WordPress Command Line Debugging Guide

Master WordPress debugging with WP-CLI, logs, and advanced CLI techniques

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to WordPress CLI Debugging

Command line debugging is essential for WordPress developers who need to diagnose issues efficiently, especially on production servers where GUI access might be limited. This comprehensive guide covers everything from basic WP-CLI commands to advanced debugging techniques.

Why Use Command Line for WordPress Debugging?

  • Server Access: Debug production servers without web interface
  • Automation: Script debugging processes for consistency
  • Performance: Faster than web-based debugging tools
  • Precision: Direct access to logs, database, and files
  • Remote Debugging: Debug sites via SSH connection

Prerequisites

  • SSH access to your WordPress server
  • Basic command line knowledge
  • WP-CLI installed and configured
  • Understanding of WordPress file structure

2. WP-CLI Setup and Configuration

Installing WP-CLI

# Download WP-CLI
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/wp-cli/v2.8.1/phar/wp-cli.phar

# Make it executable
chmod +x wp-cli.phar

# Move to system path
sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp

# Verify installation
wp --info

WP-CLI Configuration

# Create wp-cli.yml in your WordPress root
# wp-cli.yml
path: /var/www/html/wordpress
url: https://yoursite.com
user: admin
core: download
locale: en_US
debug: true
quiet: false
color: true

# SSH configuration for remote debugging
ssh: user@server.com
path: /remote/path/to/wordpress

Basic WP-CLI Debugging Setup

# Enable WordPress debugging
wp config set WP_DEBUG true --raw
wp config set WP_DEBUG_LOG true --raw
wp config set WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY false --raw
wp config set SCRIPT_DEBUG true --raw

# Set log file location
wp config set WP_DEBUG_LOG_FILE '/var/log/wordpress/debug.log' --raw

# Enable query debugging
wp config set SAVEQUERIES true --raw
Pro Tip: Create a debugging profile in wp-cli.yml that you can quickly enable/disable for different environments.

3. Basic Debugging Commands

Site Health and Status

# Check WordPress installation
wp core verify-checksums

# Get site information
wp core version --extra

# Check database connection
wp db check

# Site health status
wp site health --format=table

# List all options
wp option list --search="*debug*"

# Check active plugins
wp plugin list --status=active

# Check active theme
wp theme list --status=active

Quick Diagnostics

# Check for WordPress updates
wp core check-update

# Verify plugin integrity
wp plugin verify-checksums --all

# Check theme integrity
wp theme verify-checksums --all

# Test email functionality
wp eval "wp_mail('test@example.com', 'Test Subject', 'Test message');"

# Check cron jobs
wp cron event list

# Test database queries
wp db query "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM wp_posts WHERE post_status='publish'"

Memory and Performance Checks

# Check PHP memory usage
wp eval "echo 'Memory usage: ' . memory_get_usage(true) / 1024 / 1024 . ' MB';"

# Check WordPress memory limit
wp eval "echo 'WP Memory Limit: ' . WP_MEMORY_LIMIT;"

# Check PHP configuration
wp eval "phpinfo();" | grep -i memory

# Check loaded plugins impact
wp plugin list --format=table --fields=name,status,update,version

4. Log File Analysis

WordPress Debug Logs

# Find WordPress debug log
find /var/www -name "debug.log" -type f 2>/dev/null

# Monitor debug log in real-time
tail -f /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Search for specific errors
grep -i "fatal error" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Count error types
grep -c "PHP Warning" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log
grep -c "PHP Fatal error" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log
grep -c "PHP Notice" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Show last 50 errors
tail -50 /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Filter errors by date
grep "$(date '+%d-%b-%Y')" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

Server Error Logs

# Apache error logs
tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log
grep "wordpress" /var/log/apache2/error.log

