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wp maintenance-mode deactivate

Overview

Remove the .maintenance file from the WordPress root to bring the site back online. Always run this after completing updates, imports, or any maintenance operation to restore visitor access.

What It Does​

wp maintenance-mode deactivate deletes the .maintenance file in the WordPress root. WordPress then resumes serving normal content to all visitors immediately.

Syntax​

wp maintenance-mode deactivate

Output:

Disabling Maintenance mode...
Success: Deactivated Maintenance mode.

Basic Usage​

wp maintenance-mode deactivate

Real-World Scenarios​

Scenario 1: End of update window​

wp plugin update --all
wp core update
wp cache flush
wp rewrite flush

wp maintenance-mode deactivate
echo "Site is live — $(date)"

Scenario 2: Emergency deactivation (left in maintenance by accident)​

wp maintenance-mode status
# output: Maintenance mode is active.

wp maintenance-mode deactivate
wp maintenance-mode status
# output: Maintenance mode is not active.

Scenario 3: Multi-site — deactivate on all subsites​

for url in $(wp site list --field=url); do
  wp maintenance-mode deactivate --url="$url"
  echo "Maintenance deactivated: $url"
done

Best Practices​

  1. Always verify deactivation with wp maintenance-mode status after running.
  2. Confirm the site is accessible in a logged-out browser tab after deactivating.
  3. Flush cache after deactivating so visitors don't see a cached maintenance page.

Quick Reference​

wp maintenance-mode deactivate         # Bring site back online
wp maintenance-mode status             # Verify deactivation
wp cache flush                         # Clear potential cached maintenance page

Next Steps​