How to use activate_plugin action in WordPress

activate_plugin action

This hook is the “activation” hook used internally by register_activation_hook(). The dynamic portion of the hook name, $plugin, refers to the plugin basename.

To use activate_plugin action, first you have to register it using add_action. You can write this code into functions.php of your activated theme or in a custom WordPress Plugin.

We at WePlugins, always prefer to create a custom WordPress Plugin while using hooks so nothing breaks when you update your WordPress Theme in the future.

In the below live example, we have defined a function execute_on_activate_plugin_event which takes 1 parameter and we registered using add_action. The first parameter activate_plugin is the name of the hook, The second parameter execute_on_activate_plugin_event is the name of the function which needs to be called, the third parameter is the priority of calling the hook if the same hook is used multiple times and the last parameter is the number of arguments (if any) to be passed in the registered function.

Sometimes, you have to remove a registered hook so you can use remove_action to remove activate_plugin action.

Parameters

Below the 1 parameter is required to use this hook.

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

Live Example

do_action( "activate_{$plugin}", bool $network_wide )

Below is an example of how you can use this hook.

Example 1: Basic Activation Hook

This example demonstrates how to execute a function when a plugin is activated.

    function weplugins_execute_on_activate_plugin_event($network_wide){
        // You can write code here to be executed when this action occurs in WordPress.
        // Use the parameters received in the function arguments & implement the required additional custom functionality according to your website requirements.
    }
    // add the action
    add_action( "activate_plugin", "weplugins_execute_on_activate_plugin_event", 10, 1);
    

Example 2: Remove an Activation Hook

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

remove_action( "activate_plugin", "weplugins_execute_on_activate_plugin_event", 10, 1 );

Please make sure to provide the same callback function name, priority, and number of arguments while removing the hook callback.

Example 3: Conditional Activation

This example shows how to conditionally execute code during plugin activation based on whether the plugin is network-wide or not.

    function weplugins_conditional_activation($network_wide){
        if ($network_wide) {
            // Code to execute if the plugin is activated for the network
        } else {
            // Code to execute if the plugin is activated for a single site
        }
    }
    // add the action
    add_action( "activate_plugin", "weplugins_conditional_activation", 10, 1);
    

Contact Us

If you’re having any trouble using this hook, please contact our WordPress Development Team and we’d be happy to assist you.