# Nginx error logs
tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log
grep "php" /var/log/nginx/error.log

# PHP-FPM logs
tail -f /var/log/php7.4-fpm.log

# System logs for WordPress
journalctl -u apache2 -f
journalctl -u nginx -f

Custom Log Analysis Script

#!/bin/bash
# wp-log-analyzer.sh

LOG_FILE="/var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log"
DATE=$(date '+%Y-%m-%d')

echo "=== WordPress Log Analysis for $DATE ==="
echo

echo "Error Summary:"
echo "Fatal Errors: $(grep -c "PHP Fatal error" $LOG_FILE)"
echo "Warnings: $(grep -c "PHP Warning" $LOG_FILE)"
echo "Notices: $(grep -c "PHP Notice" $LOG_FILE)"
echo

echo "Most Common Errors:"
grep "PHP Fatal error\|PHP Warning" $LOG_FILE | \
    sed 's/.*PHP [^:]*: //' | \
    sort | uniq -c | sort -nr | head -10

echo
echo "Recent Errors (Last 10):"
tail -10 $LOG_FILE
Security Note: Always secure your debug logs and never expose them publicly. Consider rotating logs regularly to prevent disk space issues.

5. Database Debugging

Database Health Checks

# Check database connection
wp db check

# Repair database
wp db repair

# Optimize database
wp db optimize

# Check database size
wp db size --human-readable

# Export database for analysis
wp db export debug-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

# Check for corrupted tables
wp db query "CHECK TABLE wp_posts, wp_options, wp_users"

# Analyze table performance
wp db query "ANALYZE TABLE wp_posts"

Query Debugging

# Enable query logging
wp config set SAVEQUERIES true --raw

# Check slow queries
wp eval "
global \$wpdb;
if (defined('SAVEQUERIES') && SAVEQUERIES) {
    foreach (\$wpdb->queries as \$query) {
        if (\$query[1] > 0.1) { // Queries taking more than 0.1 seconds
            echo 'Slow Query: ' . \$query[1] . 's - ' . \$query[0] . PHP_EOL;
        }
    }
}
"

# Check database queries count
wp eval "
global \$wpdb;
echo 'Total Queries: ' . \$wpdb->num_queries . PHP_EOL;
echo 'Query Time: ' . timer_stop() . 's' . PHP_EOL;
"

# Find duplicate content
wp db query "
SELECT post_title, COUNT(*) as count 
FROM wp_posts 
WHERE post_status = 'publish' 
GROUP BY post_title 
HAVING count > 1
"

Database Cleanup and Optimization

# Remove spam comments
wp comment delete $(wp comment list --status=spam --format=ids)

# Clean up revisions
wp post delete $(wp post list --post_type=revision --format=ids)

# Remove auto-drafts
wp post delete $(wp post list --post_status=auto-draft --format=ids)

# Clean up orphaned metadata
wp db query "
DELETE pm FROM wp_postmeta pm 
LEFT JOIN wp_posts wp ON wp.ID = pm.post_id 
WHERE wp.ID IS NULL
"

# Check for large tables
wp db query "
SELECT table_name, 
       ROUND(((data_length + index_length) / 1024 / 1024), 2) AS 'Size (MB)'
FROM information_schema.TABLES 
WHERE table_schema = DATABASE()
ORDER BY (data_length + index_length) DESC
"

6. Plugin and Theme Debugging

Plugin Debugging

# List all plugins with details
wp plugin list --format=table --fields=name,status,update,version,file

# Check for plugin conflicts
wp plugin deactivate --all
wp plugin activate plugin-name

# Test plugins one by one
for plugin in $(wp plugin list --status=active --field=name); do
    echo "Testing plugin: $plugin"
    wp plugin deactivate $plugin
    # Test your site functionality here
    wp plugin activate $plugin
done

# Check plugin errors
grep -r "plugin-name" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Verify plugin checksums
wp plugin verify-checksums --all

# Check plugin updates
wp plugin list --update=available

Theme Debugging

# Switch to default theme for testing
wp theme activate twentytwentythree

# Check theme errors
wp theme list --format=table

# Verify theme files
wp theme verify-checksums --all

# Check theme functions
wp eval "
\$theme = wp_get_theme();
echo 'Active Theme: ' . \$theme->get('Name') . PHP_EOL;
echo 'Version: ' . \$theme->get('Version') . PHP_EOL;
echo 'Template: ' . \$theme->get_template() . PHP_EOL;
"

# Test theme switching
wp theme activate theme-name
# Test functionality
wp theme activate previous-theme

Code Quality Checks

# Check for PHP syntax errors
find /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins -name "*.php" -exec php -l {} \;
find /var/www/html/wp-content/themes -name "*.php" -exec php -l {} \;

