error on failure.
null if filesystem credentials are required to proceed.

Performance profile

How much work a call to delete_plugins() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.

Cost class

Heavy

Reads stored settings via get_option(), cached per request but not free on a cold cache.

Scaling

Scales with input

The body loops, so the work grows with what you pass in.

Instructions

6–97

Executed per call on PHP 8.5, depending on the branch taken. The body compiles to 273.

Plugin surface

2 hooks

Third-party callbacks on 'delete_plugin', 'deleted_plugin' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.

Called by

2

2 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.

What it touches

• hookthird-party callbacksdo_action()called directly
• transienttransientget_site_transient()called directly
• optionoption read or writeget_option()one call below delete_plugins()
• cacheobject cachewp_cache_get()one call below delete_plugins()

Further down the call graph this can also reach serialize and query. Those are the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.

What one call costs · 17 distinct outcomes

One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost delete_plugins() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.

Hooks and filters fired · 2

2 hooks fire while delete_plugins() runs, in this order:

1. 1
   do_action( delete_plugin )actionline 980 (+76 into the body)

   Fires immediately before a plugin deletion attempt.

2. 2
   do_action( deleted_plugin )actionline 1002 (+98 into the body)

   Fires immediately after a plugin deletion attempt.

Uses · 13

• wp_nonce_url()Retrieves URL with nonce added to URL query.
• request_filesystem_credentials()Displays a form to the user to request for their FTP/SSH details in order to connect to the filesystem.
• WP_Filesystem()Initializes and connects the WordPress Filesystem Abstraction classes.
• __()Retrieves the translation of $text.
• is_wp_error()Checks whether the given variable is a WordPress Error.
• trailingslashit()Appends a trailing slash.
• wp_get_installed_translations()Gets installed translations.
• is_uninstallable_plugin()Determines whether the plugin can be uninstalled.
• uninstall_plugin()Uninstalls a single plugin.
• do_action()Calls the callback functions that have been added to an action hook.
• get_site_transient()Retrieves the value of a site transient.
• set_site_transient()Sets/updates the value of a site transient.

Used by · 2

• WP_REST_Plugins_Controller::delete_item()Deletes one plugin from the site.
• wp_ajax_delete_plugin()Handles deleting a plugin via AJAX.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

904function delete_plugins( $plugins, $deprecated = '' ) {905	global $wp_filesystem;906 907	if ( empty( $plugins ) ) {908		return false;909	}910 911	$checked = array();912	foreach ( $plugins as $plugin ) {913		$checked[] = 'checked[]=' . $plugin;914	}915 916	$url = wp_nonce_url( 'plugins.php?action=delete-selected&verify-delete=1&' . implode( '&', $checked ), 'bulk-plugins' );917 918	ob_start();919	$credentials = request_filesystem_credentials( $url );920	$data        = ob_get_clean();921 922	if ( false === $credentials ) {923		if ( ! empty( $data ) ) {924			require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/admin-header.php';925			echo $data;926			require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/admin-footer.php';927			exit;928		}929		return null;930	}931 932	if ( ! WP_Filesystem( $credentials ) ) {933		ob_start();934		// Failed to connect. Error and request again.935		request_filesystem_credentials( $url, '', true );936		$data = ob_get_clean();937 938		if ( ! empty( $data ) ) {939			require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/admin-header.php';940			echo $data;941			require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/admin-footer.php';942			exit;943		}944		return null;945	}946 947	if ( ! is_object( $wp_filesystem ) ) {948		return new WP_Error( 'fs_unavailable', __( 'Could not access filesystem.' ) );949	}950 951	if ( is_wp_error( $wp_filesystem->errors ) && $wp_filesystem->errors->has_errors() ) {952		return new WP_Error( 'fs_error', __( 'Filesystem error.' ), $wp_filesystem->errors );953	}954 955	// Get the base plugin folder.956	$plugins_dir = $wp_filesystem->wp_plugins_dir();957	if ( empty( $plugins_dir ) ) {958		return new WP_Error( 'fs_no_plugins_dir', __( 'Unable to locate WordPress plugin directory.' ) );959	}960 961	$plugins_dir = trailingslashit( $plugins_dir );962 963	$plugin_translations = wp_get_installed_translations( 'plugins' );964 965	$errors = array();966 967	foreach ( $plugins as $plugin_file ) {968		// Run Uninstall hook.969		if ( is_uninstallable_plugin( $plugin_file ) ) {970			uninstall_plugin( $plugin_file );971		}972 973		/**974		 * Fires immediately before a plugin deletion attempt.975		 *976		 * @since 4.4.0977		 *978		 * @param string $plugin_file Path to the plugin file relative to the plugins directory.979		 */980		do_action( 'delete_plugin', $plugin_file );981 982		$this_plugin_dir = trailingslashit( dirname( $plugins_dir . $plugin_file ) );983

Changelog

Introduced in 2.6.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 7.1.0.

1. 6.7.7
2. 6.8.8
3. 6.9.7
4. 7.0.4
5. 7.1.0

Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.

About this page

Parsed data

Generated from the wordpress-develop 7.0.4 tag, from src/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

Corrections

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