Debug Mode Instructions

Overview

Debug mode reveals detailed error messages and logs that help diagnose issues. This guide shows how to enable WordPress debug mode and interpret error messages.

Enabling WordPress Debug Mode

Step 1: Edit wp-config.php

• FTP (FileZilla, WinSCP)

• cPanel File Manager

• SSH/command line

define('WP_DEBUG', false);

// Enable debug mode
define('WP_DEBUG', true);

// Log errors to file
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);

// Don't display errors on frontend (security)
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);
@ini_set('display_errors', 0);

// Log database queries (optional, for performance issues)
define('SAVEQUERIES', true);

Step 2: Check Debug Log

/wp-content/debug.log

• FTP/download file

• cPanel File Manager

• View in text editor

Understanding Error Messages

PHP Fatal Errors

PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function attrua_get_option()

in /wp-content/plugins/attributes-user-access-pro/includes/functions.php:45

Function doesn’t exist

Likely causes:

• Plugin file missing/corrupt

• Plugin not fully activated

• PHP version incompatibility

• Deactivate and reactivate plugin

• Reinstall plugin from fresh download

• Check PHP version meets requirements

Database Errors

WordPress database error Table ‘wp_attrua_audit_log’ doesn’t exist

for query SELECT * FROM wp_attrua_audit_log

Database table missing

• Deactivate plugin

• Reactivate (triggers table creation)

• Or run table creation SQL manually

JavaScript Errors

Chrome/Edge: F12 → Console tab

Firefox: F12 → Console tab

Common errors:

“$ is not defined” → jQuery not loaded

“Uncaught TypeError” → Function doesn’t exist

“Script error” → Cross-origin issue

Plugin-Specific Debug

Attributes Debug Mode

// Add to wp-config.php
define('ATTRUA_DEBUG', true);

// This logs:

<ul>
<li>Login attempts</li></ul>

<ul>
<li>2FA verification</li></ul>

<ul>
<li>IP blocking checks</li></ul>

<ul>
<li>Redirect decisions</li></ul>

<ul>
<li>Database queries</li></ul>

Users → Settings → Debug

Recent Activity:

[2025-12-19 14:30:15] Login attempt: username=john

[2025-12-19 14:30:15] IP check: 203.0.113.50 – ALLOWED

[2025-12-19 14:30:16] 2FA required: YES

[2025-12-19 14:30:16] 2FA code sent to: john@example.com

[2025-12-19 14:30:45] 2FA verified: SUCCESS

[2025-12-19 14:30:45] Redirect to: /dashboard/

Using Query Monitor Plugin

Installation

• Go to Plugins → Add New

• Search “Query Monitor”

• Install and activate

✓ See all database queries

✓ See slow queries

✓ See duplicate queries

✓ See PHP errors

✓ See hook usage

✓ See HTTP API calls

✓ See template hierarchy

Reading Query Monitor

⚠ 45 queries in 0.85s

⚠ 2 errors

Queries by Component:

• Attributes User Access: 12 queries (0.15s)

• WordPress Core: 25 queries (0.50s)

• Theme: 8 queries (0.20s)

Slow Queries (>0.05s):

SELECT * FROM wp_usermeta WHERE meta_key LIKE ‘attrua_%’ (0.12s)

Common Debug Scenarios

Scenario 1: Login Not Working

• Enable WP_DEBUG

• Attempt login

• Check debug.log

• Look for:

– PHP errors

– Database errors

– Authentication failures

• Enable ATTRUA_DEBUG for details

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:15] Attempting login for: john

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:15] wp_authenticate_user: Invalid username

→ Username doesn’t exist

OR:

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:15] Attempting login for: john

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:15] wp_check_password: FAILED

→ Wrong password

Scenario 2: Redirects Not Working

// wp-config.php
define('ATTRUA_DEBUG', true);
define('ATTRUA_DEBUG_REDIRECTS', true);

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:45] Redirect check for user ID: 5

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:45] User role: subscriber

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:45] Redirect rule match: /member-area/

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:45] Final redirect URL: https://example.com/member-area/

[19-Dec-2025 14:30:45] Redirect executed: wp_redirect()

Scenario 3: Performance Issues

// wp-config.php
define('SAVEQUERIES', true);

// Add to footer.php temporarily
global $wpdb;
echo "<!-- " . count($wpdb->queries) . " queries -->";
foreach ($wpdb->queries as $q) {
    if ($q[1] > 0.05) { // Queries slower than 50ms
        echo "<!-- SLOW: " . $q[0] . " (" . $q[1] . "s) -->";
    }
}

Browser DevTools

Network Tab

• Open DevTools (F12)

• Go to Network tab

• Filter: XHR

• Attempt action (login, register)

• Check AJAX request status:

– 200: Success

– 400: Bad request

– 403: Forbidden

– 500: Server error

Console Tab

• Open Console tab

• Attempt action

• Look for red error messages

• Note file and line number

Sharing Debug Information

When Contacting Support

Sanitizing Sensitive Data

Remove:

• Passwords (should never be in logs anyway)

• Email addresses (replace with user@example.com)

• IP addresses (replace with 203.0.113.1)

• API keys / license keys

• Database credentials

Keep:

• Error messages

• Stack traces

• Query structures (without actual data)

• Timestamps

Disabling Debug Mode

When Finished Debugging

// Change back to:
define('WP_DEBUG', false);

// Remove these:
// define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
// define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);
// define('SAVEQUERIES', true);
// define('ATTRUA_DEBUG', true);

Delete /wp-content/debug.log

(May contain sensitive information)

Best Practices