Skip to content
cPFenceDocs

Troubleshoot WordPress update and backup failures

Errors retrieving a site URL/title or backup metadata can follow a broken plugin/theme, incorrect permissions or an incomplete installation.

  1. Inspect that site’s final job output and identify the failing step.
  2. Check site availability and permissions. Preview a permissions change before applying it.
  3. An administrator can enter the actual site user container and check basic WP-CLI access:
Terminal window
su - SITE_USER
/usr/bin/wp-cli --path=/public_html option get siteurl
/usr/bin/wp-cli --path=/public_html option get blogname
  1. Substitute the actual installation path for a subdirectory site. Resolve the reported plugin/theme or missing-file problem there.
  2. Retry only the affected site’s intended action and inspect the new result.

Review /var/log/wordpress-update-success.log and /var/log/wordpress-update-error.log for updates, or /var/log/wordpress-backup-success.log and /var/log/wordpress-backup-error.log for backups, where produced. A run that shows Finished can list failed sites in these logs. cPFence does not override a site’s WP-CLI errors.

Do not run core/plugin/theme updates blindly as a diagnostic: those change the site. Preserve a verified backup and use the update guide for a deliberate update.