January 9, 2008
There is a discussion going on over at Weblog Tools Collection about the difference between uninstalling, and deactivating, plugins. There are a lot of very good points made about the things that plugin authors can do to help maintain the WordPress user’s database.
To add to the discussion I have written a plugin that adds an uninstall option to the plugins page where there is a separate uninstall file included.
The file needs to have the same name as the plugin itself except but with the addition of _uninstaller on the end. So if the plugin is called my_plugin.php the uninstaller will be called my_plugin_uninstaller.php.
It will actually just include this file directly so it can’t echo anything to the browser. It can however register failure by redirecting back to the plugins page:
[php]
if ( $failure) {
wp_redirect('plugins.php?uninstalled=false');
}
There are a number of things in this plugin that are a tad kludgy and so it isn’t something I intend to release unless an unexpected demand occurs, but it is one idea to add to the mix. Perhaps seeing something in action will give someone else some other ideas.
You can download it here: Fun with uninstallation 0.1
It comes with an empty uninstall file for hello dolly.
Update: With 40 comments to date it is clear that there is a demand for this. I have opened a ticket in the WordPress trac to gain feedback from developers and hopefully move things forward with similar functionality being included.
When I was building this I wanted to make it use a hook in the same way as a normal plugin would and I struggled to find a way to do it, which is why I went with a separate file; however, the trac discussion may have yielded a better alternative. If that is the case, I will amend this plugin to use that methodology and hope that it gets included in the core in one of the later point releases.
You can join in with that here:
http://trac.wordpress.org/ticket/5625
Update 2: This has now been superseded by this post, fun with uninstallation 2 and fun with uninstallation 3
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Kevin
Great idea. I am suprised wordpress has not done this themself. Glad i found your site i will be checking out your other posts for more things i can use.
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WordPress plugin unintaller | WP FUN
[...] process was documented in three posts: Fun with uninstallation part 1, part 2 and part 3. Note that the sample plugins that are linked to in these posts have been [...]
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Lo hice y lo entend
[...] wp-fun » Fun with Uninstallation [...]
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WordPress Weekly – Episode 2 | Jeffro2pt0
[...] Rickmann – An Uninstall tool that adds an uninstallation option on the plugins page. The uninstall option will only show up if the plugin has been deactivated and if the plugin author [...]
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Fun with Uninstallation, un plugin para desinstalar plugins | AplicacionesWeb
[...] de Wordpress nos avisa de la existencia de un nuevo plugin para Wordpress, cuya finalidad es la de ayudarnos a desinstalar otros plugins. Algo que realmente parece ser demasiado molesto para la mayorÃa de [...]
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Personal Glory vs Community Spirit
[...] uninstall functionality that was recently discussed over several posts on this blog, and over at Weblog Tools Collection, was clearly something that should [...]
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WordPress Weekly – Episode 2 » Jeffro2pt0.com
[...] Rickmann – An Uninstall tool that adds an uninstallation option on the plugins page. The uninstall option will only show up if the plugin has been deactivated and if the plugin author [...]
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Craig
What a great idea – this has been an issue – now if we could just implement some standards among the plug-ins.
Keep to the good work!
< Craig
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Binh Nguyen
I’ve been desperate for a a core feature of wordpress to uninstall plugins.
It’s so annoying for the plugins to leave some junk in the database after they are deactivated / deleted.
Thank you very much for making this plugin and if possible please make it into the core.
Regards,
Binh Nguyen
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Fun with Uninstallation 2
[...] reading the comments on my first uninstallation plugin attempt, and the WordPress Trac, it become clear that the approach of using an external file probably [...]
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Andrew Rickmann
I think that is a great idea Keith, I would like to see the WPF as part of the core.
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Keith
Andrew – I definitely agree with you that the uninstall feature should be integrated into the core of Wordpress just as the activate / deactivate feature currently is. I also feel that this should be taken a step further and that a standardized plugin framework like the WPF should be integrated as well to help minimize the difficulty in developing, administering and configuring plugins.
I have placed a request in the Wordpress Trac system to have the WPF (or something like the WPF) integrated into the Wordpress core.
http://trac.wordpress.org/ticket/5429
It may be of benefit to you to create a request for a basic uninstall feature as well.
Keep up the good work!