# Check for deprecated functions
grep -r "deprecated" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Search for common issues
grep -r "undefined function" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log
grep -r "undefined variable" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Check file permissions
find /var/www/html/wp-content -type f -not -perm 644
find /var/www/html/wp-content -type d -not -perm 755

7. Performance Debugging

Performance Monitoring

# Check page load time
time curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{time_total}" https://yoursite.com

# Monitor server resources
top -p $(pgrep -f "apache2|nginx|php-fpm")

# Check memory usage
wp eval "
echo 'Memory Usage: ' . memory_get_usage(true) / 1024 / 1024 . ' MB' . PHP_EOL;
echo 'Peak Memory: ' . memory_get_peak_usage(true) / 1024 / 1024 . ' MB' . PHP_EOL;
"

# Database performance
wp db query "SHOW PROCESSLIST"
wp db query "SHOW STATUS LIKE 'Slow_queries'"

# Check caching
wp cache flush
wp rewrite flush

Query Performance Analysis

# Enable query debugging
wp config set SAVEQUERIES true --raw

# Create performance test script
wp eval "
\$start_time = microtime(true);
\$start_memory = memory_get_usage();

// Your test code here
\$posts = get_posts(array('numberposts' => 100));

\$end_time = microtime(true);
\$end_memory = memory_get_usage();

echo 'Execution Time: ' . (\$end_time - \$start_time) . ' seconds' . PHP_EOL;
echo 'Memory Used: ' . ((\$end_memory - \$start_memory) / 1024 / 1024) . ' MB' . PHP_EOL;
"

# Check slow queries
wp eval "
global \$wpdb;
foreach (\$wpdb->queries as \$query) {
    if (\$query[1] > 0.05) {
        echo 'Query: ' . \$query[0] . PHP_EOL;
        echo 'Time: ' . \$query[1] . 's' . PHP_EOL;
        echo '---' . PHP_EOL;
    }
}
"

Caching Debug

# Check object cache
wp eval "
if (wp_using_ext_object_cache()) {
    echo 'External object cache is active' . PHP_EOL;
} else {
    echo 'Using default object cache' . PHP_EOL;
}
"

# Test cache functionality
wp eval "
wp_cache_set('test_key', 'test_value', 'test_group', 3600);
\$cached_value = wp_cache_get('test_key', 'test_group');
echo 'Cache test: ' . (\$cached_value === 'test_value' ? 'PASS' : 'FAIL') . PHP_EOL;
"

# Check transients
wp transient list
wp transient delete --all

# Monitor cache hit ratio (if using Redis)
redis-cli info stats | grep keyspace

8. Security and Error Debugging

Security Checks

# Check file permissions
find /var/www/html -type f -perm 777
find /var/www/html -type d -perm 777

# Check for suspicious files
find /var/www/html -name "*.php" -exec grep -l "eval\|base64_decode\|gzinflate" {} \;

# Check user accounts
wp user list --format=table --fields=ID,user_login,user_email,roles

# Check admin users
wp user list --role=administrator

# Check for weak passwords (requires additional tools)
wp user list --format=csv --fields=user_login | tail -n +2 | while read user; do
    echo "Checking user: $user"
    # Add password strength checking logic
done

# Check login attempts (if logged)
grep "wp-login.php" /var/log/apache2/access.log | tail -20

Error Monitoring

# Monitor 404 errors
grep " 404 " /var/log/apache2/access.log | tail -20

# Check for brute force attempts
grep "POST.*wp-login.php" /var/log/apache2/access.log | \
    awk '{print $1}' | sort | uniq -c | sort -nr | head -10

# Monitor failed login attempts
grep "authentication failure" /var/log/auth.log

# Check for malware signatures
grep -r "malware\|virus\|trojan" /var/www/html/wp-content/

# File integrity monitoring
find /var/www/html -name "*.php" -newer /tmp/last_check -exec ls -la {} \;

SSL and HTTPS Debugging

# Check SSL certificate
openssl s_client -connect yoursite.com:443 -servername yoursite.com

# Verify HTTPS redirects
curl -I http://yoursite.com

# Check mixed content
wp search-replace "http://yoursite.com" "https://yoursite.com" --dry-run

# Test SSL configuration
wp eval "
echo 'FORCE_SSL_ADMIN: ' . (defined('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN') ? 'true' : 'false') . PHP_EOL;
echo 'Site URL: ' . get_site_url() . PHP_EOL;
echo 'Home URL: ' . get_home_url() . PHP_EOL;
"

