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Activate a WordPress theme

  1. Choose the intended servers and sites. Start with one installation.
  2. Open Choose action → Bulk tools → Themes → Activate theme by slug.
  3. Enter Installed theme slug for the theme you want to activate.

Activate theme by slug form with Installed theme slug and target sections

Enter the installed theme slug and check the selected sites and servers before reviewing activation. Select the image to view it full size; use your browser’s Back command to return.
  1. Review the action and targets, then confirm. Read every site’s final result, including skips. Finished can include failed sites; see Read the outcome.

Activation changes the site’s presentation. Install a missing theme first, try one site, then check public templates and clear relevant caches. Switch back to the previous installed theme if the new presentation fails.

Command-line method

Section titled “Command-line method”

If you prefer the terminal, log in as root on the server hosting the sites. Review /var/log/cpfenceav/wp-sites-list.txt first: CLI bulk commands use that server’s list, not the sites currently checked in the WebUI.

Activate an installed theme by its slug:

Terminal window
cpfence --bulk-activate-wp-theme twentytwentyfour

Replace twentytwentyfour with your installed theme slug, review the inventory prompt and confirm only the intended scope. Read the output for installations where the theme is missing; install it there before retrying. Clear relevant caches and check the public site afterward.

For a reviewed automation job, the non-interactive form is:

Terminal window
cpfence --bulk-activate-wp-theme-auto twentytwentyfour

This skips the interactive confirmations. Prepare the exact site list first and keep the previous theme installed so you can activate it again if needed. For a small test group, the WebUI’s selected-site action is usually easier.