How to use deactivate_plugin action in WordPress

deactivate_plugin action

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

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

WePlugins always prefer creating 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 weplugins_execute_on_deactivate_plugin_event which takes 1 parameter, and we registered it using add_action. The first parameter deactivate_plugin is the name of the hook. The second parameter weplugins_execute_on_deactivate_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 to the registered function.

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

Parameters

Below is the 1 parameter required to use this hook.

• $network_deactivating: (bool) Whether the plugin is deactivated for all sites in the network or just the current site. Multisite only. Default false.

Live Example

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

function weplugins_execute_on_deactivate_plugin_event($network_deactivating){
   // 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( "deactivate_plugin", "weplugins_execute_on_deactivate_plugin_event" , 10, 1);

Example 1: Simple Deactivation Action

This example demonstrates a simple deactivation action where we log the deactivation event.

function weplugins_log_deactivation_event($network_deactivating){
   error_log("Plugin deactivated. Network-wide: " . ($network_deactivating ? 'Yes' : 'No'));
}
add_action( "deactivate_plugin", "weplugins_log_deactivation_event" , 10, 1);

Example 2: Cleanup on Deactivation

In this example, we clean up custom database entries when the plugin is deactivated.

function weplugins_cleanup_on_deactivate($network_deactivating){
   global $wpdb;
   $wpdb->query("DELETE FROM {$wpdb->prefix}custom_table WHERE plugin_active = 0");
}
add_action( "deactivate_plugin", "weplugins_cleanup_on_deactivate" , 10, 1);

Example 3: Notify Admin on Deactivation

This example sends an email notification to the site admin when the plugin is deactivated.

function weplugins_notify_admin_on_deactivate($network_deactivating){
   $admin_email = get_option('admin_email');
   wp_mail($admin_email, 'Plugin Deactivated', 'A plugin has been deactivated on your site.');
}
add_action( "deactivate_plugin", "weplugins_notify_admin_on_deactivate" , 10, 1);

To remove a hook callback, use the example below.

remove_action( "deactivate_plugin", "weplugins_execute_on_deactivate_plugin_event", 10, 1 );

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

Contact Us

If you’re having any trouble using this hook or need customization, please contact us.