is_plugin_active()WP 2.5.0

Determines whether a plugin is active. Works in the dashboard only. Conditional tag.

The function is in the file wp-admin/includes/plugin.php, which means it works in the admin panel.

You can use the function very early, but it is recommended to use it on admin_init hook or later, because other code can activate or deactivate plugins before those hook.

For the function to work on the front you need to connect the file:

require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/plugin.php';
1 time — 0.000043 sec (very fast) | 50000 times — 0.63 sec (very fast) | PHP 7.0.14, WP 4.7

No Hooks.

Return

true|false. True, if in the active plugins list. False, not in the list.

Usage

is_plugin_active( $plugin );
$plugin(string) (required)
Path to the plugin file relative to the plugins directory.

Examples

0

#1 In the dashboard, check if the plugin is activated

/**
 * Check if the plugin is in the active plugins list.
 */
if ( is_plugin_active( 'plugin-directory/plugin-file.php' ) ) {
	echo 'Plugin is active';
}
else {
	echo 'Plugin is not active';
}
0

#2 Check if the plugin is active not in the dashboard (on front-end).

/**
 * Check if the plugin is in the active plugins list from front-page.
 */
require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/plugin.php';
if ( is_plugin_active( 'plugin-directory/plugin-file.php' ) ) {
	echo 'Plugin is active'
}

Changelog

Since 2.5.0 Introduced.

is_plugin_active() code WP 6.4.3

function is_plugin_active( $plugin ) {
	return in_array( $plugin, (array) get_option( 'active_plugins', array() ), true ) || is_plugin_active_for_network( $plugin );
}