The plugin hyperdb/db.php has been deactivated…

In general, the error message is probably ok, although it sounds like HyperDB may not have been successfully installed previously.

HyperDB isn’t a normal WordPress plugin – it shouldn’t be installed in your plugins directory. It is a special type of plugin called a “drop-in”. From the HyperDB readme –

> 3. Deploy db.php to the /wp-content/ directory. Simply placing this file activates it. To deactivate it, move it from that location or move the config file.

Do you receive this error when moving <code<>db.php out of /wp-content/ or somewhere else?

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Barry.

Thanks for getting back to me to quick @barry. We deploy WordPress en masse for hundreds of students in a college environment. The primary WordPress server has a master/master relationship with 2 other MySQL servers. When a student requests a new WordPress installation, WP Quick Install automatically installs the latest WordPress and a pre-selected bunch of plugins, including HyperDB (all to wp-content/plugins directory). A bash script then comes along and, as well as other stuff, moves db.php and db-config.php to where they are supposed to be. The db-config.php file is updated with information about all available database servers. This setup has been working fine for over 2 years now (thanks in part to your wonderful plugin).

I thing the “Plugin file does not exist.” error occurs because wp-content/plugins/hyperdb/db.php existed long enough to be registered in the database as a plugin at some point, but then was moved immediately afterward. HyperDB seems to be still working, as if I shutdown mysql on the primary server, WordPress sites continue to work.

I’m assuming if any other user installs HyperDB via the normal plugins page in WordPress, then moves the files as required, that they will also get the same error on returning to the Plugins page. So, I suppose for my purposes, the question is would I better not including HyperDB in the WP Quick Install list of plugins and instead just have my bash script copy db.php and db-config.php to the correct locations in each site from a central source? Would it still work?

Thanks in advance, and thanks again for your incredibly useful plugin.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by Paul Scollon.

Hey @scollonp – great to hear about how you are using HyperDB and glad that it’s working for you. Your proposal of not installing the plugin to wp-content/plugins/ and just copying it to wp-content/ with your bash script seems reasonable. Since it’s not a normal plugin it shouldn’t ever really be in wp-content/plugins/. That being said, I think the warning message you originally asked about is only shown once when visiting the plugins page for the first time after HyperDB was moved out. Subsequent visits to the page shouldn’t show this message. If you don’t mind the error appearing once, then I think your current process is fine and you can safely ignore the message. Hope this helps! If you have any other questions, please let us know.