Plug Error Handler
Automatically detects and deactivates plugins that cause PHP fatal or parse errors during activation or update to prevent site crashes.
Plugin info
Maintenance & Compatibility
Maintenance score
Stale • Last updated 212 days ago • 1 reviews
Is Plug Error Handler abandoned?
Likely maintained (last update 212 days ago).
Compatibility
Similar & Alternatives
Explore plugins with similar tags, and compare key metrics like downloads, ratings, updates, support, and WP/PHP compatibility.
Description
Plug Error Handler is a lightweight and safety-focused WordPress plugin that helps prevent white screens or fatal crashes caused by problematic plugins. It does this by automatically detecting and deactivating any plugin that throws a PHP fatal error or parse error during activation or update.
It’s designed to ensure a smooth admin experience by intercepting site-breaking issues at the moment they occur.
🔐 Key Features
- Detects PHP fatal errors, parse errors, compile errors, and core errors.
- Automatically deactivates the faulty plugin during activation or update.
- Displays a clear admin notice indicating which plugin caused the issue and what type of error it triggered.
- Lightweight: No database usage (uses transients), no impact on performance.
- No settings page — works silently in the background for your safety.
⚠️ Limitations
- Only handles PHP errors — does not detect:
- JavaScript errors
- CSS conflicts
- Plugin conflicts that don’t produce fatal errors
- Only handles errors during activation or update (not runtime issues).
- Designed for administrator-level users who manage plugin changes.
License
This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later. See https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html for details.
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder
plug-error-handlerto the/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
- That’s it! The plugin runs silently in the background.
Frequently Asked Questions
It monitors for PHP fatal errors, parse errors, and similar fatal conditions during plugin activation or update. If such an error occurs, it immediately deactivates the plugin and prevents your site from breaking.
It uses register_shutdown_function() to catch fatal errors via error_get_last() and uses the $_GET['plugin'] and $_GET['action'] values to identify which plugin was being activated or updated.
No. It only works at the time of plugin activation or plugin update. Runtime errors (which occur after a plugin has been successfully activated) are not handled.
No, this plugin only handles PHP errors. It does not analyze or mitigate issues from JavaScript or stylesheets.
No. It’s built to be conflict-free and only activates its logic when a plugin is being activated or updated.
No logs are stored to the database to keep this plugin lightweight. You’ll only see an admin notice if a plugin was automatically deactivated due to an error.
Review feed
Screenshots
Example admin notice showing which plugin was deactivated and why.
Changelog
1.0.2
- Added support for plugin updates (
update-pluginaction). - Improved error handling logic.
- Fixed text domain mismatch and translation comments.
- Compliant with WordPress plugin standards and Plugin Checker.
1.0.1
- Initial public release with fatal error detection during plugin activation.