9. Advanced Debugging Techniques

Custom Debug Functions

# Create custom debug helper
wp eval "
function debug_wp_query() {
    global \$wp_query;
    echo 'Query Vars:' . PHP_EOL;
    print_r(\$wp_query->query_vars);
    echo 'SQL Query:' . PHP_EOL;
    echo \$wp_query->request . PHP_EOL;
}

function debug_current_user() {
    \$user = wp_get_current_user();
    echo 'Current User: ' . \$user->user_login . PHP_EOL;
    echo 'Roles: ' . implode(', ', \$user->roles) . PHP_EOL;
    echo 'Capabilities: ' . implode(', ', array_keys(\$user->allcaps)) . PHP_EOL;
}

function debug_hooks() {
    global \$wp_filter;
    foreach (\$wp_filter as \$hook => \$filters) {
        if (strpos(\$hook, 'wp_') === 0) {
            echo 'Hook: ' . \$hook . ' (' . count(\$filters->callbacks) . ' callbacks)' . PHP_EOL;
        }
    }
}

debug_wp_query();
"

Memory and Performance Profiling

# Memory usage profiler
wp eval "
class MemoryProfiler {
    private \$checkpoints = array();
    
    public function checkpoint(\$name) {
        \$this->checkpoints[\$name] = array(
            'memory' => memory_get_usage(true),
            'peak' => memory_get_peak_usage(true),
            'time' => microtime(true)
        );
    }
    
    public function report() {
        foreach (\$this->checkpoints as \$name => \$data) {
            echo \$name . ': ' . (\$data['memory'] / 1024 / 1024) . ' MB' . PHP_EOL;
        }
    }
}

\$profiler = new MemoryProfiler();
\$profiler->checkpoint('start');

// Your code here
\$posts = get_posts(array('numberposts' => 100));

\$profiler->checkpoint('after_query');
\$profiler->report();
"

Database Query Profiling

# Advanced query debugging
wp eval "
class QueryProfiler {
    public function __construct() {
        add_filter('query', array(\$this, 'log_query'));
    }
    
    public function log_query(\$query) {
        \$start_time = microtime(true);
        
        // Log slow queries
        register_shutdown_function(function() use (\$query, \$start_time) {
            \$execution_time = microtime(true) - \$start_time;
            if (\$execution_time > 0.1) {
                error_log('Slow Query (' . \$execution_time . 's): ' . \$query);
            }
        });
        
        return \$query;
    }
}

new QueryProfiler();
"

Hook and Filter Debugging

# Debug WordPress hooks
wp eval "
function debug_all_hooks() {
    global \$wp_filter;
    
    \$hooks_by_priority = array();
    
    foreach (\$wp_filter as \$hook_name => \$hook) {
        foreach (\$hook->callbacks as \$priority => \$callbacks) {
            foreach (\$callbacks as \$callback) {
                \$function_name = 'Unknown';
                
                if (is_string(\$callback['function'])) {
                    \$function_name = \$callback['function'];
                } elseif (is_array(\$callback['function'])) {
                    if (is_object(\$callback['function'][0])) {
                        \$function_name = get_class(\$callback['function'][0]) . '::' . \$callback['function'][1];
                    } else {
                        \$function_name = \$callback['function'][0] . '::' . \$callback['function'][1];
                    }
                }
                
                \$hooks_by_priority[] = array(
                    'hook' => \$hook_name,
                    'priority' => \$priority,
                    'function' => \$function_name
                );
            }
        }
    }
    
    usort(\$hooks_by_priority, function(\$a, \$b) {
        return strcmp(\$a['hook'], \$b['hook']);
    });
    
    foreach (\$hooks_by_priority as \$hook_info) {
        echo \$hook_info['hook'] . ' [' . \$hook_info['priority'] . '] -> ' . \$hook_info['function'] . PHP_EOL;
    }
}

debug_all_hooks();
"

