deactivate_plugins() │ WP 2.5.0

Deactivates the specified plugins. You can specify deactivation parameters.

Often used by plugins themselves when a plugin has new features and proper installation requires reactivating the plugin.

Also can be useful when you need to automatically deactivate a plugin during activation, for example, if it does not support the current WP version or PHP version, etc.

It is recommended to call the function during the action admin_init.

Deactivation hooks (like deactivate_*) do not run during plugin update.

Use activate_plugins() when you need to activate a plugin.

Works only in the admin panel; if needed on the frontend, include the file:

require_once ABSPATH .'/wp-admin/includes/plugin.php';
Hooks from the function

Returns

null. Does not return anything.

Usage

deactivate_plugins( $plugins, $silent, $network_wide );
$plugins(string/array) (required)

The plugin ID or an array of IDs.

The ID looks like the path to the plugin file relative to the plugins folder: democracy/democracy.php.

$silent(boolean)
Silent deactivation. true - means deactivate the plugin without firing deactivation actions (hooks deactivate_*).
Default: false (deactivation actions fire)
$network_wide(true/false/null)

Whether to deactivate the specified plugins for the network (when true also deactivates the plugin if it was network-activated).

null is equivalent to true. The value null (default) deactivates plugins for the current site and for the network.
Default: null

Examples

0

#1 Deactivate the specified plugin 

add_action( 'admin_init', 'action_deactivate_plugins' );
function action_deactivate_plugins(){
	deactivate_plugins( 'democracy-poll/democracy.php' );
}
0

#2 Deactivate the plugin when activated if the PHP version is lower than 5.3 

register_activation_hook( __FILE__, 'activate' );

function activate() {   
	// Check the version of PHP. Need 5.3+
	if ( version_compare(PHP_VERSION, '5.3', '<') ) {
		//deactivate_plugins( plugin_basename( __FILE__ ); // this is optional

		// terminate the message output.
		wp_die( 'The plugin requires PHP 5.3 or higher.' );
	}

	// Activate...
}

Changelog

Since 2.5.0 Introduced.

deactivate_plugins() code WP 6.9.1

wp-admin/includes/plugin.php 
function deactivate_plugins( $plugins, $silent = false, $network_wide = null ) {
	if ( is_multisite() ) {
		$network_current = get_site_option( 'active_sitewide_plugins', array() );
	}
	$current    = get_option( 'active_plugins', array() );
	$do_blog    = false;
	$do_network = false;

	foreach ( (array) $plugins as $plugin ) {
		$plugin = plugin_basename( trim( $plugin ) );
		if ( ! is_plugin_active( $plugin ) ) {
			continue;
		}

		$network_deactivating = ( false !== $network_wide ) && is_plugin_active_for_network( $plugin );

		if ( ! $silent ) {
			/**
			 * Fires before a plugin is deactivated.
			 *
			 * If a plugin is silently deactivated (such as during an update),
			 * this hook does not fire.
			 *
			 * @since 2.9.0
			 *
			 * @param string $plugin               Path to the plugin file relative to the plugins directory.
			 * @param bool   $network_deactivating Whether the plugin is deactivated for all sites in the network
			 *                                     or just the current site. Multisite only. Default false.
			 */
			do_action( 'deactivate_plugin', $plugin, $network_deactivating );
		}

		if ( false !== $network_wide ) {
			if ( is_plugin_active_for_network( $plugin ) ) {
				$do_network = true;
				unset( $network_current[ $plugin ] );
			} elseif ( $network_wide ) {
				continue;
			}
		}

		if ( true !== $network_wide ) {
			$key = array_search( $plugin, $current, true );
			if ( false !== $key ) {
				$do_blog = true;
				unset( $current[ $key ] );
			}
		}

		if ( $do_blog && wp_is_recovery_mode() ) {
			list( $extension ) = explode( '/', $plugin );
			wp_paused_plugins()->delete( $extension );
		}

		if ( ! $silent ) {
			/**
			 * Fires as a specific plugin is being deactivated.
			 *
			 * This hook is the "deactivation" hook used internally by register_deactivation_hook().
			 * The dynamic portion of the hook name, `$plugin`, refers to the plugin basename.
			 *
			 * If a plugin is silently deactivated (such as during an update), this hook does not fire.
			 *
			 * @since 2.0.0
			 *
			 * @param bool $network_deactivating Whether the plugin is deactivated for all sites in the network
			 *                                   or just the current site. Multisite only. Default false.
			 */
			do_action( "deactivate_{$plugin}", $network_deactivating );

			/**
			 * Fires after a plugin is deactivated.
			 *
			 * If a plugin is silently deactivated (such as during an update),
			 * this hook does not fire.
			 *
			 * @since 2.9.0
			 *
			 * @param string $plugin               Path to the plugin file relative to the plugins directory.
			 * @param bool   $network_deactivating Whether the plugin is deactivated for all sites in the network
			 *                                     or just the current site. Multisite only. Default false.
			 */
			do_action( 'deactivated_plugin', $plugin, $network_deactivating );
		}
	}

	if ( $do_blog ) {
		update_option( 'active_plugins', $current );
	}
	if ( $do_network ) {
		update_site_option( 'active_sitewide_plugins', $network_current );
	}
}

plugin

Plugins, Hooks