Plugin Activation and Deactivation Hooks

WordPress Plugin Development Series (8/95). Prefer one article? Read the complete WordPress plugin development tutorial.

Short description

Use activation for DB/version setup. Use deactivation for cleanup like clearing cron events.

Hook registration

register_activation_hook(__FILE__, 'acme_activate');
register_deactivation_hook(__FILE__, 'acme_deactivate');

function acme_activate() {
    add_option('acme_version', '1.0.0');
    flush_rewrite_rules();
}

function acme_deactivate() {
    wp_clear_scheduled_hook('acme_daily_event');
    flush_rewrite_rules();
}