10. Automation and Monitoring

Automated Health Check Script

#!/bin/bash
# wp-health-check.sh

SITE_PATH="/var/www/html"
LOG_FILE="/var/log/wp-health-check.log"
EMAIL="admin@yoursite.com"

cd $SITE_PATH

echo "=== WordPress Health Check $(date) ===" >> $LOG_FILE

# Check core integrity
echo "Checking WordPress core..." >> $LOG_FILE
if ! wp core verify-checksums >> $LOG_FILE 2>&1; then
    echo "ALERT: WordPress core integrity check failed" | mail -s "WP Alert" $EMAIL
fi

# Check plugin updates
echo "Checking for plugin updates..." >> $LOG_FILE
PLUGIN_UPDATES=$(wp plugin list --update=available --format=count)
if [ $PLUGIN_UPDATES -gt 0 ]; then
    echo "INFO: $PLUGIN_UPDATES plugin updates available" >> $LOG_FILE
fi

# Check database
echo "Checking database..." >> $LOG_FILE
if ! wp db check >> $LOG_FILE 2>&1; then
    echo "ALERT: Database check failed" | mail -s "WP Database Alert" $EMAIL
fi

# Check disk space
DISK_USAGE=$(df $SITE_PATH | awk 'NR==2 {print $5}' | sed 's/%//')
if [ $DISK_USAGE -gt 90 ]; then
    echo "ALERT: Disk usage is ${DISK_USAGE}%" | mail -s "Disk Space Alert" $EMAIL
fi

# Check error log size
ERROR_LOG="$SITE_PATH/wp-content/debug.log"
if [ -f $ERROR_LOG ]; then
    LOG_SIZE=$(stat -c%s $ERROR_LOG)
    if [ $LOG_SIZE -gt 10485760 ]; then # 10MB
        echo "ALERT: Error log is getting large (${LOG_SIZE} bytes)" >> $LOG_FILE
    fi
fi

echo "Health check completed" >> $LOG_FILE

Continuous Monitoring

# Set up cron job for regular checks
# Add to crontab (crontab -e)
# Check every hour
0 * * * * /path/to/wp-health-check.sh

# Monitor error log in real-time
#!/bin/bash
# wp-error-monitor.sh

ERROR_LOG="/var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log"
ALERT_EMAIL="admin@yoursite.com"

tail -F $ERROR_LOG | while read line; do
    if echo "$line" | grep -q "Fatal error\|Parse error"; then
        echo "CRITICAL ERROR DETECTED: $line" | mail -s "WordPress Critical Error" $ALERT_EMAIL
    fi
done

# Performance monitoring script
#!/bin/bash
# wp-performance-monitor.sh

SITE_URL="https://yoursite.com"
THRESHOLD=3.0

LOAD_TIME=$(curl -o /dev/null -s -w "%{time_total}" $SITE_URL)

if (( $(echo "$LOAD_TIME > $THRESHOLD" | bc -l) )); then
    echo "Site load time is ${LOAD_TIME}s (threshold: ${THRESHOLD}s)" | \
        mail -s "Performance Alert" admin@yoursite.com
fi

Backup and Recovery Automation

#!/bin/bash
# wp-backup-debug.sh

BACKUP_DIR="/backups/wordpress"
SITE_PATH="/var/www/html"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

cd $SITE_PATH

# Create backup with debugging info
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE

# Backup files
tar -czf $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE/files.tar.gz \
    --exclude='wp-content/cache' \
    --exclude='wp-content/uploads/cache' \
    .

# Backup database
wp db export $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE/database.sql

# Backup configuration
cp wp-config.php $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE/
cp .htaccess $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE/ 2>/dev/null || true

# Create debug report
{
    echo "=== WordPress Debug Report ==="
    echo "Date: $(date)"
    echo "WordPress Version: $(wp core version)"
    echo "PHP Version: $(php -v | head -1)"
    echo "Active Theme: $(wp theme list --status=active --field=name)"
    echo "Active Plugins:"
    wp plugin list --status=active --format=table
    echo "Recent Errors:"
    tail -20 wp-content/debug.log 2>/dev/null || echo "No debug log found"
} > $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE/debug-report.txt

echo "Backup completed: $BACKUP_DIR/$DATE"

11. Common Issues and Solutions

White Screen of Death (WSOD)

wp config set WP_DEBUG true --raw
wp config set WP_DEBUG_LOG true --raw
tail -f /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log
# Check for fatal errors
grep "Fatal error" /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Test with default theme
wp theme activate twentytwentythree

