WordPress 2.8 “The plugin does not have a valid header.”

wtf! wordpress… this is really bad. can we get some responses from wordpress dev team? the plugins are broken, whether manually installed or not.

If you are running the latest version of WordPress and plug-ins that are compatible you will not have this issue. If the problem still persists then you need to deactivate all your plug-ins. Reactivate them one at a time until you figure out which are the culprits and inform the plug-in developer.

If you are creating a new plugin make sure that you have this in your main plugin file.

<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Name Of The Plugin
Plugin URI: https://URI_Of_Page_Describing_Plugin_and_Updates
Description: A brief description of the Plugin.
Version: The Plugin’s Version Number, e.g.: 1.0
Author: Name Of The Plugin Author
Author URI: https://URI_Of_The_Plugin_Author
*/
?>

Refer:
https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Writing_a_Plugin

Another easy way to fix this problem is to upload the UNZIPPED folder using the regular FTP way and then going to your plugins panel in wordpress and activate it.

I’m using the “Magic Magnify” plugin and I kept getting the ‘The plugin does not have a valid header.’ message, but this method seems to work. There might be a problem in the way WP has been configured with certain plugins.

I hope this helps.

i fix this problem by this solution: https://imeshootings.com/blog/howto-wordpress/plugin-not-valid-header

I also ran into this problem recently. In the end it’s to do with the permissions on the plugins directory. The web server needs write access to certain files when they are uploaded. If your server is running with group write permissions, the upload script doesn’t necessarily set the group write bit on the necessary files, only owner write permission.

Check my explanation of this error:
https://mysillypointofview.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/fix-the-plugin-does-not-have-a-valid-header-error/

I’ve had the same problem. Drove me insane. Here’s how I found a fix.

In the “Install New Plug Ins” page, rather than UPLOAD your plug in from your desktop or download file (which is where you’ll probably be loading the file from) SIDE STEP this step by using the SEARCH function to find the plug in on the www.ads-software.com site, then press “SEARCH PLUG INS”.

If the plugin you’re looking for is on the main www.ads-software.com site, you ought to be able to find the plug in you’re looking for pretty easily, then, once you find the plug in, way over on the right hand side of the page there’s a wee link that says “Install”.

Hit that button and bingo! Your plug in ought to be installed and activated all in one go. Try it and see if it works. It worked for me. How? Dunno. Frankly, I don’t CARE, all I know is that this simple, simple step saved the second half of my day.