Back to Community
Home / Community / Plugin → Code snippets

How to Recover Your WordPress Site After a Code Snippet Crash

50 threads Sep 9, 2025 Plugin → Code snippets

Content

It's a common scenario for WordPress users of the Code Snippets plugin: you add a new piece of PHP code, hit "Activate," and suddenly your entire site goes down with a critical error, a blank white screen, or a 500 error. This can be a stressful experience, especially if you can't access your WordPress admin dashboard to fix the problem.

This guide will explain why this happens and walk you through the most effective methods to recover your site and get back to using your snippets.

Why Does This Happen?

The Code Snippets plugin runs your custom PHP code directly. If a snippet contains a syntax error, calls a function that doesn't exist, or conflicts with another plugin or theme, it can cause a fatal PHP error. Because the plugin often loads early in the WordPress process, this error can prevent the rest of the site, including your admin dashboard, from loading.

It's important to understand that simply deleting and reinstalling the plugin will not solve the problem. Your snippets, including the problematic one, are stored in your site's database. When you reinstall the plugin, it reactivates all previously active snippets, causing the crash to happen all over again.

Method 1: Use the Built-in Safe Mode (Recommended)

The Code Snippets team has built a special 'Safe Mode' feature specifically for this situation. When enabled, it prevents all snippets from running, allowing you to access your admin area and deactivate or delete the problematic code.

There are two ways to enable Safe Mode:

Option A: Add a Constant to wp-config.php

  1. Access your website's files via FTP or your hosting provider's file manager.
  2. Locate the wp-config.php file in the root directory of your WordPress installation.
  3. Edit the file and add the following line of code just before the line that says /* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */:

    define( 'CODE_SNIPPETS_SAFE_MODE', true );
  4. Save the file and upload it back to your server if necessary.
  5. Visit your website. You should now be able to log into your WordPress admin dashboard.
  6. Navigate to Snippets > All Snippets. You should see a notice that Safe Mode is active.
  7. Deactivate or delete the most recently activated snippet(s).
  8. Once the problematic code is handled, you can remove the line you added to wp-config.php to disable Safe Mode.

Option B: Use a URL Parameter

You can temporarily enable Safe Mode by appending ?snippets-safe-mode=true to your website's login or admin URL. For example:

https://yourwebsite.com/wp-login.php?snippets-safe-mode=true

or

https://yourwebsite.com/wp-admin/?snippets-safe-mode=true

This will grant you access to deactivate the bad snippet. Note that this mode is session-based and may need to be reapplied if you navigate away from the admin area.

Method 2: Manually Deactivate the Snippet via Database (Advanced)

If the Safe Mode method does not work for any reason, you can directly edit the database. This requires comfort with tools like phpMyAdmin.

  1. Access your website's database through your hosting provider's control panel (e.g., phpMyAdmin).
  2. Look for a table named wp_snippets. (The prefix wp_ may be different if you changed it during installation).
  3. Browse the table's contents to find the snippet causing the issue. You may need to look for recently modified snippets.
  4. Find the active column for the problematic snippet and change its value from 1 to 0.
  5. This will deactivate the snippet. Your site should now load normally with the plugin active.

What to Do If You're Still Stuck

If neither method works, the issue might be more complex. Ensure you placed the Safe Mode constant in the correct location in wp-config.php. In rare cases, a severe error might originate from somewhere other than a snippet. For further community assistance, you can describe your specific error message and the steps you've already tried on independent troubleshooting forums.

By using these methods, you can quickly recover from a crashed site and continue using the powerful Code Snippets plugin without losing your valuable custom code.

Related Support Threads Support