# Deactivate all plugins
wp plugin deactivate --all

# Check memory limit
wp eval "echo 'Memory Limit: ' . ini_get('memory_limit');"

# Increase memory limit if needed
wp config set WP_MEMORY_LIMIT '512M' --raw

Database Connection Issues

# Test database connection
wp db check

# Verify database credentials
wp config get DB_NAME
wp config get DB_USER
wp config get DB_HOST

# Test manual connection
mysql -h $(wp config get DB_HOST) -u $(wp config get DB_USER) -p$(wp config get DB_PASSWORD) $(wp config get DB_NAME)

# Check database server status
systemctl status mysql
systemctl status mariadb

# Check database logs
tail -f /var/log/mysql/error.log

Plugin Conflicts

# Systematic plugin testing
#!/bin/bash
# plugin-conflict-test.sh

echo "Starting plugin conflict test..."

# Get list of active plugins
ACTIVE_PLUGINS=$(wp plugin list --status=active --field=name)

# Deactivate all plugins
wp plugin deactivate --all

echo "All plugins deactivated. Test your site now."
read -p "Press enter when ready to continue..."

# Activate plugins one by one
for plugin in $ACTIVE_PLUGINS; do
    echo "Activating plugin: $plugin"
    wp plugin activate $plugin
    echo "Test your site now. If there's an issue, the problem is with: $plugin"
    read -p "Press enter to continue to next plugin..."
done

echo "Plugin conflict test completed."

Performance Issues

# Identify slow queries
wp config set SAVEQUERIES true --raw

# Check query count and time
wp eval "
global \$wpdb;
echo 'Total Queries: ' . \$wpdb->num_queries . PHP_EOL;
echo 'Total Time: ' . timer_stop() . 's' . PHP_EOL;
"

# Find memory-intensive plugins
wp eval "
\$start_memory = memory_get_usage();
// Test specific functionality
\$end_memory = memory_get_usage();
echo 'Memory used: ' . ((\$end_memory - \$start_memory) / 1024 / 1024) . ' MB' . PHP_EOL;
"

# Check for large database tables
wp db query "
SELECT table_name, 
       ROUND(((data_length + index_length) / 1024 / 1024), 2) AS 'Size (MB)'
FROM information_schema.TABLES 
WHERE table_schema = DATABASE()
ORDER BY (data_length + index_length) DESC
LIMIT 10
"

12. Best Practices

Debugging Environment Setup

  • Separate Environments: Never debug on production; use staging
  • Version Control: Track all configuration changes
  • Backup First: Always backup before debugging
  • Document Issues: Keep detailed logs of problems and solutions
  • Test Systematically: Isolate variables when testing

Security Considerations

Important: Always disable debugging on production sites and secure debug logs from public access. 
# Secure debug log
chmod 600 /var/www/html/wp-content/debug.log

# Add to .htaccess to block access
echo "

    Order allow,deny
    Deny from all

" >> /var/www/html/wp-content/.htaccess

# Rotate logs regularly
logrotate -f /etc/logrotate.d/wordpress

Performance Optimization

  • Monitor Regularly: Set up automated monitoring
  • Cache Debugging: Test with and without caching
  • Database Optimization: Regular cleanup and optimization
  • Resource Monitoring: Track CPU, memory, and disk usage
  • Load Testing: Test under realistic traffic conditions

Debugging Checklist

  • ✅ Enable WordPress debugging constants
  • ✅ Check error logs regularly
  • ✅ Monitor database performance
  • ✅ Test plugin and theme conflicts
  • ✅ Verify file permissions
  • ✅ Check server resources
  • ✅ Monitor security logs
  • ✅ Test backup and recovery procedures
  • ✅ Document all findings
  • ✅ Clean up debug settings when done

Need Expert WordPress Debugging Help?

I can help you implement comprehensive debugging strategies, set up monitoring systems, and resolve complex WordPress issues using command-line tools and advanced debugging techniques.

Get Debugging Consultation

WordPress CLI Debugging Guide • Complete Developer's Handbook • wesleyclassen.co.za

Wesley Classen
Wesley's AI Assistant Usually replies in ~15 min Ask me anything — if I can't answer, Wesley gets pinged and replies personally.
Hello! I'm Wesley's AI assistant. How can I help you today?