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Fix silent failure in core install when loading WordPress files fails #301

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Fix silent failure in core install when loading WordPress files fails #301

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Copilot AI commented Nov 7, 2025 •
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Description

wp core install and related commands fail silently with exit code 255 when WordPress files can't be loaded (missing PHP extensions, corrupted installation, permission issues). Debug output stops at "Begin WordPress load" with no actionable error.

Changes

Added centralized error handling for require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php':

  • Created require_upgrade_file() helper method with:

    • File existence validation
    • Readability checks
    • Shutdown handler to catch fatal errors during file loading
    • Completion flag to prevent shutdown handler from triggering on unrelated errors after successful require
    • Enhanced error type detection (E_ERROR, E_PARSE, E_CORE_ERROR, E_COMPILE_ERROR, E_COMPILE_WARNING, E_USER_ERROR)
    • Context-specific error messages (installation, multisite, update, db upgrade)

  • Applied to 4 methods: do_install(), multisite_convert_(), update(), update_db()

Error message improvements

Before: Silent exit with code 255

After:

Error: WordPress installation is incomplete. The file '/path/wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php' is missing.

Or for runtime errors:

Error: Failed to load WordPress files for WordPress installation. This often indicates a missing PHP extension or a corrupted WordPress installation.

Error: Call to undefined function mysqli_connect() in /path/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 123

Please check that all required PHP extensions are installed and that your WordPress installation is complete.

Checklist

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>core install fails silently (error code 255)</issue_title>
<issue_description>## Bug Report

Describe the current, buggy behavior

wp core install fails silently; echo $? shows error code 255

Describe how other contributors can replicate this bug

Here are the commands I'm running after installing wp-cli:

wp core download
wp config create --dbhost=127.0.0.1 --dbname=$WORDPRESS_DB_NAME --dbuser=$WORDPRESS_DB_USER --dbpass=$WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD
wp core install --url=localhost --title=test --admin_user=test --admin_password=test --admin_email=test@example.com

Describe what you would expect as the correct outcome

install succeeds or at least provides more debug info about why it fails

Let us know what environment you are running this on

CircleCI using their PHP and MySQL docker images

Here is the output from running core install again on the CircleCI box directly (via ssh) with all --skip options and --debug added. I tried specifying a path for download, config, and install, but it still fails at the same spot. I can see that the wp-config.php file exists at that path and it looks correct.

Debug (bootstrap): argv: /usr/local/bin/wp core install --url=localhost --title=test --admin_user=test --admin_password=test --admin_email=test@example.com --path=wordpress --debug --skip-themes --skip-plugins --allow-root --skip-email --skip-packages (0.079s)
Debug (bootstrap): ABSPATH defined: /home/circleci/project/wordpress/ (0.079s)
Debug (bootstrap): Set URL: localhost (0.079s)
Debug (bootstrap): Begin WordPress load (0.08s)
Debug (bootstrap): wp-config.php path: /home/circleci/project/wordpress/wp-config.php (0.08s)
```</issue_description>

## Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

<comments>
<comment_new><author>@schlessera</author><body>
I assume in the reporter's case, the issue is something similar to an extension missing. I agree that WP-CLI should do a better job here of letting the user know what is happening. Silently failing is never a good option.</body></comment_new>
</comments>

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Copilot AI and others added 2 commits November 7, 2025 22:17
@swissspidy
Add error handling for require_once statements in core install methods
0434a0f 
Co-authored-by: swissspidy <841956+swissspidy@users.noreply.github.com>
@swissspidy
Refactor error handling with require_upgrade_file helper method
27758fe 
Co-authored-by: swissspidy <841956+swissspidy@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Fix silent failure of wp core install with error code 255 Fix silent failure in core install when loading WordPress files fails Nov 7, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from swissspidy November 7, 2025 22:27
Copilot finished work on behalf of swissspidy November 7, 2025 22:27
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codecov bot commented Nov 8, 2025 •
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Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 34.28571% with 23 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.

Files with missing lines Patch % Lines
src/Core_Command.php 34.28% 23 Missing ⚠️

📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know!

@swissspidy swissspidy requested a review from Copilot November 8, 2025 09:42

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swissspidy and others added 2 commits November 8, 2025 11:13
@swissspidy
Update src/Core_Command.php
a1b8628 
Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@swissspidy
Update src/Core_Command.php
3e9d6c1 
Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@swissspidy
Prevent shutdown handler from executing after successful require_once
16b95f2 
Co-authored-by: swissspidy <841956+swissspidy@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot finished work on behalf of swissspidy November 8, 2025 10:18
Copilot finished work on behalf of swissspidy November 8, 2025 10:21
swissspidy
swissspidy reviewed Nov 8, 2025
View reviewed changes
@swissspidy
Simplify error handling - WP_CLI::error() is always available
e94788f 
Co-authored-by: swissspidy <841956+swissspidy@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI requested a review from swissspidy November 8, 2025 10:31
Copilot finished work on behalf of swissspidy November 8, 2025 10:31
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core install fails silently (error code 255)

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