The Update Failed and the Site Is Half-Updated

An update that stops partway leaves the site in an undefined state: some files new, some old, possibly a lock file still in place. The recovery is straightforward, but it has to be done in the right order.

1. End maintenance mode

rm .maintenance   # in the web root, hidden file

The site returns immediately. This only ends the maintenance message — it does not finish the update.

2. Find out what state you are in

# is core complete and unmodified?
wp core verify-checksums

# what version does WordPress think it is?
wp core version

# are plugin files intact?
wp plugin verify-checksums --all

# anything still pending?
wp plugin list --update=available

These four commands tell you whether the problem is core, a plugin, or both.

3. Finish a core update

wp core download --force
wp core update-db

The first replaces every core file with a clean copy of the current version, leaving wp-config.php and wp-content alone. The second runs any pending database migrations, which is the step people forget and which causes odd behaviour afterwards.

4. Finish a plugin update

# reinstall at the current version
wp plugin install the-plugin --force

# or roll back to the version that worked
wp plugin install the-plugin --version=2.4.1 --force

If the plugin folder is half-written, deleting it and reinstalling is safer than trying to repair it. Settings live in the database and survive.

5. Check for leftover temporary files

ls -la wp-content/upgrade/
ls -la wp-content/upgrade-temp-backup/ 2>/dev/null

WordPress stages updates in wp-content/upgrade. A failed update leaves folders there. Once the site is working and verified, these can be removed — they serve no purpose and consume inodes.

Why updates stall

Cause	Symptom	Fix
PHP timeout	Large plugin, slow server	Raise max_execution_time, or update via WP-CLI
Memory exhausted	Several updates at once	Raise memory, update individually
Disk full	Fails silently partway	Free space, check inodes
Permissions	Asks for FTP credentials	Fix file ownership
Connection dropped	You closed the tab	Use WP-CLI, which does not depend on the browser
Host-level kill	Process exceeded a resource limit	Update via WP-CLI, or ask the host

Updating reliably from now on

1. Use WP-CLI where you can. It does not run under the web server’s execution timeout and does not depend on a browser tab staying open.
2. Update in small batches so a failure is easy to locate.
3. Take a backup immediately before each batch.
4. Do it on staging first on anything that matters.
5. Never update from a flaky connection.

Common questions

Can I lose content?

Very unlikely. Updates replace files, not database content. The database migration step is the only part that touches data, and it is designed to be safe.

Should I restore a backup instead?

If you have a clean one from minutes before, that is the fastest route. Otherwise finishing the update is usually quicker than a full restore.

The site works but the dashboard still says update required

Run wp core update-db, then clear every cache.