Use is_plugin_active() to check If a WordPress Plugin is Activate

WordPress has a ton of hooks and methods to check specific tasks. These are very useful when developing plugins and themes.

In this post I’ll show you how to use the is_plugin_active() method to check if another plugin is installed and activated.

Why would you use is_plugin_active()? Let’s say you’re creating a custom plugin that depends on another plugin being installed and activated. For example: your new plugin will add new features to WooCommerce.

The code

If your code is executed on the admin area, use this sample code:

{codecitation php}if ( is_plugin_active( ‘plugin-folder/plugin-file.php’ ) ):

echo ‘The plugin IS activated’;

else:

echo ‘The plugin is NOT activated’;

endif;{/codecitation}

Replace ‘plugin-folder/plugin-file.php’ with the folder and main file name of the plugin you want to target. For example: ‘woocommerce/woocommerce.php’ to check if WooCommerce is installed and activated.

If the code will execute in the public area of the site, add this line of PHP code above the previous one:

{codecitation php}include_once( ABSPATH . ‘wp-admin/includes/plugin.php’ );{/codecitation}